Fender Custom Shop 1960 Relic Stratocaster, Chocolate 3-Tone Sunburst

Full Description

Time Machine Series by Fender

The Time Machine series is Fender's own shrine to the heritage and legacy of the pioneers who made the company what it is today. The Fender Custom Shop has reached new heights of craftsmanship with its acclaimed Time Machine series, artfully crafting meticulous replicas using the same techniques and tooling used to create the originals all those years ago.

The Custom Shop proudly introduced an expanded selection of premium ''relic'' finishes that have been designed to replicate the worn-in vibe of a genuine vintage instrument. The Relic finish delivers an authentic worn-in wear of a guitar that has experienced many years of regular use. Each finish is specially devised to capture the authenticity of the original-era, with unparalleled breathability and resonance.

Custom Shop Hand-Wound 60/63 Single-Coil Pickups

A trio of hand-wound 60/63 pickups provide the Custom Shop guitar with its classic sparkling tone, delivering a range of powerful tones from crystal clear notes to fat, grinding chrods. The middle pickup features a reverse wind reverse polarity setup, reducing the amount of hum produced from the neck and bridge pickups. The guitar’s five-way pickup selector and modified wiring ensures crisp tones in any combination, while the special tone-saver treble-bleed circuit retains the high end crisp and clarity at low volumes.

A Classic Alder Body

The guitar features a classic alder body, producing a resonant and balanced tone with plenty of clarity. It also features a comfortably light weight that lets you play all night long without straining your shoulders. The tonewood provides a decent amount of sustain, creating bright, sizzling highs, excellently rounded lows, and beefy mids. Fender have used alder as their tonewood of choice since the 1950s, as the balanced response and slight upper middle definition makes it perfect for rock and blues playing.

The Custom Shop 1960 Stratocaster comes complete with a stunning 3-tone sunburst finish and nitrocellulose lacquer, imparting the appearance of years of ageing and use without the need for heavy wear and tear.

Maple Neck and Rosewood Fingerboard

The guitar’s quartersawn maple neck provides bright tonal characteristics, tightening up the sound and giving it plenty of cut. The maple delivers a powerfully sharp punch when the strings are hit hard whilst still retaining its clarity to allow each note to sing. The rosewood fingerboard’s naturally oily surface allows any stray overtones to be absorbed into the pours, allowing for a natural fundamental tone. The rosewood also provides the electric guitar with warm, soft tones whilst helping to ‘fur up’ the maple’s natural sound. The neck and fingerboard combination provide the guitar with sparkling highs that sizzle, a thick, firm low end, and an open midrange with a snappy attack.

Bone Nut

Along with its amazing tone and looks, the Custom Shop guitar also features a bone nut, adding to its classic aesthetic. The main purpose of using a bone nut compared to modern materials is the bone offers excellent resonance and sustain. A bone nut also delivers a very balanced tone, and will last a long time. In addition, this type of nut naturally self-lubricates and helps the guitar to stay in tune for longer.

Unrivalled Quality and Craftsmanship

Since 1987, the skilled craftsmen in Fender's Corona, California ''dream factory'' have been producing guitars that are known worldwide for their artistry and unrivalled quality. Ranging from the fine to the fantastic, whether it's building a new custom instrument from the ground up or modifying an existing one, their best is the best. These wonderful instruments have been crafted for, and with the input of, the world's finest guitarists such as Clapton, Springsteen, Cray, Gilmour, Townshend, Wilko Johnson and Stevie Ray Vaughan, to name just a few.

The History of the Stratocaster

When many people think of an electric guitar, this is the one that leaps to mind. The Stratocaster is one of the world's most popular guitars and is an elegantly versatile creation. Not long after Fender revolutionised music with the Telecaster and the Precision Bass, in 1954 they debuted the Stratocaster and it quickly became universally regarded as the archetypal electric guitar. Sleek and stylish aesthetics, smooth playing and tonally versatile, at the heart the Stratocaster remains a fantastic instrument - producing unmistakable sound with a timeless design. A first choice among players worldwide, there is simply nothing that sings, screams, whispers, moans, roars, rocks and rolls like a Fender Stratocaster.

Specifications

• Model Number: 1530160897
• Series: Time Machine

Body & Bridge

• Body: 2-Piece Select Alder
• Shape: Stratocaster
• Bridge: 6-Saddle American Vintage Synchronised Tremolo
• Construction: Bolt-On
• Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
• Colour: Chocolate 3-Tone Sunburst

Neck & Fingerboard

• Neck: Quartersawn Maple
• Profile: Mid ‘60s Oval “C”
• Scale Length: 25.5" (648 mm)
• Fingerboard: AAA Rosewood
• Radius: 9.5” (241 mm)
• Frets: 21 6100 Jumbo
• Inlays: Vintage Clay Dots
• Nut: Bone
• Nut Width: 1.650" (42 mm)

Electronics & Hardware

• Bridge Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound 60/63 Single-Coil
• Middle Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound 60/63 RWRP Single-Coil
• Neck Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound 60/63 Single-Coil
• Controls: Master Volume, 2 x Tone
• Pickup Switching: 5-Position Toggle

  • Position 1: Bridge Pickup
  • Position 2: Bridge & Middle Pickups
  • Position 3: Middle Pickup
  • Position 4: Middle & Neck Pickups
  • Position 5: Neck Pickup

• Tuning Machines: Vintage Style w/Fender Logo
• Control Knobs: Custom Relic Vintage White
• Pickguard: 3-Ply Mint Green
• Hardware: Chrome
• Strings: NPS (.010 - .046 Gauges)
• Case Included: Deluxe Hardshell
• Included Accessories: Strap, Polishing Cloth, Certificate of Authenticity