For this special run of Strats, we collaborated with the Custom Shop to create something we haven't done before. Key to this concept was the idea of a super-thin finish that would intentionally wear over time. We decided on a flash coat of nitro colour - using faded versions of classic Fender options like Surf Green and Sonic Blue - followed by a very thin nitro clear coat to finish. These finishes look stunning and, more importantly, will intentionally wear into a natural relic status within a much shorter time period than historic guitars. Our customers love Fender Relic finishes but sometimes miss the attachment of having created the wear themselves. This means that a player can have a brand new guitar that looks like a brand new guitar, AND they can immediately get to work playing in some genuine wear and tear that will age and beautify the more the instrument is used.

A significant benefit to this much thinner finish is, of course, a far more resonant guitar. Extra resonance equals extra tone, and we believe these finishes allow the guitar to deliver a richer and deeper sound with more sustain and harmonic information.

That said, we knew that these guitars needed to work well for a contemporary guitarist, so we spec'd a neck with a '59-style D profile and a compound 7.25"-9.5" radius, in order to fulfil vintage feel requirements alongside modern day expression and accuracy. For an authentic and versatile voice, we requested custom-wound '60s Custom Shop Strat pickups for their extra heat and detail.

One extra trick we were pleased to have included was with the tone control setup: on our Flash Coat Dealer Strats, the outer tone knob controls the bridge pickup, and the inner knob adjusts the neck pickup's tone. The middle has no tone control. This is one of the most fun and useful wiring setups we've come across, and these are some of the most innovative and exciting Custom Shop Stratocasters ever created.

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Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORgloeqr_wc