Along with the Flea Signature Active Jazz Bass, Fender’s other big launch from Summer NAMM was this signature Stratocaster for Albert Hammond Jr, which is now available in the USA.
Based on The Strokes guitarist’s fave Stratocaster - a 1985 reissue of a ’72 Strat - Hammond’s alder-bodied signature model is notable for its custom pickup switching: position four activates the neck and bridge in tandem, while positions one and three are reversed from the traditional layout.
Those pickups, by the way, are custom ceramic jobs, and Fender has gone all-out in replicating the ’70s vibe elsewhere, with a period-correct headstock, F-stamped tuning machines, bullet truss rod nut and three-bolt neck plate.
There’s also a modern C-shaped neck with 7.25”-radius rosewood fingerboard, and strangely, Fender is advertising the fact there’s no tremolo arm included, although a deluxe gigbag is thrown in.
If you’re in the USA, you can bag one of these right now for $874; those in the UK will have to wait til January to pay £839 for one. See Fender for more info.
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