Surf’s up with the Fender Japan Original Canvas Esquire Heather Brown

30 Aug 2021 by Jef | 5,0 / 5,0 | Approximate reading time: 3 Minutes

Fender Made in Japan Original Canvas Esquire Heather Brown  ·  Source: Fender

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Fender Japan has collaborated with world-renowned surf artist Heather Brown for a special run of guitars with her artwork. Called the Fender Original Canvas Esquire Heather Brown model, this guitar looks great and is ready to hit the waves!

Fender Original Canvas Esquire Heather Brown

I would first like to say that Fender Japan seems to get all the cool guitars. The USA and Europe just appear to get faux-aged models and the occasional FSR in a fancy colour. I’m really enjoying the new guitars coming out of Japan recently and this Original Canvas Esquire Heather Brown model is quite an eye-catching design.

Fender Made in Japan Original Canvas Esquire Heather Brown · Source: Fender

Aloha

Based around a classic single-pickup ’50s Esquire, this wave-themed, stained-glass-like artwork is a really nice nature piece that evokes the spirit of Hawai, along with its strong surfer heritage. Heather Brown is well known for her work in the surfing community and the art world, to the point where she was dubbed by the Los Angeles Times as the  “Godmother of Modern Surf Art”.

The guitar itself is loaded with a single Fender American Vintage ’58 Single-Coil Tele pickup and, as with all Esquires, you get a volume, tone, and a three-way switch. The switch gives you positions that include tone control, bypass it completely, or offer a preset tone stack, making it a versatile instrument and no one-trick pony. I’ve listed those three positions below for anyone unfamiliar with Esquire wiring. It is actually one of my favourite guitar wiring setups. If you have never tried it, I would recommend checking it out sometime.

Esquire Switch Wiring

• Position 1. Bridge (Tone control off),
• Position 2. Bridge (Tone control on),
• Position 3. Bridge (Tone control off, preset treble roll-off)

Fender Made in Japan Original Canvas Esquire Heather Brown front · Source: Fender

Fender Made in Japan Original Canvas Esquire Heather Brown front · Source: Fender

Waves

The Heather Brown design is emblazoned on the front, and only the top and sides of the ash body are painted with a subtle satin finish. I think this helps the design pop nicely and forms a natural frame for the artwork. It has a U-shape maple neck and a 9.75″ radius rosewood fretboard with 21 vintage frets.

My only quibble would be that the design is a portrait. It looks great as a wall hanger, but a little off-kilter when in playing position. I’d have liked to see a landscape version, perhaps with one of Heather’s trademark girls with a surfboard hidden in the image. Maybe we will see more of Heather’s work on future Fender models, as it suits their west coast surfer image well.

Overall though, I’m pretty stoked to see her artwork on a sweet Esquire model. It really sets this guitar apart from what is predominantly a lot of the same old boring relic finishes.

RRP – Yen 165000

More Information on Heather Brown

• Fender Japan Product Page
• Heather Brown Art
• Heather Brown Instagram
• More Fender news here

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