SOLD Fender Custom Shop 1955 Heavy Relic Stratocaster, 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 Heavy Relic finish is the heaviest of the Custom Shop treatments, evoking decades of the most punishing playing and touring. Each one is specially devised to capture the authenticity of the original-era, with unparalleled breathability and resonance.

Custom Shop Hand-Wound ’55 Single-Coil Pickups

The Custom Shop Stratocaster features a trio of hand-wound ’55 strat pickups designed with alnico 3 magnets to produce authentic Fender tones with robust lows and crystal clear highs. While the five-way switching and controls provide excellent tonal shaping, the special tone-saver treble-bleed circuit retain the high end crisp and clarity even at low volumes.

Solid Ash Wood Body

The 1955 Heavy Relic Stratocaster features a 2-piece select ash wood body, delivering a classic Fender twang with sweet, airy tones. The lightweight ash provides the guitar with excellent resonance and sustain, offering firm lows, pleasing highs, and a scooped midrange. Other premium features include a single-ply eggshell pickguard, an American vintage synchronised tremolo, 6105 narrow jumbo frets, and vintage Fender-logo tuners.

The Custom Shop 1955 Stratocaster comes complete with a stunning wide fade chocolate 2-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 Fingerboard

The guitar’s solid quartersawn maple neck and fingerboard provides bright characteristics, tightening up the stratocaster’s 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 neck and fingerboard work together to provide the guitar with sizzling highs and firm lows, while its midrange features 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: 1529452103
• Series: Time Machine

Body & Bridge

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

Neck & Fingerboard

• Neck: 1-Piece Quartersawn Maple
• Profile: 1954 “U”
• Scale Length: 25.5" (648 mm)
• Fingerboard: 1-Piece Quartersawn Maple
• Radius: 9.5” (241 mm)
• Frets: 21 6105 Narrow Jumbo
• Inlays: Micarta Black Dots
• Nut: Bone
• Nut Width: 1.650" (42 mm)

Electronics & Hardware

• Bridge Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound ’55 Single Coil Strat
• Middle Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound ’55 Single Coil Strat
• Neck Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound ’55 Single Coil Strat
• Controls: 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 Pickup
  • Position 5: Neck Pickup

• Special Electronics: Tone-Saver Treble Bleed
• Tuning Machines: Vintage Style w/Fender Logo
• Control Knobs: Eggshell
• Pickguard: 1-Ply Eggshell
• Hardware: Chrome
• Strings: NPS (.010 - .046 Gauges)
• Case Included: Deluxe Hardshell
• Included Accessories: Strap, Certificate of Authenticity