California is synonymous with a vibe: chill, carefree, and relaxed, with an air of clarity and a focus on the sweeter parts of life. Fender, a Californian company in both geography and spirit, brings this together in the California Standard Monterey E, a small-bodied acoustic, expanding their seemingly endless line of guitars. The California Series offers a huge range of body shapes, finishes, pickup options and wood components, offering something for everyone. Offering the Redondo down to smaller parlour-style guitars and even an acoustic bass, the Monterey is in good company.
In a world of big-bodied, boisterous guitars, the California Standard Monterey E makes a stand. The smaller body packs a punch sonically, but also makes it an ideal travelling guitar, as well as a studio secret weapon. The smaller body size focuses the tonality into a tighter space, providing a punchy and forward sound, perfect to accompany a folky vocal or country singer. A smaller upper bout provides added comfort and access to higher frets if needed, but you can bet your bottom dollar that just sweetly strumming chords will have you in bliss.
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The California Standard Monterey E is an orchestra-style guitar, sitting somewhere between a parlour size and auditorium, projecting well and doing away with low-end rumble and mud due to its size.
It’s comfortable in the hands and against the body, the acoustic quality resonating nicely against you as you push and pull in your performance. The neck finish helps keep you grounded, the gloss finish with just enough stick to stay put—but not overtly grippy as to affect your playing. The small body size pushes the mids and highs to the fore, perfect for bluegrass pickin’, folky strumming and acoustic noodling.
Natural Sapele is a gorgeous, warm finish, with the wood grains visible and striking beneath the clear coating. The walnut fretboard provides a warm yet delicate sound, adding to the body of the guitar’s tone, while adding clarity to notes and chords—meaning each note within a chord can shine through. This guitar provides everything you need and nothing you don’t: bright, snappy acoustic quality and a practical body size for comfort.
The guitar responded well dynamically, serving to level out the volume overall, as well as allowing you to really dig in here and there if needed. Sonically, nothing sounded blown out or conversely undercooked, whether played acoustically or amplified, the tone and timbre remaining constant no matter the style.
The California Standard Monterey E features a laminated sapele body and sides and is finished in gloss polyurethane. It features ivory binding and an inlaid dual ring rosette and a Modern Viking style bridge to complete the look, the bridge itself being oiled walnut to match the fretboard. 20 vintage-size frets litter the fretboard, the body connecting to the body at the 14th fret. The neck is a slim “C”-shaped profile, coupled with a very comfortable 25.5” inch scale that’ll feel very comfortable for Fender devotees. A Micarta nut and Die-Cast Sealed complete the solid, reliable build.
One handy addition is the electronics, featuring a volume, tone, integrated electronic tuner and low battery indicator light. The output jack is conveniently located on the bottom strap button, preserving acoustic integrity by not adding an extra hole for the output jack like on some other guitars.
The Monterey™ E did well to stay in tune throughout noodling and strumming, the matched wood of the fretboard and bridge doing their job to keep the strings at consistent tension as wood expands and contracts. The nut, made from Micarta, secured the strings and aided in stable tuning but provided its own unique, warm tonal quality as the strings resonated and vibrated through it. The die-cast tuners felt smooth, accurate and comfortable to tweak, though if I’m being honest, they barely needed to be touched!
The California Standard series overall builds on Fender’s legacy of well-made guitars for all budgets and levels of expertise. No matter the model, Fender’s world-renowned designs tie together a level of expertise and forward momentum that results in guitars that bring together contemporary design philosophy and a legacy in the familiarity of a guitar that feels like home.
Fender’s foray into the world of acoustic guitars isn’t new, but they’re continuing to push boundaries as their famous electrics like the Tele and Strat have for almost a hundred years. Combining tried and true designs with forward-thinking additions, Fender knows guitars, and they keep their ear to the ground when looking to branch out. The California Standard Monterey E is clear evidence, succinctly bringing together form and function into a great-looking and sounding guitar.
The Monterey E is equally adept as a guitar to keep handy around the house for occasional strums, budding ideas when inspiration strikes, or as a studio, stage and recording tool thanks to the great-sounding pickup. Acoustically, the guitar sounds great as well, so electronics aside, you’ve got a great-sounding instrument.
An orchestra-sized guitar is a great addition to any and every guitarist’s collection, the unique colours available adding to its allure. The California Standard Monterey E should be your next guitar, because it might very well be mine.
