Volkswagen First Act facts for kids

Guitar Volkswagen First Act.

The Volkswagen First Act is a special guitar that was made by a company called First Act. They worked together with the car company Volkswagen to create it.

Rocking Out with Your Car: The VW Guitar Campaign

In 2006, Volkswagen had a super cool idea. They started a special campaign where if you bought certain Volkswagen cars, you also got a special edition First Act guitar! The coolest part? You could plug your new guitar right into the car's stereo system. This meant your car's speakers could act like a guitar amplifier!

To show off this awesome feature, Volkswagen made advertisements with famous guitarists. Stars like Slash (from Guns N' Roses), John Mayer, and Nigel Tufnel (from the band Spinal Tap) were shown playing these First Act guitars. They plugged them directly into the sound systems of Volkswagen cars.

What Came with the Guitar?

When you got one of these special guitars, it wasn't just the instrument itself. It came with a whole set of cool accessories:

• A custom First Act GarageMaster guitar. It was white and had a pickguard that matched the car's color (blue, white pearl, black, or red).
• A special plate on the back of the guitar's headstock. This plate had the car's unique VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) on it.
• A nice VW/First Act embroidered gig bag. This was a heavy-duty, padded nylon bag to keep your guitar safe.
• A super cool VW/First Act guitar strap. It was made from heavy-duty seat belt material with leather ends.
• An important 20-foot instrument cable. This cable let you connect your guitar to the car's stereo.
• Three neat VW/First Act logo guitar picks. These were charcoal-colored and medium thickness.

Guitar Features: What Makes It Special?

The Volkswagen First Act guitar was designed with some great features for playing. Here are some of its specifications:

• Body Type: It had a solid body with a double cutaway shape. This means it had two curved sections cut out near the neck, making it easier to reach higher notes.
• Material: The body was made from poplar wood.
• Colors: The guitar came in white with either black, blue, red, or pearl accents.
• Neck: The neck was made of maple wood and had a smooth, satin finish.
• Fretboard: The part where you press down the strings was made of rosewood.
• Frets: It had 22 frets, which are the metal strips on the neck that help you play different notes.
• Scale Length: The distance from the nut (at the top of the neck) to the bridge (at the bottom of the body) was 25 and a half inches.
• Nut Width: The width of the neck at the nut was about 1 and 11/16 inches.
• Pickups: It had two Alnico V humbucker pickups. These are parts that turn the string vibrations into an electrical signal, making the sound louder.
• Tuning Keys: The tuning keys were die-cast, meaning they were strong and helped keep the guitar in tune. There were three on each side of the headstock.
• Weight: The guitar weighed about 7 pounds.
• Overall Length: It was about 38 inches long from top to bottom.
• Width: The widest part of the guitar was about 12 and 3/4 inches.
• Electronics: The guitar had several controls to shape its sound. These included a volume control, a tone control, and a special 9-volt circuit that could make the guitar sound like it was plugged into a big amplifier. It also had a master volume, a switch for distortion or clean sound, a high boost/cut switch, and a switch to turn the preamp on or off. Plus, a three-way switch let you choose which pickup to use.