Fender Custom Shop S23 Limited Edition ’57 Stratocaster Relic Guitar, Faded Aged Daphne Blue

PLAYER’S PERSPECTIVE

Just in – another beautiful Strat from the Fender Custom Shop! This stunning ’57 Stratocaster Relic is part of a group of eleven very special one-of-a-kind instruments we took home at the Fender Custom Shop Spring & Summer 2023 Event.

This gorgeous guitar has all the ingredients that make a ’50s Fender Stratocaster incredible and the aesthetic touches that truly make it a convincing vintage recreation. It’s finished in a beautiful Daphne Blue and comes with a gorgeous one-piece quartersawn maple neck, gold hardware, and an excellent medium relic pattern that remains tasteful whilst having the worn-in look and feel of an instrument that has been through the ringer.

The resonant alder body and quartersawn maple neck come together for the familiar tonal recipe found on all of your heroes’ Strats. The aging on the nitro lacquer is simply perfect. The neck shape as well is both classic yet enduring – the ’50s soft-V is an instantly recognizable shape. Starting at .85 and going up to .99, it has a pretty good amount of heft whilst still being enduring and maneuverable enough to play both rhythm and lead. This profile works great in combination with the modern 9.5″ neck radius and 6105 frets, which makes bending and getting a lower action much easier than a vintage 7.25″. Part of the aging on this guitar is the sanded neck back, which allows for a more natural-feeling, smooth playing experience without the usual stickiness of a new gloss finish.

The hand-wound Ancho Poblano set is a recent creation by Fender, and is very special – each pickup is equipped with different magnets than usual (Alnico III in the neck and middle, and V in the bridge), and is individually calibrated for the position it’s in, so you have an extremely balanced set in every pickup switch position. It also has a little extra shot of output that allows you to rock harder and punch through a modern mix better than true-vintage spec. The extra output also makes the traditionally thinner-sounding positions like the bridge pickup more usable. This is a great set for heavy blues or rock players who like to add on a little gain, but this extra thickness can be appreciated by pop and R&B players as well. Like a good amount of contemporary sets, the middle pickup is also RW/RP, which means you get no hum in the 2 and 4 positions.

You know you’re getting a special instrument in your hands any time you pick up something built by Fender’s Custom Shop team, and this guitar is sure to not only meet but exceed your expectations.

SPECIFICATIONS

Body

• Model: ’57 Stratocaster
• Body Wood: Alder
• Color: Daphne Blue
• Aging: Relic

Neck

• Construction: Bolt-On
• Fretboard: 5/4 Quartersawn Maple (One-Piece)
• Neck: 5/4 Quartersawn Maple
• Finish: Aged Medium Tint Nitro
• Scale Length: 25.5″
• Frets: 21, Narrow Tall 6105
• Radius: 9.5″
• Neck Profile: ’57 Style Soft “V”
• Nut Width: 1.650″
• 1st Fret Neck Thickness: .850″ 
• 12th Fret Neck Thickness: .990″

Hardware

• Tuners: Vintage-Style Fender Logo
• Bridge: Custom Shop Vintage-Style Tremolo
• String Tree: American Vintage ’56 – ’58 Gold
• Hardware Finish: Gold Relic
• Pickguard: ’54 – ’58 .060 Parchment Relic
• Pickup Covers & Knobs: Vintage White

Electronics

• Pickups: Custom Hand-Wound Ancho Poblano Relic Strat, RW/RP Middle
• Controls: Volume, Tone, Tone, 5-Way Switch (Vintage-Modern Wiring)

Misc.

• Case: Tweed Custom Shop Hardshell
• Certificate of Authenticity, Spec Sheet, Limited Edition Certificate, and Case Candy Included
• Instrument Weight: 7.5 lbs
• Serial #: CZ564098

OVERALL CONDITION

Music Store Live is proud to be an authorized dealer for the Fender Custom Shop. This Limited-Edition ’57 Stratocaster Relic is 100% brand new and is being sold with a full manufacturer’s warranty. Photos are of the exact guitar you’ll receive.

Our in-house guitar tech will inspect, test, set up, and clean all of our instruments on site prior to shipping. All of our instruments are guaranteed to be fully functional upon arrival.