Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist
  • Guitar Techniques
  • Total Guitar
  • Bass Player
More
  • How to make an AI cover song
  • 84000+ free music samples
  • Foo Fighters' new drummer
  • Ken Scott on recording The Beatles
  • First EVH Jump synth recording

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. News

Musikmesse 2011: Fender announces Pawn Shop Series

By Chris Vinnicombe
published 4 April 2011

Fender Pawn Shop Series
Three new models for lovers of retro chic

Fender Pawn Shop Series

Ahead of Frankfurt Musikmesse 2011, Fender has announced a brand new range of electric guitars inspired by some of its more leftfield instruments from the mid-1960s to the mid-'70s, and also the more recent Squier Vintage Modified '51 model. The Pawn Shop Series comprises the Fender '51, '72 and Mustang Special and looks set to inspire indie kids everywhere to reach for their wallets.

According to Fender, "These instruments draw inspiration from the eccentric and sometimes wildly innovative Fender creations of the mid-’60s to mid-’70s era that sometimes found their way to the outside world and into the more esoteric pages of Fender history.

"With this adventurous spirit in mind, Pawn Shop Series instruments emerge as all-new Fender guitars with a boldly creative alchemy of diverse Fender components. And while they are brand-new members of the Fender family crafted with thoroughly modern sound and quality, Pawn Shop Series instruments now take the stage with a remarkable new identity as "guitars that never were but should have been."

Click onwards to check out each of the new models in detail...

Page 1 of 4
Page 1 of 4
Pawn Shop Mustang Special (£839)
Available in Candy Apple Red and Lake Placid Blue

Pawn Shop Mustang Special (£839)

Fender says:

"The Pawn Shop Mustang Special is a classic in everything from a venerable Fender model name to its sleek amalgam of design elements and matchless tonal versatility. Its modified offset Mustang body imparts a sleek 1960s vibe, and its 24-inch short-scale maple neck with a '60s-era C shape is comfortable for those accustomed to vintage-style instruments.

"Other features include a rosewood fretboard with modern 9.5-inch radius and medium jumbo frets, dual Fender Enforcer humbucking pickups with '70s-style covers, pickup toggle switch, three-way coil selector slide switch for each humbucking pickup (enabling 18 different tonal options), mint green pickguard, '70s-style hardtail Stratocaster bridge, vintage-style tuners and strap buttons, and deluxe gig bag."

Page 2 of 4
Page 2 of 4
Pawn Shop Fender '51 (£755)
Available in Black and Blonde

Pawn Shop Fender '51 (£755)

Fender says:

"The Pawn Shop Fender ’51 melds Fender elements from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s into one truly distinctive-looking, dynamic-sounding guitar. It has a Stratocasterbody and a C-shaped Telecasterneck, with a single-coil Texas Specialneck pickup, Fender Enforcerhumbucking bridge pickup and an early-'50s Precision Bass-style dual-knob chrome control plate.

"Other features include a maple fretboard with modern 9.5-inch radius and medium jumbo frets, master volume control with push-pull coil split function to get single-coil tone from the humbucking bridge pickup, three-position rotary pickup selector knob, ’70s-style hard-tail Stratocaster bridge, vintage-style tuners and strap buttons, and deluxe gig bag."

Page 3 of 4
Page 3 of 4
Pawn Shop Fender '72 (from £803)
Available in Surf Green and Three Tone Sunburst

Pawn Shop Fender '72 (from £803)

Fender says:

"The Pawn Shop Fender ’72 presents an unusual combination of classic Fender design elements, not the least of which is its semi-hollow Stratocaster body with an f-hole. The result is a truly distinctive instrument with a huge sound.

"Other features include a U-shaped Telecaster neck, rosewood fretboard with modern 9.5-inch radius and 6105 frets, Fender Wide Range humbucking neck pickup and Fender Enforcer humbucking bridge pickup, early-’50s Precision Bass-style dual-knob chrome control plate with master volume and centre-detented pickup blend controls, ’70s-style hardtail Stratocaster bridge, ’70s-style Fender 'F' tuners, mint green pickguard, bullet truss rod, three-bolt neck attachment and deluxe gig bag."

