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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FENDER^® & FOCAL TO COLLABORATE, WHERE THE SPIRIT OF ROCK-AND-ROLL^® MEETS THE SPIRIT OF SOUND

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. USA / LA TALAUDIERE, Loire, FRANCE (Sept. 5, 2012) — Born from a shared passion for music, Fender and Focal are pleased to announce their collaboration on the creation of an audio system for musicians.

“Fender made incredible strides with the success of the Passport series due to its big sound, great clarity, ease of use and portability,” said Jay Piccirillo, senior product manager, Bass Amplifiers/Passport. “Moving forward, we’re pleased to partner with Focal and know the collaboration will bring musicians the utmost performance they expect and deserve.”

“Based on 32 years of driver design and manufacturing experience, Focal always acted, right from the beginning of the company, with OEM partners,” said Nicolas Debard, pro audio product manager at Focal. “The Focal drivers quality is recognized all over the world, be it through the Focal products or OEM solutions. The Fender/Focal collaboration, where the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll meets the spirit of sound!”

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About Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) is a leading, global musical instruments company whose comprehensive portfolio of brands includes Fender^®, Squier^®, Guild^®, Tacoma^®, Gretsch^®, Jackson^®, Charvel^®, EVH^®, SWR^® and Groove Tubes^®, among others. Fender^® instruments include the Telecaster^®, Stratocaster^®, Precision Bass^® and Jazz Bass^® guitars. For more information, visit www.fender.com.

In 2007, FMIC acquired KMC Music, one of the largest independent U.S. distributors of musical instruments and accessories. In 2011, KMC Music and Musicorp united their sales and catalog divisions as KMCMusicorp, creating a leading wholesaler of musical instruments, accessories and lighting equipment. KMCMusicorp produces and/or distributes Ovation®, Takamine® and Hamer® guitars; Latin Percussion®, Gretsch® Drums, Gibraltar® Hardware, Toca® Percussion, Sabian® cymbals and Genz Benz® amplifiers and more. For more information, visit www.kmcmusicorp.com.

About Focal
Since its foundation, Focal-JMlab has grown to become one of the main manufacturers of studio monitors, high-fidelity and car audio systems. Headquartered in Saint-Etienne, France, it is now internationally recognized as a world leader in the design and manufacture of drivers and loudspeakers, Focal-JMlab has a wide range of high technology loudspeakers from 95 to 65,000 Euros and 99 to 2750 Euros for car audio. Market-leader in France, it exports over 73% of its output mainly in Europe, North America and Southeast Asia. The company key strength is its complete integration and quality control of the driver and loudspeaker manufacturing process, from the design of drive units, cabinets and crossovers, to the assembly of the finished product. Focal-JMlab maintains an intense, continual programme of research and development into drive-unit technologies. Nine patents have been registered since 2003. Focal-JMlab currently employs over 200 people in modern facilities of 17 400m2 (187 292 ft2), that concentrate production, R&D and management in the same site. - www.focal.com.

Fender Press Contact:                                                        
Jason Farrell                                                                   
T:+1 480.845.5559                                                            
jfarrell@fender.com       

Focal Press Contact:                                                  
Agence Esprit des Sens
Alix DÉCHELETTE: alix.dechelette@espritdessens.net        
Stina MASSON: stina.masson@espritdessens.net
T: +3 77 93 50 66 05