The Fender 'Arm the Homeless Guitar' is Short-circuiting Everyone's Brains

"The socialist is selling a $1600 guitar."

"Rage on behalf of the machine."

"That's too much money for a MiM guitar!"

Look, I get it. That guitar is priced in a way so not everyone can buy it. And it's almost hard to make the argument that Tom Morello hasn't sold out (you could have probably starting making that argument in 2007 when he appeared next to Slash in Guitar Hero 3). But as a guy who loves (and buys) super strats, I think a lot of the complaining about the pricing on this guitar is not in touch with reality. I've seen people online that literally think this guitar should be priced like a MiM hardtail, and that isn't realistic. I don't really think the pricing here was really unpredictable, but it makes a lot of people uncomfortable because almost nobody really wants to spend that much money on this.

Different models of value

What are we buying when we buy a guitar? It's not the same to different people. Most players would say that they prefer buying guitars that they find "inspiring" (for reasons that will vary dramatically from person to person), but beyond that, there are competing models of value.

In the hero image for this article, I took the new Fender (source: Fender, used under fair use) version of the Arm the Homeless guitar and put it next to my ESP-LTD James Hetfield Snakebyte. That's an example of an instrument that nobody pretends is cheap, but it's a good value in terms to get gear roughly up to Metallica touring spec without paying used car prices.

Fender has programmed its buyers well to think in terms of price tiers that are defined largely by national origin, and this naturally results in people that will compare this to American lines of Strats and Teles. But those are mechanically simpler guitars. There are very few guitars in Fender's normal lineup with a Floyd, I don't think any under $1000.

Any locking-trem guitar is sort of a double luxury item from a working class perspective, which causes tension because it is an area where quality/expensive are necessary once you go that route. Not only is a Floyd Rose more expensive initially and to maintain, but I think you kind of need other guitars too since it is nontrivial to change strings and retune it (even for a luthier) and more expensive to set up (so you want to not have to do it frequently if money is an issue/uncertain).

For new Charvels (a brand owned by Fender) with a Floyd Rose 1000, $900 to $1050 seems to be the current price floor. And I think those made in Mexico Charvels actually offer a lot of value at that price point. I paid that latter number above for my HSS So-Cal, and it wasn't perfect out of the box from a setup perspective. But, overall, it is a great, versatile guitar that's just so expressive.

Many metal artist signature guitars end up in this $1500-$1700 range, and I don't think people complain about it this much. My ESP-LTD Snakebyte is such a guitar, and I don't really think that guitar gets a bad rap. It think it is somewhat respected as a decent aspirational buy if you are a big Metallica fan who wants to sound like them with EMGs (BTW I got mine as a B-stock... paying the full price for that instrument with a case actually did seem questionable). If 'Arm the Homeless is not worth that money for its features, there are a lot of other artist signature guitars out there in the metal world that are equally questionable. The LTD version of the Snakebyte for example, is again another guitar that is mechanically simpler than Arm the Homeless. Also, I think locking tuners are always worth paying for because they buy back time in the form of quicker string changes. (maybe fewer takes ruined by being out of tune too). But at the end of the day, these kinds of guitars, even if expensive, aren't really the worst thing IMO. They just aren't everyone's idea of money well-spent (and you can say that about just about anything in the guitar world).

Fender's 50th anniversary collection for Iron Maiden, also announced this month, is another example with various instruments in this price range where the value might be even more questionable. For example, the Jackson (another brand Fender bought) Adrian Smith SC1 looks awesome (though I am clearly biased in saying that as the owner of multiple SoCals), but guitar center has it listed at an even more out of reach $1799 and cites Indonesia as the country of manufacture.

Anyway, I really don't think Tom would approve this if any part of the guitar was a blatant compromise. And to be clear, if they put a Floyd Rose Special on it to hit a ~$700 price point, that would have been an even more offensive example of late-stage capitalism gone amok. At that price, it would be a toy with inferior materials, hardware, and QC. That could potentially go a long way to defang RATM's message.

