Fender Custom Shop '61 Heavy Relic Stratocaster in Black

We teamed up with the Fender Custom Shop to design a series of artist-inspired Stratocasters to our own specifications. These are our interpretations of some of our favourite Fender artists’ guitars – this particular number is based on the early ‘60s Strat, painstakingly relic’d by Fender CS luthiers.

The '61 Model

Our ’61 Strat has a wonderfully smooth feel to it, with a couple of minor differences between a '61 and previous runs. We also tweaked a few of the specs with premium tone and playability in mind.

By 1961, Fender were beginning to transition into using alder to build most of their guitars. We've stuck with tradition here, pairing an alder body with a maple neck and topped with a 9mm slab rosewood fingerboard. The neck is carved to the popular Mid ‘60s-style Oval "C" shape.

Electronics

The Custom Shop Strat was designed to produce the perfect modern blues rock tone that sounds just as good with gritty overdrive as it does with a clean channel. We opted for a set of handwound ‘65s pickups, similar to the Fat ‘50s before it but wound for a bit of extra heat.

Heavy Relic

As the name suggests, Heavy Relic is the Fender Custom Shop’s most extreme form of guitar ageing. Designed to offer the feel of a genuine classic instrument, these instruments are overflowing with character. Beautifully-aged finishes, smooth worn-in necks, relic hardware – you’ll feel like you’re wielding a true piece of guitar history.

Specifications

Body

• Body: Stratocaster '61
• Body Material: Alder
• Body Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Neck

• Neck Material: Maple
• Neck Profile: 60s-style Oval "C"
• Neck Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
• Fingerboard Material: Rosewood (9mm)
• Fingerboard Radius: 7.25” (184.1 mm)
• Frets: 21, Vintage Style
• Position Inlays: White Dots
• Nut (Material/Width): Bone, 1.650” (42 mm)
• Scale Length: 25.5” (648 mm)

Hardware

• Hardware Finish: Gold Relic
• Bridge: 6-Saddle Synchronized Tremolo
• Tuning Machines: Gold With Pearl Buttons
• Pickguard: 3-Ply Parchment
• Control Knobs: Parchment

Electronics

• Pickups: Custom Shop Hand-Wound ‘69 Strat Single-Coils
• Pickup Switching: 5-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickups, Position 3. Middle, Position 4. Neck and Middle Pickups, Position 5. Neck Pickup
• Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Middle Pickup)

Miscellaneous

• Strings: .010-.046
• Case/Gig Bag: Custom Shop Brown Hardshell Case