A mid-'50s Stratocaster without the vibrato. The strings run through the body into a 6-saddle hardtail bridge with bent steel saddles, so there are no springs to stretch or settle and string changes stay quick. The rest is 1956: a 2-piece select alder body with an offset seam, a maple neck and fingerboard, and three Custom Shop Hand-Wound '56 Single-Coil Strat pickups with the middle one reverse-wound and reverse-polarity, so positions 2 and 4 cancel hum.
The Heavy Relic aging is the deep end of the scale: worn-through lacquer, checking and the look of decades of gigs. The 7.25" to 9.5" compound radius feels vintage round down low and flatter up the neck, and the Jescar Vintage frets keep the narrow, low feel of the period. Tone 1 works the neck pickup and Tone 2 the middle, as on the originals.
If you want the vibrato back, the 1957 Stratocaster Heavy Relic is the closest match. The Vintage Custom '55 Hardtail Strat and Vintage Custom '59 Hardtail Strat take the same fixed-bridge idea with a cleaner, as-new finish.
Finishes are Black, Faded Blue Ice Metallic and Super Aged Lake Placid Blue.
The photos show one example. Wood grain and aging vary from guitar to guitar, so the one built for you will differ in the details.
SPECIFICATIONS
BODY
Country of Origin: USA
Body Material: 2-Piece Select Alder with Offset Seam
Body Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Body Shape: Stratocaster
Pickguard: 1-Ply Parchment
Aging: Heavy Relic
NECK
Neck Material: Maple
Neck Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Neck Shape: 1960 Oval "C"
Fingerboard Radius: 7.25" to 9.5" Vintage Compound Radius (184 mm to 241 mm)
Fingerboard Material: 1-Piece Maple Neck
Position Inlays: Black Micarta Dot - 0.25"
Side Dots: Black
Number of Frets: 21
Fret Size: Jescar Vintage (45085)
Truss Rod: Vintage-Style Heel Adjust
Nut Material: Bone
Nut Width: 1.650" (42 mm)
Scale Length: 25.5" (648 mm)
ELECTRONICS
Bridge Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound '56 Single-Coil Strat
Middle Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound RWRP '56 Single-Coil Strat
Neck Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound '56 Single-Coil Strat
Pickup Configuration: Single Coil
Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Middle Pickup)
Switching: 5-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup, Position 3. Middle Pickup, Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup, Position 5. Neck Pickup
HARDWARE
Bridge: 6-Saddle Strings-Through-Body Strat Hardtail with Bent Steel Saddles
Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome
Tuning Machines: Vintage-Style with Fender Logo
Tremolo Arm: Vintage-Style Tremolo Arm
Control Knobs: White Plastic
Strings: Nickel Plated Steel (.010-.046 Gauges)
CASE
Case: Deluxe Hardshell