Fender FA-235E Concert Review & Prices

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Fender FA-235E Concert Review
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  • From Fender's 2018 Fender Alternative series
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 25.3"'' scale
  • 11.81" Fretboard Radius
  • Flamed Maple top
  • Laminated Flame Maple top
  • Laminated Mahogany back
  • Laminated Mahogany sides
  • Nato neck
  • Walnut fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Fishman CD-1 Preamp (Preamp/Passive)
  • Walnut bridge
  • Acoustic C Shape Set neck
  • 20 Medium frets
  • Open-Back Geared tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 72
Sound 79
Build quality 72
Value for money 84
Overall Score 74
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender FA-235E Concert
  • Expensive Wood
  • Ivory Tusq Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Electronics
  • Ivory Tusq Saddle
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • Laminated Top Wood
  • Laminated Side Wood
  • Laminated Back Wood
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $330, which means that the Fender FA-235E Concert is within the average price asked for this kind of guitar. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in Indonesia.

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Your feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

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Is it Easy to Play?

The Fender FA-235E Concert meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's not bad for beginners, but it could be better. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

Fender FA-235E Concert
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Soft Strings
  • Locking tuners

Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Fender FA-235E Concert's construction favors people with relatively small hands.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Fender FA-235E Concert's 25.3" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Fender FA-235E Concert Scale Length Comparison
Fender FA-235E Concert's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is considered a long scale, but slightly shorter than what's commonly found in acoustic guitars.

Since the distance between bridge and nut is relatively long, strings will feel stiff and more difficult to bend, but the tone will feel brighter. It will also be less likely to produce fret buzzing and rattling when strumming hard.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Fender FA-235E Concert Neck Profile
Fender FA-235E Concert's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.

Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.

More for different hand sizes

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Fender FA-235E Concert has a 11.81" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Fender FA-235E Concert Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Fender FA-235E Concert's fretboard radius compared to others

The main advantage of an 11.81-inches fretboard radius guitar is that it provides more room for the fingers to move around on the fretboard. This can be especially helpful for players with large hands or who want to use wide vibrato techniques. Additionally, the increased radius can make string bends easier to execute.

A disadvantage of this type of guitar is that it can be more difficult to control when playing at high speeds; some players may find that their hands “slide off” the fretboard more easily. Additionally, guitars with a larger radius may require higher action (the distance between the strings and the fretboard) in order to avoid buzzing sounds when fretted notes are played.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Fender FA-235E Concert has the same radius across the board.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

25.3'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
11.81'' Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
Asymmetrical Neck Profile
1.752'' Nut Width
15.748'' Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.772'' Nut Width
15.75'' Fretboard Radius
25.6'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.772'' Nut Width
15.748'' Fretboard Radius
25.3'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
15.748'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Fender FA-235E Concert Nut Width
Fender FA-235E Concert Nut Width

The Fender FA-235E Concert has a nut width of 43mm (1.693''). This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Frets

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

More with the same amount of frets:

Fret Size

Fender FA-235E Concert Fret Size Comparison
Fender FA-235E Concert's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Fender FA-235E Concert's frets are Medium size. With medium frets, you can feel the fretboard more than with jumbo frets, but it's still easier to press the strings cleanly than with small frets; notes might change their pitch just slightly if you press hard on the fret. Also, if you need to do some fret leveling after years of playing, you'll have some room to sand them down without having to replace them.

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 70
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 75
Playability 72

Tone Analysis

The type of wood and even the shape of the body will have a lot of influence in the final tone of an acoustic guitar. Here's we'll talk about what kind of tone you can expect from its specs.

Wood

Flame Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Flame Maple Top
Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany Back, Sides
Nato wood pattern used for guitar building
Nato Neck
Walnut wood pattern used for guitar building
Walnut Fretboard

Flame Maple Top: This wood has beautiful patterns only found in specific types of maple.

Mahogany Back and Sides: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.

Nato Neck: This wood is also known as Eastern Mahogany because it's very similar to Mahogany, although it is cheaper.

Walnut Fretboard: It's a hard wood with a chocolate color that is often used to give an elegant finish. Since it's quite expensive and rare, it's mostly used for guitar tops.

Pickups

This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: Fishman. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.

Sound Score

Sustain 65
Versatility 80
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 79

Build Quality Analysis

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Fender FA-235E Concert is made in Indonesia. Many people prefer the quality of an Indonesian guitar over a Chinese. Respectable brands like Epiphone, Ibanez and Schecter are building in this country because of the great quality and lower price. Some people like to compare them to the ones built in Japan during the 80s, when Japanese guitar makers made a name for themselves.

Bridge

Walnut: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Fender FA-235E Concert has a Ivory Tusq nut. This material is made to look, feel and sound like Ivory. It's made of organic polymers and doesn't contain oil or animal products. This is probably the highest quality nut you can get, so you can expect good tune stability and more clear tones when playing open strings. Most people seem to agree that it looks nicer than any plastic and even some bone nuts.

More with the same nut material:

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 65
Features 85
Quality Control 65
Build Quality 72

All Specs

Fender FA-235E Concert
General
Brand: Fender
Year: 2018
Configuration:
Strings: 6
Made in: Indonesia
Series: Fender Alternative
Colors: Natural
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Top: Flamed Maple
Type: Hollowbody
Body Material: Laminated Flame Maple
Bridge: Walnut
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: Open-Back Geared
Fretboard: Walnut
Neck Material: Nato
Decoration: Pearloid Keystone
Scale Size: 25.3"
Shape: Acoustic C Shape
Frets: 20 Medium
Fretboard Radius: 11.81"
Nut: Ivory Tusq
Nut Width: 43mm (1.693'')
Electronics
Switch: 0 Way
Knobs:
Volume Controls: 0
Tone Controls: 0
Bridge Pickup: Fishman CD-1 Preamp (Preamp / Passive)

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