The Fender GDS-80 S NAT features a single cutaway dreadnought body with a solid Sitka AAA spruce or cedar top and solid mahogany back and sides. The top is gloss varnished with a transparent varnish, the back and sides also have a transparent, dark finish revealing the texture of the wood. The guitar is offered in two more brighter finishes – satin and glossy. There is black binding on both edges of the body. The impressive bridge is made of rosewood, the pins are located in a lowered milling in the rear part.
The C-profile mahogany neck has a dark satin finish and a 16″ radius rosewood fingerboard with binding, precisely studded with 20 rounded medium frets; positions on the fingerboard are marked with round markers made of light mother of pearl. From the side of the soundhole, we have an adjustment of the tension rod, and the neck is crowned with a shapely head with closed oil keys with a ratio of 18:1, mounted on both sides in a 3+3 arrangement. The front of the headstock, surrounded by cream binding, is decorated with Indian rosewood veneer with a central pearl inlay and the brand’s logo on the top, also made of mother of pearl. The whole is complemented by a 45 mm long Tusq saddle. High-end Fishman electronics with an under-bridge piezo pickup are on board.
The scale of the instrument is 648 mm.

IMPRESSIONSKnowing the reputation of the Fender brand and its attention to the quality of instruments, we can’t expect anything else from the acoustic S – the tested model GDS-80 S is manufactured in the USA, additionally the guitar undergoes strict quality control, as evidenced by the attached, signed inspection card.

Details, high-class solid wood, the quality of the body varnish and the beautiful satin of the neck, the filling and finishing of the frets and all the accessories – these elements say that we are dealing here with a really high shelf of acoustic guitars. Despite everything, at a considerable price, a company case or at least a solid gig-bag would be useful here. Setup does not cause any difficulties when playing, although we can easily adjust the bridge saddle and lower the strings – here, like most manufacturers, Fender leaves this operation to the discretion of the users’ preferences and needs. The shallow finish of the neck is very pleasant to the hand, as is the comfortable profile of the neck, and the very nice natural finish supported by binding with ornamentation and dark, transparent varnish of the rest of the body looks very effective and natural. The whole is complemented by smoothly and precisely working keys and exemplary intonation.

SOUND

Acoustically, the guitar presents a very deep tone that is expected from a full-sized high-end dreadnought body. The high presence does not disappear with a light stroke and the bass is round and dynamic, maintaining clarity and balance at any volume level. The prominent center is also noticeable, which nicely exposes the timbre picked up by the microphone in the mix. With a stronger attack, the inner strings in the middle band sharpen, but it is easy to control it thanks to the natural treble and nicely complementing the whole bass. What is very important, the guitar inspires to play with articulation and performs particularly well with broadly understood chord playing – from a strongly extended fingerstyle, through spread arpeggios played with a pick, to stronger beating of full chords. This is an instrument aspiring to the professional shelf – class sound goes hand in hand with the finish of details and good materials

The on-board preamp is equally high-class and offers a wide range of timbre correction – from a two-stage, very useful upper frequency adjustment: the traditional Treble and Brilliance responsible for the high presence, which we will add glassiness with light playing, and effectively tone down the treble and more metallic sound of the strings with stronger attack, to a parametric midrange, operating in a wide range of frequencies. You can easily find here a quick undercut for playing chords or a slight boost for solo runs. At hand, next to a precisely working tuner, we also have an effective Notch filter to help with feedback, so the FD28 will work alongside studio recordings also on a demanding stage.
SUMMARY

The Fender GDS-60 is a very elegant and stylish acoustic guitar designed for experienced musicians who value the quality of sound and performance of the instrument. The GDS-60 model offers a full, natural acoustic sound combining tight, clear bass, strong midrange and subtle treble that responds very well to articulation. Another advantage is the onboard Fishman preamp, which provides a wide range of tone shaping possibilities that are useful in the studio and on stage.
Unfortunately, the model is practically unavailable on the market – literally 10 commemorative copies were produced for the Japanese importer.