In the meantime, I’d like you to meet Max artists, dealers, and vendors to solve problems. As I went to Avid and worked on that kind of
Gutnik. Max is a serious heavyweight who has To make the best instruments we can and to stuff, it was of interest to me to get closer to my
worked at a number of the most esteemed inspire creativity in all of the Fender faithful roots. Line 6 was a great step in that direction. I
companies in the business. I will once again around the world. got to work on things like Helix, Amplifi, and the
HD500X, all of that from a digital standpoint.
remind you that Fender reached out to us with
this interview request, so it is with great pleasure [WM] Your background includes working for When I went to Duncan it was really to get at
that I get to introduce you to Max Gutnik! Apogee, Avid (Digidesign at the time), Line 6, the nuts and bolts of the guitar, the heartbeat of
and Seymour Duncan on products like Eleven the thing that matters. And then the culmination
[WM] Max, your official title is Vice President Rack, Helix, and Palladium. Ironically, as you’ve of that was coming to Fender, which is kind of
VP of Fender Guitars and Basses. Can you tell moved through the industry you’ve moved the dream gig for someone like me.
us about the things you’re responsible for as further away from the digital into the analog well as some of the day-to-day things you do world. Noting the massive number of guitars Everything I’ve done up to this point informs
to make that happen? in the Player Series offering, were there any how to make the best instruments with the
particular experiences that you could point to team. This is the center of the universe when
that prepared you for this? it comes to all of the other products that I’ve
[Max Gutnik] Sure. I’m responsible for
worked on, so it feels really good to be planted
stewarding the business from a product and
a product portfolio perspective. My team and [Max] I identify my authentic self as a guitar squarely at the root of everything that matters
I work on the Fender brand guitars and basses player if you will, the digital side of my career to me.
across all of the different series. We plan the was always an ancillary aspect to getting road maps for the products over a multi-year things done as a guitar player. Whether it was [WM] You’ve been in this role for seven
period. As you saw at NAMM we’re doing a lot recording, producing, songwriting, solving live months, so considering the breadth of the
here with the Player Series, we have some new problems with things like modelers and stuff Player Series, how much of a road map for
artist products, and we have some new limited like that it was from a guitarist perspective. this series was already in the works when you
stepped into your role?
stuff coming out. We work with customers,
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