2013 Fender Ron Emory Loyalty Parlour

​When you say Fender, you think solid-body electric guitar, a Strat, a Tele. Maybe some semi-acoustics, a Thinline or Starcaster. But never really plain old acoustics. Unlike Gibson, Fender didn't start with acoustics and go to electrics. It was the other way round. And, to be fair, Leo Fender wrote the book when it came to full-production electric guitars back in the early 1950s, so he didn't need to break the winning formula in those early years.

But after a decade of phenomenal success with electrics, Leo turned his attention to the acoustic market in the early-1960s, taking on master luthier Roger Rossmeisl, who'd already built his skills at both Gibson and Rickenbacker. The very earliest acoustics relied heavily on the component-based design of the electrics - bolt-on necks, screwed-on pickguards, Strat-style headstocks. They may have looked cool but they can't have been that easy to play and maintain. But they weren't built, marketed or priced as top-end guitars - more for "sun-and-fun", campfires and coffee-houses, the free-spirited youth than the concert-hall. Fun while it lasted, but by the end of the 60s, Fender shelved most of their acoustic production and it wasn't until the 80s and 90s that Fender came back to the acoustic party - and in the 00s started to introduce the artist-model guitars. Of which this is one.

My bad, but I'd never heard of Ron Emory or TSOL (True Sounds Of Liberty) until I found this guitar. To be honest, I haven't kept up with the Southern Californian punk scene over the years . . . And looking at this beauty, you wouldn't think it was created with the design input of a punk rock god. But check out the interview with Ron Emory below and all becomes clear - alongside the inspiration for the butterscotch finish from Ron's prized 52 Tele. Something that Fender had never considered for their acoustics beforehand. Which is a surprise - and a blessing. This is a stunner. Beautifully built, binding and inlays to-die-for, and a tone and projection that goes well beyond its smaller body. The perfect picker for the parlour.