This is Fender’s new Tweed Monterey. No, it’s not a tweed-covered guitar amp from the 1950s, although it certainly looks just like one. It is, in fact, the sweetest-looking Bluetooth speaker I’ve ever seen. It might not be the most practical, most portable or even best sounding Bluetooth speaker around. But if you want people to think you play guitar, this is the perfect accessory for your fake sleeve tattoos.
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Fender Tweed Monterey Bluetooth speaker
The Tweed Monterey is the follow-up to Fender’s existing “Blackface” Monterey speaker , with just cosmetic differences. The jewel-light power lamp is red instead of blue. Plus, the bass, treble and volume knobs use Fender’s “chicken head” design instead of the “witch hats” of the existing model. The Monterey’s case and grille cloth are styled like Fender’s iconic tweed-covered amps.
Inside the Tweed Monterey speaker, you get two woofers and two tweeters, putting out a total of 120 watts. In addition to aptX and AAC Bluetooth, you can hook up your audio either via a 3.5mm jack or a pair of standard RCA inputs.
In tests, What Hi-Fi liked the sound of Fender’s black-and-silver Blackface speaker, calling it “a diverting alternative to the best Bluetooth speakers around but not a serious rival.” It also commented on the sheer volume this thing can produce:
It’s worth noting that, although the three rotary controls are marked ‘1’ to ‘10’ in the guitar-amp manner, choosing ‘5’ as a safe middle ground is not good – it’s too loud, too bassy, too trebly, altogether too much. Nice to know the Fender Monterey can go unconscionably loud, mind you.
It’s also heavy, at 15 pounds (or 6.80 kilos) — just like a real guitar amp. It also requires mains power to use. I like it, but I’d never buy one because I think it would look weird next to a real guitar amp. Then again, I also don’t have any sleeve tattoos, real or fake.
Buy from: Amazon
