Fender Custom Shop Artisan Maple Burl Stratocaster NOS Aged Natural With Case

Visually and sonically captivating, the Artisan Maple Burl Strat strikes a chord with the senses—boasting a mix of exotic and roasted woods, vintage-style hardware and Fender Custom Shop master craftsmanship.

A highly figured AAA maple burl top meets a roasted alder ash body for a distinctive look and exceptional resonance, while Fat ‘60s pickups with Vintage Modified #2 wiring yield best-possible Strat tone.   You won't be able to take your eyes off of this - as soon as it landed, we realized that we had one of the most eye-catching Strats we've had in a long time.  And when we plugged it in, we knew we had one of the best sounding as well.

As impressive as the maple burl face of the guitar is, the neck could easily steal the show.  It's roasted AAA birdseye maple - and absolutely beautiful.  Birdseye maple is one of our favorites woods, and quite fitting for a build like this.  It's not just about the looks though - this Strat is feels and plays great too.  We went with a “’63 C”-shaped profile for ultimate comfort, and the vintage-style synchronized tremolo offers rock-solid tuning stability.  Naturally, a 9.5”–12” compound radius flat-lam ebony Macassar fingerboard offers superb playability; along with the 6105 Narrow Tall frets, this combination allows for easy expressive bending all the way up and through the higher register, without fear of fretting out.

The Custom Shop Fat 60's Strat pickups are some of our favorites that Fender offers.  They provide mellow vintage tones but with enough bite to cut through the mix with crisp articulation, and are over wound for a hefty low-end punch.  Alnico 2 magnets, Formvar magnet wire, period-correct cloth wire, and a fiber bobbin keep it accurate to what you would expect in a vintage Strat, with a warm, sweet output.  The reverse-wound, reverse-polarity middle pickup eliminates hum for whisper-quiet performance.  We also chose the Vintage Modified # 2 wiring setup.  This features a master volume, tone # 1 (neck & middle pickups), and tone # 2 (bridge) with treble bleed (for keeping mids and rolling off highs without adding bass).  This guitar sounds downright amazing.

More features include clay dots, vintage-style tuning machines, a 1-ply tortoiseshell pickguard (that's a unique touch), bone nut and wing string tree with metal spacer. Includes deluxe hardshell case, strap and Certificate of Authenticity.

Come to Club Fender @ Truetone Music to see this one in person, or order right here to get it sent straight to you.  For anyone wanting an exquisite Strat, this is the one.