Global guitar master, Fender approached ManvsMachine with the task of introducing their new game-changing guitar, The American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster – their best sounding, most playable, and versatile guitar yet.
The mission was to create a film that both educated & excited the audiences as to the boundless versatility and endless sonic possibilities of this incredible new instrument. Aware of the rich heritage behind Fender, ManvsMachine knew the film had to echo the companies’ legendary status whilst also look to the future and throw fresh light on the brand and this innovative, convention-breaking, new guitar.
There was no real “script” for the piece, just the tagline, “The Sonic Shapeshifter”, and a very specific list of guitars that Fender wanted us to communicate both visually and sonically. So, ManvsMachine dived straight into a long R&D phase to explore the idea of “shapeshifting” and also enlisted the help of multi-award-winning music and sound design studio, Resonate, which carved out the aural journey using only the product itself.
One of the key features of the guitar is the innovative new ‘Blend Knob’. By simply turning the knob, it allows the guitar to seamlessly shift between iconic acoustic voicings and big electric tones – bridging the gap between two worlds that had previously been opposed. The ‘cause & effect’ relationship between the rotation of the Mod Knob and its physical & aural transformations became a central conceit of the film.
The final film is a seamless mind-bending journey of sound and vision that showcases the incredible versatility of the instrument – a musical mutant that’s unafraid to twist and morph between acoustic and electric tones, unlikely body shapes, and cool tonewoods to create new sonic colors that defy definition.
