“Owens forever transformed country music”: Fender’s new Buck Owens signature guitars honor the late country great and revive some of his oldest custom guitar designs
The Bakersfield Sound pioneer and influential country icon was known for playing his custom red, white and blue guitars – and now they're officially back
Exploring the Buck Owens Collection | Artist Signature Series | Fender - YouTube
Fender has honored the late country great Buck Owens with a pair of signature guitars – the Limited Edition Buck Owens Telecaster, and the Buck Owens Kingman.
Through his music with the Buckaroos, Owens pioneered the celebrated ‘Bakersfield Sound’, and is widely recognized as one of country music’s all time greats. Indeed, he’s been honored with places in the Country and Nashville Songwriters Halls of Fame.
To further celebrate his legacy, Fender has unveiled an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar that both pay homage to some of Owens’ most notable and earliest instruments.
The first is a Telecaster that boasts the same Blue, Red and White Sparkle finish that was used on an older limited edition run of Buck Owens Teles way back in the late 1990s. A second run took place in 2002, but since then, this particular electric has been rather elusive.
And, so, Fender has faithfully revived the design, which was favored by Owens – along with another silver sparkle Telecaster – throughout much of his career.
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(Image credit: Fender)
(Image credit: Fender)
Under the bling, it’s a regular Tele at heart, boasting a bound alder body, late 1950s C-shaped maple neck and vintage 7.25” radius maple fretboard. A pair of Buck Owens single-coils are tasked with delivering that famed Bakersfield Sound.
Finishing touches include a matching three-color sparkle finish headstock, gold hardware, and a three-saddle strings-through-body bridge, as well as a gold mirror pickguard.
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It’s joined by a similarly styled Kingman acoustic, which looks to recreate the vibe of the red/white/blue Harmony H169 that has become synonymous with Owens’ image and sound.
That particular Harmony – the earliest of which was designed in the mid 1960s – was especially influential in shaping the Bakersfield Sound, and was used by Owens during his various Hee Haw Show television appearances in the 1960s and 1970s.
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(Image credit: Fender)
(Image credit: Fender)
Fender has put its own spin on Owens’ most iconic acoustic – with a few appropriate modern tweaks to boot – strapping a spruce top and mahogany back and sides with that same ultra-patriotic colorway.
Performance X Bracing can be found under the hood, as can Fishman Presys VT Plus electronics. Standard specs include a 25.5” scale length, C-profile neck, and a tilt back six-in-a-line headstock (that has the blue colorway, natch), as well as block-inlaid bound rosewood fretboard.
“As a pioneer of the raw, electrified “Bakersfield Sound” and a co-host of the hit TV variety show Hee Haw in the late 1960s and ‘70s, Owens forever transformed country music,” Fender writes. “Now, players can channel his spirit with two very different guitars.”
The Buck Owens Telecaster and Kingman are available now for $1,999 and $699, respectively.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
