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Steve Lacy has reached a “full-circle moment” in his career. The 24-year-old singer-songwriter, musician and producer has teamed with Fender for his very own guitar.
“This guitar means so much to me. It’s a full-circle moment,” Lacy says in a statement to Billboard on Tuesday (May 10). “My first guitar was a Squier [Stratocaster]. It was the box set that came with an amp, case, quarter inch — the whole 9. Now I have my very own Fender Stratocaster guitar.”
Named after his crowd-pleasing sounds, the Steve Lacy x Fender People Pleaser Stratocaster Guitar ($1,399.99) represents the Compton native’s evolution from indie artist to chart-topping, Grammy-winning music star.
“The People Pleaser Strat, in a nutshell, is my dream guitar as a kid when I first started playing and my dream guitar as the guitarist I am today. An ode to the old classic design that Fender is known for with all the new specs that make a guitar feel like home,” Lacy continued. “I hope everyone gets to experience the feeling of this guitar. I’m excited to see what people make with it.”
The People Pleaser Strat is designed to craft a range of tones. It features a vintage-style synchronized tremolo with modern upgrades like Fender’s trademarked Player Plus Noiseless pickups and a powerful integrated fuzz circuit, which can create “classic dirty tones ranging from over drive to all out fuzz,” according to a press release from Fender.
The People Pleaser mirrors Lacy’s unique aesthetic with special features such as a green/blue checkered back plate, custom double dice inlay, and a neck plate engraved with Lacy’s original artwork.
“We aimed to design a guitar that not only represents Fender’s unwavering dedication to quality but also mirrors Steve’s distinctive character and individuality,” noted Justin Norvell, EVP of product for Fender. “Steve is a longtime collaborator and fan of the brand, and Fender is proud to introduce one of our most innovative designs to date, which includes a brand-new chaos burst finish, that matches his eclectic personality, and a powerful integrated custom-voiced fuzz circuit, that delivers aggressive distorted tones for howling chords and solos.
To celebrate the launch, Lacy and his signature guitar star in a photo and video campaign filmed by videographer Tino Shaedler and shot by Mason Rose.
See the launch video below.
