Epiphone, the leading accessible guitar brand For Every Stage, presents the new Nancy Wilson Fanatic. The Fanatic is created and co-designed by Nancy Wilson of HEART and the luthiers at Epiphone in Nashville, Tennessee, and marks Wilson's first Epiphone signature guitar and her second guitar overall with Gibson Brands. The Epiphone Nancy Wilson Fanatic is now available worldwide at www.epiphone.com.
"In the midst of the distant eighties, I was approached by Gibson to design a signature model," says Nancy Wilson. "I put pencil to paper to first design the body shape and chose a curvy female diminutive silhouette for the cut away. Many years later, the body shape remains exact and the hardware I requested makes the Fanatic a solid citizen amongst the great rock guitar screamers."
A guitar virtuoso from the age of 9, Nancy — and her sister Ann — lead the multi-platinum group HEART, which has sold over 35 million albums, garnered 10, Top Ten albums, been nominated for four Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Nancy is revered as an ingenious guitar player, as well as a gifted songwriter and lead vocalist. In an era when females in rock 'n' roll were scarce, Nancy carved out a place for women to front rock bands and dominate on stage across the globe. In fact, that's Nancy singing on HEART's first No. 1 hit song, "These Dreams". As a songwriter, Nancy has co-written a collection of indelible songs that have earned their way into the classic rock canon, including "Magic Man", "Crazy On You", "Barracuda", "Straight On" and more.
In April 2021, Nancy will release the first-ever solo album of her storied career via Carry On Music. Nancy plays guitar and sings every song on the new album which features collaborations with Sammy Hagar, Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES) and Taylor Hawkins (FOO FIGHTERS). The first single, "The Rising", is Nancy's stunning rendition of the Bruce Springsteen song.
Watch the interview below as Nancy discusses the creation of the new Epiphone Nancy Wilson Fanatic.
"We are proud to present the exclusive, Nancy Wilson Fanatic guitar to the world," says Krista Gilley, brand director of Epiphone and Kramer. "It's such an honor to work with Nancy, an icon who has been instrumental and influential to generations of players around the world. She has paved the way for female musicians to believe in their passion, talent and in music, and that comes with an obligation for all of us at Epiphone to pay tribute to Nancy."
The Nancy Wilson Fanatic features a classic Nighthawk-shaped mahogany body and a figured maple veneer top. The Epiphone Nancy Wilson Fanatic comes equipped with ProBucker humbuckers, a five-way pickup selector switch for a wide variety of tonal options, master volume and tone controls, a fast-playing rounded C profile mahogany neck with an Ebony fretboard, and an attractive Fireburst Gloss finish and hardshell case.
