Guitar of the month club? NGD

[T Bone]

Yesterday, the brown truck left some more South of the border goodness at my house. 2011 Fender Classic 50s Player Stratocaster. After seeing how good the Sonic Blue 60s version was last month, I couldn't resist this beauty when I spotted an uncommonly low price for a new one.

 

Like the 60s version, it is Custom Shop designed. But by a different designer, and the features are quite different. Of course being a 50s, it's got a white single ply pick guard instead of the 3 ply aged (greenish) white. And it's got a maple fretboard (does have the same 6105 frets as the 60s, which are quite nice).

 

The knobs and pickup covers, vibrato arm and switch tips are all aged white, I think what they call "parchment". Looks really good with the color (sorry for the awful phone camera pics, I need to get a digicam back online!). The color is Shoreline Gold, not a real readily available color from Fender, but one with a long and rich history with the company. Hard to get a decent representative shot to show up right, they all seem to "fade to silver", almost an Inca Silver in pics. Even on Fender's site and on eBay I rarely see a good representative shot. I'll make an effort to get better pics in the coming days. But trust me, it is Gold.

 

Unlike the 60s model which has Custom Shop 69 Strat pickups, the 50s version has American Vintage Reissue pickups. Except the middle pickup is reverse wound and reverse polarity, giving the guitar hum cancelling capabilities in the 2nd and 4th positions of the 5 position switch (combining the middle pickup with either the neck or the bridge pickup).

 

Another difference between the two, is the fretboard radius. While the 60s features a flat 12 inch radius rosewood board on a C neck profile, the 50s is a more common (for Fender) 9.5 in radius maple on a soft V (softer than my '07 Clapton Strat). And while the 60s version carries the standard vintage tuners, the 50s variant has vintage looking Gotoh locking tuners, a subtle but substantial difference.

 

Got to say, I am VERY impressed with these Mexican made Custom Shop designed series of guitars. Some really cool and unique features, ones you can't get on stock American models. And again, the fit, finish, feel and sound all seem to rival the quality of my American Strats. They won't be replaced, but these new MIM cousins will be welcomed with open arms, and enjoyed every bit as much as their predecessors!.

 

 

[jdgm]

That looks very nice indeed...I love that these days they put that sticker on the neck plate - "don't put it in the bin"!!

I guess they have to put it on by law?? I've seen this on many new Fenders.

Have a good time!