Fender Custom Shop 1965 Stratocaster Relic IBM MBGF Masterbuilt Greg Fessler #R120516
Product information "Fender Custom Shop 1965 Stratocaster Relic IBM MBGF Masterbuilt Greg Fessler #R120516"
In 1954 the Fender Stratocaster finally hit the market after a long development period. The instrument looked like no guitar before it: the body was curvier and more flowing than the Telecaster's to increase playing comfort, the headstock recalled the old Bigsby headstocks to some extent, the jack socket was elegantly recessed into the side of the body instead of on the top, and the Strat featured three single-coil pickups. The guitar consisted of an ash body and a bolt-on maple neck and was initially only available in 2-Colour Sunburst or White Blonde finishes. At first it wasn't an immediate bestseller, but gradually the Strat grew in popularity and became a permanent part of music history.
Initially the Stratocaster was only available in the two colours mentioned above, but from 1957 the first custom colours were introduced, allowing customers to order a more colourful guitar for an extra charge. In 1959 the Strat, together with the Telecaster, received a facelift: bodies were now made from alder and the maple necks were fitted with rosewood fretboards, resulting in a warmer overall tone. New colours were also added to the existing custom choices.
The Fender Custom Shop has made it its mission to study the high-quality vintage Stratocasters of the past and recreate them down to the smallest detail. Here we have for you a very special Custom Shop one-off piece modeled on a Stratocaster from Fender's golden era:
The Fender Custom Shop 1965 Stratocaster Relic IBM MBGF Masterbuilt Greg Fessler is a classic ST-style electric guitar with an alder body. Alder has been used on original Stratocaster guitars since the late 1950s and provides the foundation for the perfect vintage sound. The body wood was hand-selected to ensure particularly light weight and thus improve playing comfort. The aged maple neck with rosewood fretboard is shaped in an Early '60s 'C' profile and features a 9.5" fretboard radius, offering the perfect compromise between vintage feel and modern comfort. The guitar is equipped with a classic S-S-S pickup configuration of three Fender Custom Shop hand-wound Fat ’64 Strat single coils. Additional features include Fender Vintage Style tuners, Aged White Soft Touch knobs, a Fender 6-saddle American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo and a 3-ply white pickguard.
This model is finished in a modern Ice Blue Metallic with racing stripes. The thin nitrocellulose lacquer finish allows the wood to vibrate particularly freely and ensures the finish ages beautifully. The most extreme of Fender's relic levels, Heavy Relic, evokes the spirit of the most well-worn Fender instruments in history. If you want a guitar that looks as if it has stuck by your side since the dawn of rock 'n' roll, this is the right finish for you.
The Fender Custom Shop 1965 Stratocaster Relic IBM MBGF Masterbuilt Greg Fessler is delivered with a certificate of authenticity in a luxurious original Fender Custom Shop case with black Tolex and blue interior, with which you can safely transport your new dream guitar and protect it from external influences.
- Aging: Heavy Relic
- Body Material: Alder
- Body Shape: ST-Style
- Body finish: High Gloss
- Bridge / Tremolo: Fender 6-Saddle American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo
- Bridge Pickup: Fender Custom Shop Handwound '64 Strat
- Color/ Finish: Ice Blue Metallic with Racing Stripes
- Colour: Blue
- Controls: 1x volume, 2x tone
- Country of Origin: USA
- Custom shop: yes
- Factory Stringing: Fender Nickel Plated Steel
- Finish: Nitrocellulose
- Fretboard: Round Lam Rosewood
- Fretboard Inlays: White Dot
- Fretboard radius: 9,5"
- Fret material: Nickel silver
- Frets: 21
- Hardware: Nickel / Chrome aged
- Includes: Original Fender case, certificate
- Masterbuilder: Greg Fessler
- Middle Pickup: Fender Custom Shop Handwound '64 Strat RWRP
- Neck: Ahorn Quartersawn
- Neck Pickup: Fender Custom Shop Hand-Wound Fat ’64 Strat®
- Neck Profile: Early '60s "C"
- Neck construction: Bolt on neck
- Neck finish: Gloss aged
- Nut Width: 1.650" (42 mm)
- Nut material: Bone
- Pickguard: White 3-Ply
- Pickup Configuration: S-S-S (3x Single Coil)
- Pickup Cover: Aged White
- Pickup Selector Switch: 5-way switch
- Pickup type: passive
- Pot Caps: Aged White Soft Touch Knobs
- Scale: 25" (635 - 659 mm)
- Scale Length: 25,5" (648 mm)
- Serial number: R120516
- Signature Model: no
- Special Features: Josefina Campos Pickups
- Strings: 6 string
- Strings thickness ex factory: .010 - .046
- Technology: Solid Body
- Translation: 1:14
- Tuning Machines: Fender Vintage Style Tuner
To make a Fender instrument available to everyone, they are offered in different price ranges. The subsidiary Squier sells affordable, Far East-made models built to original specifications with Fender know-how in the background. An affordable, "real" Fender can be found in the series made in Mexico. The classic original Fender instruments, such as the American Pro series, are made in the USA. For lovers of hand-built instruments and guitars with vintage flair there is the Fender Custom Shop, where you can even have a guitar built completely to your own specifications.
But Fender is not only known and appreciated for its instruments, it is also famous for various amplifiers such as the Deluxe Reverb, the Princeton, the Champion, the Blues Junior and the Fender Rumble bass amp range. Fender now also offers a wide range of guitar accessories like strings, picks, cables, straps, cases, tuners and care products, as well as spare parts and pickups, plus accessories and merchandising. You can of course find all of this at the music shop you trust – session in Frankfurt and Walldorf!
