Heartfield

For the surname, see Heartfield (surname).

Heartfield was a short-lived American guitar manufacturing company, active from 1989 to 1993.

The company was a joint operation between the American and the Japanese branches of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Guitars were manufactured in Japan. Heartfield produced four models of guitars, each with various sub-model categories. The core models consisted of the RR, Elan, EX, and Talon.[1] The RR series was one of the first to offer retro styling while the Talon was a more mass-produced line targeting metal and hard rock guitarists. Some of the models had active electronics, including built-in effects.[2]

The Talon line of Heartfield guitars is a 'superstrat' design invoking a double-locking Floyd Rose Tremolo, a combination of single and humbucker pickups, jumbo frets, thin radius neck, and was aimed primarily at the heavy metal and hard rock genre. Despite a reputable build quality for having been made in the same factory as the Ibanez JEM guitar line, the Talon series incurred high sale prices that discouraged overall sales. At the time, sale prices for the high-end Talon V guitar were listed at $1169.99 USD.[3] The lack of sales was compounded by the failing value of the Yen in the early 1990s compared to the US Dollar. Add to this the overall decline in popularity of 'superstrat' guitars through the early 1990s (attributed to emerging non-metal genres such as grunge and alternative) and Heartfield was forced to end operations in 1993.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.heartfield-central.com/html/general.htm
  2. ↑ Bacon, Tony; Dave Burrluck; Paul Day; Michael Wright (2000). Electric Guitars: The Illustrated Encyclopedia. Thunder Bay. pp. 188–89. ISBN 978-1-57145-281-8.
  3. ↑ http://www.heartfield-central.com/html/talon5.htm
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