Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Gig Bag
There are three universal truths in this galaxy: tea is sacred, socks disappear in the wash via interdimensional wormholes, and Fender makes shockingly good acoustic guitars that don’t require selling your precious bike to afford.
For over seventy years, Fender’s been the sonic glue holding together everything from surf rock to back alley blues. And now, thanks to a wormhole located behind the counter at Musicmaker in Dublin, you can get your hands on five of the finest, feistiest Fender acoustics this side of the Liffey—without draining your bank account. Let’s have a look, shall we?
1. Fender Redondo Mini Acoustic with Gig Bag – Natural
Oh, the Redondo Mini. If a travel guitar and a rock 'n' roll fever dream had a baby, this would be it. Small in stature but big on attitude, this plucky little creature is the acoustic equivalent of a stray dog that’s learned to play flamenco.
Spruce top, mahogany sides, a Strat-style headstock for that extra hint of rebellion—it’s the guitar you sling over your back when the open road calls, or when you’ve got exactly five minutes to catch the last bus to Whelan’s. It’s light, it’s loud, and it lives in a gig bag that’s more stylish than any jacket I own. Perfect for songwriting, sofa-surfing, and saucy serenading.
2. Fender Sonoran Mini, All Mahogany with Gig Bag – Natural
You can tell this one’s got soul just by looking at it. It’s the kind of guitar that leans against a tree in the park and waits patiently to tell you a story. Entirely mahogany from head to tail, the Sonoran Mini doesn’t just play music—it pours it like hot coffee on a cold morning.
It’s warm. It’s woody. It sounds like it already knows your best heartbreak.
And it travels well—bless its compact little dimensions. It comes with a gig bag because of course it does, and that bag might as well come with a sticker that says “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”
3. Fender FA-125CE Dreadnought Electro-Acoustic – Black
You ever walk into a pub and feel the walls lean in just slightly because they know something’s about to go down? That’s the FA-125CE. This dreadnought is the loud, brooding, plugged-in poet of the bunch.
Finished in black like a tuxedo at a rock funeral, this thing is ready. Spruce on top, basswood on the back, and a built-in pickup with EQ controls that are so user-friendly even a confused badger could work them out.
It’s the ideal guitar for that moment when you’ve got one foot on the stage and the other still in your own shadow. Take it to the session. Plug it in. Make everyone stop talking.
4. Fender CN-140SCE Nylon Thinline with Case – Black
Now here’s something truly interdimensional. The CN-140SCE is like the classy diplomat of the group, slipping through genre and time zones with nylon strings and not a single sharp edge. And it comes in a case—an actual hard case, not just a gig bag, because this guitar knows its worth.
This beauty is for players who like the feel of classical but the reality of needing to plug in at short notice. The thinline body keeps it comfortable, the Fishman preamp keeps it honest, and the satin black finish keeps it looking like it’s about to host a jazz noir detective podcast.
If you want the smooth sound of nylon with none of the “please don’t knock over my fragile antique” energy, this is the one.
5. Fender Villager 12-String, Walnut Fingerboard – Aged Natural
And then… oh, then there’s the Villager. The Fender Villager 12-String is not a guitar. It’s an event.
One strum, and the air ripples like someone’s opened a vintage jukebox in a wormhole. Twelve shimmering strings, each in perfect celestial alignment, producing a sound so rich, so harmonically glorious, that small woodland creatures may gather just to listen.
The Villager’s got an aged natural finish that looks like it’s already survived one glorious world tour and written three novels about it. The walnut fingerboard is smooth under your fingers, even as your brain tries to work out what planet you’re on after hitting a G chord that sounds like a choir of vintage Fenders singing in unison.
It’s not your everyday guitar. But then again, you're not an everyday player, are you?
Fender at Musicmaker – Intergalactically Good
Why Musicmaker? Because since the early 1980s, this iconic Dublin den of musical mayhem has been fuelling artists, dreamers, and mad geniuses with the finest gear and friendliest advice this side of the Milky Way.
They don’t just sell guitars. They match instruments to souls. They stock Fender’s best, and they’ll tell you honestly what’s right for you—even if it means letting go of that 12-string you don’t quite need (yet).
Every instrument here is priced for real life—not for fantasy. They’re meant to be played, scratched, gigged, loved, and tuned by ear in the back of a campervan at 3am.
So if you’re in Dublin, or just drifting nearby in the space-time continuum, drop in. The door’s open, the vibes are good, and your next Fender might just be hanging on the wall—waiting to sing.
Remember: the answer to life, the universe, and everything might be 42—but the soundtrack? That’s up to you. And ideally, it should be played on something with a walnut fingerboard and twelve glorious strings.
Check out some more delicious acoustics Here.
