Fender’s new flagship signatures for 2021 include guitars for Kurt Cobain, J Mascis and Cory Wong

Fender has unveiled its full product lineup for 2021, with new accessories, Squier guitars, amplifiers, pedals and acoustics. The flagship of the launch, however, is a set of new artist electric guitars, with models for Kurt Cobain, J Mascis and Cory Wong, as well as a guitar marking 30 years of Primal Scream album Screamadelica.

• READ MORE: Sonic Youth share rare footage of impromptu set with J Mascis in 1987

Fender’s Tammy Van Donk said in a statement of the launch as a whole: “As we begin the transition back to openings and look ahead to a music-filled fall and holiday season, we’re doing everything we can to provide dealers with products that will keep both new pandemic players and avid guitarists strumming throughout 2021 and beyond.

“Our dealers have gravitated to our immersive, online dealer experience in the past year and we’re proud to see how the platform has grown and connected the network. Supporting our dealers is our number one priority.”

Fender’s Justin Norvell added: “The needs of today’s creators and guitar players are continually evolving, especially with the rise of home recordings and as new players boom from the pandemic.

“To meet this new demand, we’ve woven new specs and elements into these innovative instruments, introducing products that will ease the playing experience and inspire young, new players, but also professionals and fans of some of our most-esteemed Fender artists.”

Let’s dive into the new electrics from Fender.

Cory Wong Stratocaster

The Cory Wong Stratocaster comes with a Sapphire Blue transparent satin lacquer finish, recreating the look of Wong’s own guitar. There’s a slightly scaled-down alder body, as well as a modern D maple neck and sculpted body contours. The neck is topped with a rosewood fingerboard with rolled edges and a compound 10-14” radius.

There’s a set of Seymour Duncan Cory Wong Clean Machine pickups for classic Strat sounds, along with a push-pull pot on the second tone control that bypasses the five-way switch and defaults to position four. Also included are a Cory Wong hair tie for muting the vibrato’s springs, a set of rubber strap locks and a custom neck plate

Lists for $1,999.99 / £2,249 / €2,499 and available in July 2021.

J Mascis Telecaster

Thanks to a member of a Dinosaur Jr Facebook group posting a product catalogue, the surprise of this launch was tempered a little. That said, a blue-sparkle Telecaster with a mirrored pickguard is always likely to pique a lot of interest.

The guitar recreates Mascis’ own 1958 top-loader Tele, the main guitar he used during the mid-90s. Its electronics consist of custom J Mascis Telecaster pickups, joined by a Road Worn maple neck, and top-loader bridge and hardware.

Lists for $1,349.99 / £1,299 / €1,449 and available August 2021.

Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang

Kurt Cobain’s Jag-Stang combined both his Jaguar and Mustang guitars. This official signature version marks the 30th anniversary of Nirvana’s record Nevermind, and comes with the same features as Cobain’s original instrument. There’s an alder body, a 24-inch short scale length, a 7.25-inch radius rosewood fingerboard and vintage-style single-coil and humbucking pickups., as well as Mustang slider switches for a variety of in- or out-of-phase tones. Available right and left-handed.

Lists for $1,249.99 / £1,249 / €1,399 and available October 2021.

Screamadelica 30th Anniversary Stratocaster

This Strat features an all-over graphic of Screamadelica’s album art, as well as a modern C-shaped maple neck with 9.5-inch radius pau ferro fingerboard and medium jumbo frets. The graphic continues seamlessly over a set of matching knobs, and a matching pickguard. It will be available in highly limited quantities from November 2021.

Lists for $1049.99 £1,199 €1,349.