Winnipeg's Ariel Posen electrified with signature Fender Stratocaster crafted to his specifications

CBC

2 days ago

Ariel Posen has been a member of the Juno Award-winning Bros. Landreth and more recently a solo artist, but now the Winnipeg musician is sharing a stage with legends like George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Holly.
Fender, the storied electric guitar manufacturer, has created a signature Stratocaster in his honour, and named it after him.
"I'm just super grateful. It's not an opportunity everybody gets to experience," Posen told CBC Manitoba Information Radio host Marcy Markusa on Friday.
The limited edition model, which can be purchased by the public, was unveiled last week at the Fender factory in California.
Posen, 37, who has been playing guitar since he was nine, calls it a dream come true.
Every aspect is customized to his liking.
"I've had a relationship with the folks at Fender for a long time and I've always been experimenting with different configurations on instruments and trying stuff out," he said.
"I had been in contact with them, just letting them know about what I was doing and what I was thinking about doing."
During the discussion, the folks at Fender suddenly suggested "why don't we do a signature," said Posen, who has been recognized by Rolling Stone and Music Radar as one of the top guitarists in the world.
"I value them and I'd like to think they value me. I guess from their end, they saw … the potential of doing something unique with the ideas I was suggesting, which are nothing groundbreaking, but slightly different than what that model and that style of guitar usually includes," he said about Fender.
"It was an opportunity I couldn't really say no to."
That was 2½ years ago. The lengthy process involved prototypes and testing and tweaking.
"It wasn't like, 'OK, we finished the one model for you, we're going to announce it tomorrow. Hope you like it,'" Posen said with a laugh.
"This has been years of going back and forth, making sure it's right, and to be honest, they pretty much nailed the important things right out the gate."
Some of the customizations involved the neck profile, the pickups and "just little things in the electronics and the shape," Posen said.
"Every single detail was something that I wanted to do. It wasn't just like they said, 'Hey, why don't you just pick something off the website? You pick a colour and we'll make it.' Literally every aspect of it was something I suggested.
"It's a true representation of what I would do for my own guitar."
The Fender website says the maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and faded Lake Placid blue finish give the guitar the look and feel of a well-loved mid-'60s instrument, while it can "deliver anything from flowing, bell-like chime to gnarly, punchy tones."
When it was time to pick it up, Posen performed for the staff on the factory floor.
"We just tried to show them as much love and appreciation. I wanted to make them feel valued and special and play a couple songs for them," he said.
Posen is now preparing to take the new instrument on the road as he embarks next month on his Future Present Tense Tour, which will wrap up with a hometown date at Winnipeg's Park Theatre on Dec. 12.