Well over all 60 years in, the Fender Stratocaster can still surprise us – just take a look at this latest Stratocaster 1 model from the Custom Shop's 2020 Prestige Collection for proof.
Mirroring the forthcoming Saleen 1 supercar, it's finished in Saleen Candy Apple Red over a lightweight hollow carbon fiber body. There's a roasted alder center block and hand-carved maple top.
The quartersawn roasted maple neck has a 12” radius carbon fibre round-lam fingerboard with medium jumbo frets. The headstock overlay is also carbon fibre.
The Fender custom Shop Stratocaster 1 features a TV Jones Power’Tron Plus bridge pickup and two new features for Fender; custom 6-Stack bridge with a handmade Strat 1 tailpiece.
The guitar is a collaboration inspired by the new Saleen 1 (S1) mid-engine 4-cylinder turbocharged sports car and was built by Fender Custom Shop Principal Master Builder Ron Thorn – who is also a car enthusiast.
The Stratocaster 1 is part of Fender Custom Shop's 2020 Prestige Collection; a yearly challenge to Fender's Master Builders to build guitars with 'no boundaries'.
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I'm the Guitars Editor for MusicRadar, handling news, reviews, features, tuition, advice for the strings side of the site and everything in between. Before MusicRadar I worked on guitar magazines for 15 years, including Editor of Total Guitar in the UK. When I'm not rejigging pedalboards I'm usually thinking about rejigging pedalboards.
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