Review: Fender ELIE 6 Bluetooth Speaker

Clean and stylish aesthetic. Good build quality. Impressive sound with class-leading bass. Works as an amplifier for multiple instrument types. Good battery life. Stereo-pairs with a second speaker.

Fender has been defining popular music since the ’40s, from its iconic Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars to its ubiquitous amplifiers. The brand has had a more mainstream resurgence of late, including a new flagship store in Tokyo that flaunts stylish apparel among rows of vibrant colored guitars for an experience that feels like an Apple store for rockers. It was only natural for Fender to join fellow rock ambassador Marshall in the portable speaker business, debuting its first in-house Bluetooth speakers in January at CES 2026.

The Fender ELIE (the company says this stands for “Extremely Loud Infinitely Expressive”) comes in two sizes, including the lunch-box-sized ELIE 12, and the more portable ELIE 6, which I’ve spent the ...