'54 Fender Stratocaster - the Vintage Fender holy grail for $52,000

Iconic Vintage Fender alert!!! A . 1954 is the first year of production of this true icon of music and pop culture that the Strat is.
OK. It's not the holy grail of Fender guitars per se - that would be the 1953 prototypes of the Strat' (more on that in a later post). But this '54 guitar is still from a very limited production series and a very desirable addition to any guitar collection. That is, if you're a collector with $52,000 in your pockets!
From the posting, this one seems to have most of the original parts, including the case and is in very good shape. I wouldn't mind seeing this beauty under the Christmas tree tomorrow morning!

The seller would "really want this guitar to go to a player such as Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robin Trower, Eric Clapton, David Gilmore." and is asking "Are you out there guys?". Smart. Good luck with that. :)

As for the sound, it probably rocks. I own a Fender Custom Shop 1956 Strat' reissue (an expensive but still affordable guitar) and it is really awesome for blues, rock and funk. To get a flavor of a 50's strat tone, listen to the tune below which I recorded just with that 56 Reissue ("Song #22", one of my songs):





I am a sucker for beautiful Strats so check out previous posts about Fender Custom Shop reissues and vintage strats like this awesome Fender 69 Mustang in Placid Blue with Stripes.

And of course, eBay has plenty of other vintage Stratocasters.

A Fire Fender Splatter - perfect for Jimi Hendrix!

Quoting Jimi Hendrix: Let me stand next to your fire!

This beautiful is on fire with orange, yellow, red and black.


Splattercasters are definitely psychedelic enough in their concept (spinning colors to create unique random patterns) and their looks that I think Jimi would have loved to set one on fire.

Friends, it's on my wishlist for my upcoming birthday! It's a $400 buy-it-now guitar with good potential collectible value that will look unique and good on your guitar wall.

Find current listing for guitars like this 2003 Fender Stratocaster Splatter below:

John Mayer's Crashocaster and the other 50 Fender Crash Stratocasters

I posted about Eric Clapton's Stratocasters painted by Graffiti artist CRASH a few weeks ago.

Further collaboration between the Fender Custom Shop and CRASH led to the production of 50 Stratocasters with unique designs... + 1 for John Mayer. This is well documented by CRASH himself here.


Number #19 (above) is by far my favorite and when checking it, I stumbled upon its sister...

John Mayer's crashocaster! I had seen picture of this guitar in the past but here you have an original shot (by CRASH himself) of the body of this strat' when it was just naked.

CRASH says...

And this one belongs to a friend, the poor slob who left the camo stencils in my studio...

...it breaks the mold and convinced me that there is so much more out there for me to try and paint on an odd shaped piece of wood...

...so there is no fear of burning out ideas...not yet anyway.

peace...

By the way, the Custom Shop Limited Edition Crash Stratocaster number 27 is up for grabs on eBay for $9,000 until July 15th. Specs and pic below:

Alder Body (1960-style routing); 21 Vintage Frets; 9.5" Fingerboard Radius; Custom Black Anodized Control Plate; Black Anodized Tremolo Cover; 3-Ply Custom Painted Pick guard; 3 Ceramic Noiseless Pickups w/Passive Circuit; Black Pickup Covers; Custom Shop Logo and Signature of Todd Krause Stamped on the Back of the Headstock (photo below); Black Knobs and Switch Tip; Vintage Tremolo; Straight-Grain Maple Neck (Custom ''V'' Shape); Special Engraved neck plate bears a seven-character Custom Shop serial number (CNXXXXX) that also appears on the Certificate of Authenticity.

Fender Splatter Strat, part II

Since I first discovered and blogged about the Fender Splatter, I have been on the look out for new ones on eBay.

Because the design of each "Splattercaster" is guaranteed to be unique given the spin process used for the finish, I find it entertaining to see more Splatter Stratocasters - some are ugly, some are gorgeous, like those listed below.

If you like crazy designs on a Strat, I'll soon post again about the Crashocaster...

