First Look: Fender’s new Grace VanderWaal Signature Ukuleles

The new Fender Grace VanderWaal signature ukuleles just landed at the Ukulele magazine offices.

The young star has two new signature ukuleles that just debuted, the Grace VanderWaal Moonlight soprano and a concert-sized Grace VanderWaal Signature. Both feature Fender’s distinctive Tele-style headstock with four-on-a-side tuners, walnut fingerboards, gold tuners, and a gold sparkle rosette.

At $99 street, the Moonlight soprano is clearly geared toward the fan who is excited about Grace’s music and wants to dive into playing the ukulele. The Moonlight features a navy blue satin finish and cream binding around the top.

The full-blown signature model is made of a laminated sapele body, and features a built-in electronics package so that players can plug in and be heard. In my initial impressions, I played the Signature through a Fishman portable PA system and was impressed with the even, balanced tone. The onboard EQ controls (bass, mid, and treble) would be helpful to tame errant frequencies, but I found my favorite sound by turning up and leaving the EQ set at the center detents, which were bypassing the controls for an untweaked tone.

Both ukes also feature a unique floral-motif label with Grace’s signature.

Look for  a full review in the Spring issue of Ukulele, but in the meantime, for more details and specs, check out Fender.com