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I found a fantastic guitar I want to tell you about – the Fender Villager 12 string Acoustic Guitar. It’s a masterpiece from Fender’s California player series.
When you play it, the sound is full and vibrant. The people who made it paid much attention to every little detail, so it’s not just a guitar; it’s a work of art.
Let me tell you all the cool things about the Fender Villager 12 string that make it unique in guitars. Let’s dive in!
| Made In | China |
| Model | Villager 12 String |
| Body | Dreadnought |
| Top | Solid Spruce |
| Neck | Mahogany |
| Scale | 24.72″ (628 mm) |
| Nut Width | 1.77″ (45 mm) |
| Weight | 11 lbs |
| Fretboard | Walnut |
| Frets | 20 |
| Tuning Machines | Vintage-style Tuning Machines |
| Bracing | Forward Shifted Scalloped X |
| Electronics | Fishman CD-1 pickup/preamp system |
| Bridge | Modern Viking and a Nubone Nut |
| Inlays | Dot |
| Truss Rod | Dual Action |
| Case | Included |
| Design | Cutaway Newporter |
| Colors | Black |
If you are looking for affordable guitars, please check out our list of budget 12-string guitars; you might find your desired one.
Fender Body
The Newporter Shape
The first thing that struck me about the Fender Villager 12 string is its captivating body shape—the Newporter. This shape strikes a balance between traditional and contemporary aesthetics.
Find more about guitar body shapes here.
It offers a comfortable playing experience while exuding a sense of sophistication. The Newporter’s sleek curves provide excellent access to higher frets, making it a versatile choice for strumming and fingerstyle techniques. Its body binding in aged white adds a touch of elegance, accentuating the guitar’s overall aesthetic appeal.
Dimensions
Thanks to its Newporter shape, the Fender Villager 12 string’s body dimensions provide a balanced and ergonomic playing experience. With a scale length of 24.72 inches (628 mm), the guitar offers a comfortable reach across its 20 frets.
The 2mm fret size balances playability and stability, allowing for precise intonation and comfortable finger placement.
Finishing
The body finish is the final layer of protection for the wood of the guitar body. This guitar has a gloss poly finish, which is known for its durability and shine. It gives the guitar its shine and protects it from damage.
Having direct experience with this guitar, I can testify that the glossy finish gives a classic appearance that will appeal to a wide range of artists.
Solid Spruce Top: The Heart Of The Sound
The Fender Villager 12 string boasts a solid spruce top that serves as the tonal heart of the instrument.
Solid spruce is renowned for its ability to project sound with clarity and depth, making it an ideal choice for an acoustic guitar’s top. This top wood choice ensures the guitar produces a rich and balanced tone.
Sapele Back And Sides: A Balanced Resonance
When you’ve got sapele wood on the back and sides of a guitar like the Fender Villager 12-String, it adds depth and complexity to the overall sound. It boosts those middle-range notes, so the guitar sounds full and strong. That’s a big plus, especially if you want your 12-string guitar to make each note super clear while keeping that warm and inviting sound.
Sapele wood, a tropical hardwood, sounds like a close cousin to mahogany. It’s famous for giving guitars a warm, well-balanced sound with a hint of brightness. That’s why it’s a smart pick for making acoustic guitars like the Fender Villager 12-String.
And you know what’s cool? Sapele wood also looks fantastic with its lovely grain pattern. So, not only does it make the guitar sound great, but it also makes it look extraordinary whether you’re playing on stage or just jamming with friends.
Hardware
The guitar’s hardware refers to the many metal and plastic pieces comprising the instrument. If you choose an acoustic guitar based on its hardware, ensure it is of excellent quality and appears strong enough to sustain regular usage. We know Fender acoustic guitars are famous for their durability and reliability. But let’s check some of the features closely.
Tuner: Perfecting Your Stage Presence
The Fender Villager 12-string guitar has a built-in tuner. This means you don’t need a separate tuner to tune your guitar. The tuner is located on the guitar’s headstock and is easy to use.
To use the tuner, strum the guitar string, and the tuner will display the frequency of the sound wave. If the string is in tune, the frequency will be the same as that of the standard note. If the string is out of tune, the frequency will be different. You can then adjust the tuning pegs on the guitar to bring the string into tune.
