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Custom '69 pickups are a little hotter than your average vintage-voiced Strat units

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What are the basic differences between these guitars and the standard Classic Strats?

"Just the addition of a more modern playability within the vintage aesthetic," explains Justin. "The two-point vintage bridge has previously never been available outside the Custom Shop. Other features include refined contours and blending, flatter radii, bigger frets, and custom colours and electronics. It's basically like one of those makeover TV shows, where the experts come in and refine things."

There is a genuine Custom Shop vibe to this guitar - not least thanks to the finishes the team have used. Aside from the example here, both the '50s and '60s Strat are only otherwise available with a sunburst finish and we do applaud the resistance of the temptation to offer the usual rainbow of hues.

"We wanted to go with true vintage colours, and throw in some Custom Shop colours made especially for this run of instruments," Justin states. The sonic blue finish's combination with a wholly authentic mint green scratchplate and aged knobs and pickup covers adds to the vibe. The neck is a comfortable shallow 'C' shape with a 12-inch radius and is superbly finished.

Sounds

The '60s Strat is loaded with a trio of Custom '69 single-coil pickups that are slightly hotter than average. Texas springs to mind when plugging in the '60s Strat, as you can revel in the higher output and associated increased aggression within the performance.

That said, it's still very much a vintage-style Strat tonality on offer and there's plenty of beat group twang on offer. Indeed, if you've ever seen mid-sxities shots of The Beatles with their sonic blue, rosewood 'board Strats you'll be glad to hear that with the right amp sound, those Rubber Soul-era sounds are here in abundance.