Fender Goes Bluetooth With New Speakers

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has launched its first line of Bluetooth-streaming speakers. They’re name the Newport and Monterey, after two of the most famous music festivals in Southern California, where the company was founded by Leo Fender in 1946.

The Newport model takes its design inspiration from Fender’s “silverface” amplifiers, with a guitar amp-style metal grille and knobs for volume, bass and treble, plus a blue LED amp jewel light. The Monterey model is a stereo Bluetooth streaming speaker, powered by an AC power source, supporting aptX and ACC digital audio signals.

The compact Newport has a battery life of 12 hours and offers more than 33 feet of wireless freedom, using a Lithium-ion battery for extended playback time. It can also conduct calls with telephony and echo cancellation and has a built-in USB port to charge smartphone and tablet devices. It offers the ability to control your music playlist of choice.

The Monterey has an EQ preset switch to shape the sound for the room and mirrors the designs of Fender’s classic guitar amplifier, with a ’68 custom grille cloth, blue LED amp jewel light and guitar amp-style knobs to adjust volume, bass and treble.

As for the all-important matter of cost, the Newport will be priced at $199.99, which at the time of writing converts to about £151, and the Monterey will be $349.99 (£269).

Format: UK English