Fano launches more affordable Standard Series guitars

As any of our reviews will tell you, we love Dennis Fano's mash-ups of classic guitar designs - the only problem is the price tags. Imagine our delight, then, when we learned that Fano has announced a more affordable line of guitars, the Standard Series.

Fano's Standard Series guitars feature many of the Premier Builders Guild company's signature traits - including, yes, the distressed finishes - but cut back on the more costly factors of building custom instruments. Two models are available: the JM6 (above) and SP6.

The Standard JM6 - we're sure you can guess what JM stands for - features an early '60s C-shaped maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, and alder body, and comes with a choice of hot P-90 or humbucker pickups, as well as Gotoh Vintage tuners and a TonePros tune-o-matic stop tailpiece.

Offering more of an LP Special vibe, the Standard SP6 boasts an alder body, bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, and a T-style control layout; pickups comprise a 'T' single coil in the bridge and P-90 in the neck, while Gotoh Vintage tuners and a three-saddle Fano 'T' bridge complete the hardware spec.

The Standard JM6 and SP6 are available now for $1,895, shaving a good grand or so off the usual Fano fare, and come in Olympic White, Bull Black, Ice Blue Metallic and Candy Apple Red (JM6 only) finishes - sign us up.

Michael Astley-Brown

Mike has been Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com since 2019, and an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict for far longer. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and 15 years' experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. His writing also appears in the The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock as Maebe.