Crucially, this Tom Morello Fender includes a hard case, another thing a lot of critical views on the internet like to gloss over. Combine this with the fact that the neck is not a mass-produced design, and a guitar in that price range is not a terrible deal. If this package were $1000, it would likely be a steal, but still a lot of money for something where the main purpose is Tom Morello cosplay.

This guitar was always going to be on the outer limits of working-class affordability, and I think that unresolved contradiction, given Tom's politics, was always going to drive people nuts.

Can we make some popcorn and watch corporations squirm here?

Definitely! I think that's a great idea actually. Maybe, from Tom's perspective, this was the whole point of the guitar.

How many other artists out there could get Fender to build a signature guitar like this and not call it a "Stratocaster" or "Super Stratocaster"? There is a single one I'm confident enough about . And given how much effort Fender goes through to make us think guitar === Stratocaster|Telecaster, it is noticeable in every bit of approved formation

I also loved this disclaimer from Fender's website about this guitar:

The artwork of this product includes a 'Hammer and Sickle' symbol that may be restricted or banned in certain jurisdictions.

By purchasing this product, you represent and warrant that you will review the applicable laws in all jurisdictions where you intend to market or sell the product and that you will not advertise, sell, distribute, or ship the product into any jurisdiction where the symbol is prohibited by law, regulation, or policy.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and its affiliated companies from and against any and all liabilities, claims, penalties, losses, or expenses (including legal fees) arising out of or related to your breach of this warranty, or your advertisement, sale, or distribution of this product in violation of local laws, regulations or policies.

Classic! I don't think I've ever seen stuff like on a guitar's marketing page.

Speaking of "classic," I also thought it was funny when in a video about this guitar from Sweetwater, Mitch Gallagher from Sweetwater notes that the guitar was on "many iconic recordings." I thought that was such a hilariously flat way of putting it. One of those recordings was "Know Your Enemy." That song ends with lyrics that include:

Yes I know my enemies
They’re the teachers who taught me to fight me

The lyrics go on to imply that all sorts of moral defects are basically "features" of the American dream. I originally had more cited but don't want to get in trouble for copyright BS. But it is clear that this is not neutral music.

That's not a mere "recording." That is a leftist manifesto. It is ideological art that is hostile to capitalism even as it uses it to spread its message. It makes damning moral judgements about capitalism and its societies (like the US). It is funny how all of the corporate marketing literature does mental gymnastics to sell the guitar's iconic status while divorcing it from the art itself. But his contradiction has always been a part of RATM.

(all lyrics in this article are sourced from ratm.com and are cited under fair use for educational information pertaining to the economics of the guitar industry and potential incentives of players in it).

Wrapping up

Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, fuck the norm

I think those lyrics from the song "Township Rebellion" from their self-titled debut album might shed some light on Tom's motivations for making the guitar. In context, it is easy to understand that they were saying something along the lines of "We are using the platform of the capitalistic major record labels to fight for radical change because our music is pointless if nobody hears it." So I think my theory about the new guitar goes something along these lines: Tom has always believed in the intellectual/ideological message of Rage Against the Machine, so getting his custom guitar "claimed" by Fender (when it was never a Fender guitar to begin with!) could be part of an intentional strategy to make sure his music stays in the rock and pop-culture cannons so it can continue to educate and influence people.

If this was a Charvel or Jackson (again, both brands owned by Fender that are normally more associated with modded guitars like this), people's price expectations would be anchored more in terms of a custom superstrat for a mid-tier artist signature model. Fender generates more buzz (even if some of it is bad) by releasing this as a Fender. Shit, Fender probably "wins" just by this being worthy of me writing an article about. If they released this with Charvel or Jackson, it wouldn't get the controversy buzzing as hard, and it would have less prestige value to the Fender brand as well.

It doesn't seem like this was ever even remotely about moving a lot of units to either side involved.

I think we should be uneasy about productized rebellion, and that is one of the reasons that I (most likely) will not be buying this guitar. You also aren't getting versatility (one review on sweetwater notes that you wouldn't use it to play out except to do RATM covers). But I'm not convinced it's a terrible value for what you actually get otherwise. But maybe my brain is getting short-circuited too. I am open to that possibility! Thanks for reading!