Meanwhile, enjoy those Splattercasters!





UPDATE: look at this "fire" Splatter Strat'!

Fender Custom Shop NAMM2007 Stratocaster - 1960's reissue with racing stripes

Browsing Fender listings tonight, I just really enjoyed the racing stripes on these Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition 1960's Stratocaster.



According to the listing, these four beauties are Closet Classic Limited Namm Edition Stratocasters. They come with a custom neck plate for the occasion.


I found four listings for the same model in different colors:
- olympic white with blue stripes (my favorite)
- surf green with beige white stripes
- shoreline gold with beige white stripes
- and sonic blue with white stripes

The features are classic 60's strat reissue:
- Select Alder Body
- Maple Neck - '60s Oval “C” Shape
- Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish
- Rosewood Fingerboard - 9.5" radius
- 21 Medium Jumbo Frets
- Scale Length: 25.5” (648 mm)
- Fender®/Gotoh® Vintage Style Tuning Machines
- 3 Custom ‘60s Single-Coil Strat® Pickups
- 5-way switch



Use the eBay widget below to see all four guitars on auction. They are all at $3,195 Buy It Now with the option to make an offer. So, give it a chance!

Most Iconic - the 1964 Fender Stratocaster

If being played by Jimi Hendrix is not enough, then Wayne from Wayne's World forever made this guitar iconic.

It will be mine.
Oh, yes... It will be mine.

"It" is the 1964 Fender Stratocaster.

And to make it yours, be ready to make a five-figure check.

Unless... you go for a Custom Shop Reissue like this beautiful .



To sum up the listing:

Built for NAMM 2009 to honor the legend of the 1964 Stratocaster, this Chocolate Three Color Sunburst is a limited edition (50 available worlwide). It comes in a Thin Nitro Lacquer Finish, Relic-d to show years of natural wear and tear, nicks, scratches and intricate weather checking. Comes in a Limited Edition Case with a Limited Edition Certificate.

Features include a premium Ash body, 1965 C-shaped maple neck with 9.5”-radius dark Indian rosewood fingerboard, clay dot inlays and jumbo 6105 frets, three Master-Built “overwound” Fat ’50s single-coil pickups, five-way switching, American Vintage synchronized tremolo bridge, vintage-style tuners, bone nut and a three-ply mint green pickguard.

Unfortunately, the auction is closed on this one but I'll let you know if I see one surface.

And anyway, remember: NO STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN!

Fender Splatter - like a Crashocaster, but cheaper & cooler?

Back in 2003, Fender introduced the Splatter Stratocaster, a very cool model where each design was unique.


These guitars, which are sometimes also referred as the Splattercaster, were introduced as "Fender Standard Series Stratocaster models with Spin Art Finishes. Each one of these new Stratocaster guitars are made just like the name implies - by putting finish on the guitar body and spinning it while still wet, each one virtually guaranteed to be unique" according to Harmony Central.

The Splattercasters were Made in Mexico (aka. MIM) and were available for a limited time only.

There are a few to be found on eBay at any time in the $500-800 range which is kind of a cool price for Strats with a unique finish. This clearly evokes the Fender Crashocasters - basically Fender Custom Shop strats painted by famous Graffiti artist Crash (Eric Clapton has 5). I think the Splatters are definitely as cool as the Crashocasters, if not more because I really like the surrealist approach and the random factor. And they come at a fraction of the price!

Here are a few examples. Features are below, with an eBay search widget to help you locate your future one-of-a-kind guitar.





Features:

• Alder body
• Maple Neck with Rosewood fingerboard
• 21 Vintage Style Frets
• 3 Standard Single-Coil Strat Pickups
• 5-way switching
• Fender/Ping Standard Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines
• Vintage Style Synchronized Tremolo
• Satin Finish: Splatter Red, Splatter Blue, Splatter Yellow, Splatter White, Splatter Black

Iconic Fender Crashocaster on eBay -own one like Clapton!

Whao!