Page 4 of 4
Page 4 of 4
Chris Vinnicombe
Social Links Navigation

Chris Vinnicombe worked with us here on the MusicRadar team from the site's initial launch way back in 2007, and also contributed to Guitarist magazine as Features Editor until 2014, as well as Total Guitar magazine, amongst others. These days he can be found at Gibson Guitars, where he is editor-in-chief.

More about guitars
Pil & Bue pedalboard

Pedalboard tour: how Petter Carlsen from the Norwegian duo Pil & Bue gets his juggernaut guitar tones

PEDALS

What makes overdrive, distortion and fuzz pedals different?

Latest
Radiohead OK Computer art

Karma Police: the story behind the Radiohead classic that started life as a tour bus catchphrase

See more latest ►
Most Popular
On our radar: Joe Kelly & The Royal Pharmacy – "Hearing Nebraska by Springsteen was a game changer for an indie kid growing up on a council estate"

By Rob Laing31 May 2023

The unlikely story of Aphex Twin's weirdest gig, when he DJ'd with sandpaper and stuck a microphone in a blender

By MusicRadar31 May 2023

Gryffin: "After I discovered deadmau5, Skrillex and Avicii, I immediately downloaded Ableton Live"

By Andy Price31 May 2023

Fender’s limited edition MIJ Hybrid II Stratocasters expands, offering specs and finishes previously only available in Japan

By Jonathan Horsley30 May 2023

Klevgrand’s Richter is a ‘tectonic’, super-heavy compressor plugin that the company thinks is off the scale

By Ben Rogerson30 May 2023

New Van Halen documentary takes us back to the early ‘80s to tell the story of how Eddie built 5150 Studios as the band were coming apart

By Jonathan Horsley30 May 2023

The Jura’s out: Air Music releases new plugin emulation of Roland’s Juno-60 synth

By Ben Rogerson30 May 2023

The "first producer to be transformed into AI", Cosm Bot is an AI chatbot and music production expert trained on 1000 hours of online tutorials

By Matt Mullen30 May 2023

Dave Mustaine’s signature Vs from Epiphone and Kramer are officially released and they look mighty thrashable

By Jonathan Horsley30 May 2023

The plugin deals are heating up with 50% off in Native Instruments' Summer of Sound sale

By Daryl Robertson30 May 2023

The RX1200 plugin could be the closest you’ll get to having an E-MU SP-1200 sampler inside your DAW

By Ben Rogerson30 May 2023

  1. And you can watch Mr Gilbert introduce them in the maximum shred demo video
    1
    Ibanez expands its Paul Gilbert signature series with the super classy, super shreddable PGM50 and PGM1000T
  2. 2
    The Jura’s out: Air Music releases new plugin emulation of Roland’s Juno-60 synth
  3. 3
    How to make an AI cover song with any artist's voice
  4. 4
    Mick Hucknall on the 10 songs that changed his life: “The Beatles changed the way music sounded, but the Stones were the world’s greatest rock band”
  5. 5
    People are going crazy for Nopia, the MIDI chord generator prototype that’s racked up 2.6m video views in 8 days
  1. Get your fifths and ninths in order as we explore one of the most identifiable pad sounds around
    1
    How to create the 'perfect fifths' synth pad
  2. 2
    The Jura’s out: Air Music releases new plugin emulation of Roland’s Juno-60 synth
  3. 3
    Mixing engineer Bob Clearmountain: “I shouldn’t say this, probably, but I think in a couple of years Dolby Atmos is going to go away”
  4. 4
    Mick Hucknall on the 10 songs that changed his life: “The Beatles changed the way music sounded, but the Stones were the world’s greatest rock band”
  5. 5
    “Nebraska was cut on crap equipment…” How Bruce Springsteen made his most important album in his bedroom with just a Gibson J-200 and a TEAC 144

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.