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Fender
"GA 43 SCE" & "GC 42S"
Acoustic Guitars Reviewer: Joe Yammouni Distributor: Fender Australia |
Australian Musician Spring 2002
A company like Fender is linked inextricably to contemporary music and their range of guitars, basses and amps need no introduction to the musicians of the world. The last decade has seen a massive expansion of the company from a production perspective resulting in an even wider variety of products that caters for just about any musical application. Their acoustic guitar range in particular is no exception with many new choices available. For this edition of the magazine Fender sent us a couple of guitars to check out, similar in makeup, yet different in body styles. These fine instruments, the GA 43 SCE and the smaller GC 42S are part of what Fender has named the Grand series.The new Grand Auditorium Series of acoustic guitars will impress even the most discerning guitarists with their playability, aesthetic beauty – quality construction and functionality. Fender's Grand Auditorium guitars incorporate numerous features exclusive to Fender like body shape, bridge, and bracing.
These instruments also feature dovetailed neck joints, abalone rosettes, tortoise shell binding, solid AA Spruce tops, solid backs (mahogany or Rosewood) – mahogany being the featured timber on the test instruments, as well as a new low-mass bridge design that allows superior playing action, and Grover tuning machines.
The Fender/Fishman design ACLR Electronics system with accelerometer blend control allows the balance between the piezo sound and microphone (placed under sound board), to be mixed to your own personal taste resulting in some nice authentic acoustic tones. There is bass, middle and treble with mid-sweep control over the sound and whether you are recording or playing live the pickup system on the GA 43 SCE offers plenty of variable tone to suit most applications. A feedback buster will be necessary at higher volumes and something to consider if you plan to use it live and loud. This is certainly a beautiful looking guitar and is finished off very nicely. Extras like the tortoise shell binding and the abalone rosette adds a bit of class and the overall playability and build quality is excellent.
GC 42S…
This model is also part of the Grand series that Fender has released however the GC 42S is a Grand Concert size, which is somewhere between a dreadnaught and a Traveller or Parlour style acoustic. It has all the construction features like the GA 43 SCE but doesn’t have the flash pickup system or the cutaway. This guitar like all in the series has the slick action due to the low mass bridge design and has the feel of an electric due to the slightly narrower spacing.
I don’t see that as a problem especially if you have small hands. It’s very responsive right across the board and the overall feel in the player’s hands is comfortable to say the least. Due to the smaller body size, the GC 42S really excels in the midrange frequencies and strumming out chords will sound tight & balanced. The finish and hardware is what you come to expect from Fender and the GC 42S and the GA 43 SCE are fine examples of instruments produced in their traditional high quality manner. With acoustic guitars being as popular today than ever before, it’s good to know that you can rely on a company that has dedicated over 50 years to the business and continues to provide quality instruments and a wide variety of models to choose from.
If these two models don’t turn you on then a quick visit to www.fender.com may change your opinion especially when you see the incredible choice available. The best thing is to check it out for yourself either by visiting your nearest Fender dealer or get on the web and see what the wonderful world of Fender has in store.
What we reckon:
QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
BANG-F0R-YOUR-BUCK
OVERALL