The description says it all:
Fender Master Built Crash Stratocaster Electric Guitar
Plus A Pro Junior Amp
Along With A One Of A Kind Canvas Painting
By World Famous Artist Crash

It's all in the pic on the left. Look!


In short: renowned Grafiti artist Crash painted a few Stratocasters for Eric Clapton in the 90's which prompted a custom shop limited series. And further, this integrated piece consisting of a canvas, an amp and most importantly to us: a masterbuilt custom shop strat'. The term Crashocaster was apparently coined by Clapton's guitar tech, Lee Dickson. (see below for more background)

Says the posting: "This is a unique guitar commissioned for a special project for a National Association of Music Manufacturers (NAMM) Festival. The artist combined for the first time canvas art and guitar and amp art and was thrilled with the results. It became one of his coolest and most favored pieces."

Hefty price tag on this Fender Masterbuilt Stratocaster: Buy it now at $24,000. But this is your chance to get a pretty unique piece of contemporary art and a guitar like Eric Clapton!

Although the whole piece would make the coolest guitar wall ever, this particular design on the guitar doesn't work for me. So, maybe you want to order your own direct from the artist (see this site: Crashocasters.com).
Or get a Fender CS Eric Clapton Strat' and a few spray cans and get creative!

My favorite Crashocaster designed for Clapton is the one he plays below. I think he used that one for the show in honor of his late friend Beatles George Harrison. He sure played it for the Queen Golden Jubilee (video).



If you like crazy designs on a Strat', take a look at the Fender Splatter!

Some background on John "Crash" Matos and his Fender design work through Wikipedia:

Crash is a famous graffiti artist. As early as 13, John Matos was spray painting New York City trains, the full image art as opposed to simpler tagging soon transferred to silk screened canvas. He was first noticed through his murals on subway cars and dilapidated buildings,
he is now regarded as a pioneer of the Graffiti art movement. His work is said to convey a "visual link between street life and established society". By the 1980s Matos had exhibits across the United States and abroad. He was given his first gallery showing by Sidney Janis at the Sidney Janis Gallery in 1983.

In 1996, Crash painted an Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster and gave it to the artist as a gift. Clapton went on to use the specially designed guitar through his 2001 tour and later appeared with another. In total Crash has created 5 guitars for Clapton, though only three of them have made public appearances. One of Clapton's "Crashocasters" (nicknamed by Eric's guitar tech, Lee Dickson) auctioned for $321,100(USD) b y the name of "Crash-3" and was used extensively during the first Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004. Soon after Fender Musical Instruments commissioned the creation of 50 such graffiti designed guitars from Crash and named the line "Crashocasters."

Easter Egg Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster -purple gold leaf finish

Well, it's Easter Monday and I have just the right guitar for the occasion.

My wife and I made sure to hide and pick chocolate eggs in the park with our 18-month daughter this Sunday -a fun family tradition.

And for you guitar fans, I have this Fender Custom Shop 1956 NOS Reissue Stratocaster, masterbuilt by John Cruz to put in your Easter basket.


With its violet candy laquer over white gold leaf (23 carat), it clearly stands out and it's reminiscent of those Faberge eggs Russian aristocrats were getting for Easter.

I recently acquired a Fender Custom Shop '56 Reissue Strat (in a more classic burst finish) and this guitar rocks. Period. I play blues, funk, rock and I love the edgy sound. So this "Easter guitar" should be no different... apart from the price: a hefty $6,999 but you are investing in a guitar and in gold! :)

Click here for more Custom Shop '56 reissues.

1979 Fender Stratocaster in Transparent Red

Just found this quite original vintage Fender Stratocaster from '79. It stands out with its transparent red finish - maybe it would have looked better with a white pickguard but I wouldn't change that now! The overall aging is really nice with the lacquer cracking on the massive '70s headstock (got to love those big heads with the diamond tuner heads).

Price is in ballpark for a Fender from that era (buy now at $1,800) and the different look makes it probably a bit more collectible - at least to me! I do like cherry red guitars from the 70s.