Fishman Preamp
The Fishman preamp on the Fender Villager 12 string offers a range of controls, including volume, bass, and treble. It allows you to amplify the guitar’s natural sound while retaining its acoustic character. This level of control empowers you to fine-tune your sound to suit any venue or musical style.
The Hockey Stick Headstock
The 6-in-line matching painted headstock adds visual appeal and demonstrates Fender’s commitment to delivering a cohesive and polished design. The hockey stick headstock‘s meticulous craftsmanship is a testament to the brand’s legacy of creating functional and visually striking instruments.
Slim-Taper “C”- Shaped Neck: Playability Redefined
The slim-taper neck ensures a smooth and enjoyable playing experience. As someone who values comfortable playability, the slim-taper “C”-shaped mahogany neck of the Fender Villager 12 string immediately caught my attention. This neck profile strikes the perfect balance between substantial support and effortless maneuverability.
A thin neck like this makes moving your hand on the guitar’s neck easier, which is great for playing fast solos, especially if you like to keep your thumb free when playing high notes. However, thin necks are not as strong as thicker ones and might need more adjustments.
Also, the type of wood used for the neck can affect how easy it is to play and how the guitar sounds. Different types of wood have different traits that change how the vibrations of the strings behave. The Fender Villager 12-string guitar has a mahogany neck, which provides a good balance of feel and tone.
Crafting Excellence
Fingerboard
The fingerboard’s 12-inch radius provides a comfortable platform for chord-based playing and lead work, accommodating a wide range of playing styles. Gibson utilizes this radius in the majority of its guitars.
You can observe that it’s much flatter than the other well-known radius of Fender Stratocasters. Guitars with this radius are often designed to provide a nice blend of single-note and chord playing.
Frets
The Fender Villager 12-String guitar comes with nickel silver frets, which might not last as long as stainless steel ones. If you play your guitar a lot, you may need to replace these frets after a few years, but most people switch to new guitars before that’s necessary. These frets are of medium size, meaning you can feel the fretboard, but they’re easier to press cleanly than smaller frets.
If you press hard, the notes might change pitch slightly. If you ever need to do some fret maintenance after years of playing, you’ll have room to sand down these medium-sized frets without replacing them.
Nut
The Fender Villager 12-string guitar has a GraphTech NuBone nut. NuBone is a synthetic material made from the same material as Ivory TUSQ, but it is not as hard. NuBone is a good choice for 12-string guitars because it is less likely to crack or chip. NuBone is also self-lubricating, which helps to improve tuning stability.
The Fender Villager 12-string guitar nut is 1.77 inches (45 mm) wide. This is a standard nut width for a 12-string guitar. A wider nut width will give you more space between the strings, making it easier to play chords. However, a wider nut width can also make it more difficult to play single notes.
Bridge
The choice of walnut for the fingerboard and bridge of the Fender Villager 12 string showcases a blend of aesthetics and functionality. Walnut’s rich, dark hues contribute to the guitar’s overall visual allure, and its durability ensures that your instrument will withstand the test of time.
It also features a contemporary Viking bridge adorned with cream-colored pins accented by black dots and a saddle crafted from Graph Tech Nubone. These components are crucial in shaping the guitar’s tone and playability.
Specifically, the 12-string bridge transmits string vibrations to the guitar’s body.
Pros and Cons of the Fender Villager 12 string
Pros:
- Rich and Balanced Tone:
Combining a solid spruce top and sapele back and sides results in a tonally versatile instrument with a rich and balanced sound. Check out 12 string guitar songs that you can play on this guitar.
- Elegant Design:
The Newporter body shape, aged white binding, and matching painted headstock contribute to a visually stunning aesthetic.
- Fishman Electronics:
The Fishman preamp and tuner provide excellent amplification options and ensure you’re always in tune, making it ideal for live performances.
Cons:
- Complex Stringing:
Stringing and tuning a 12-string guitar can be slightly more time-consuming and challenging than a standard 6-string guitar.
Final Words
In acoustic guitars, the Fender Villager 12 string is an excellent example of how Fender makes really good guitars. This guitar is designed to improve your playing experience.
No matter what genre you play, this guitar can help you do it. It looks nice, is easy to play, and sounds excellent. If you’re a guitarist, you’ll like this guitar.
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