The Guitar Player's Resource
When Fender's Custom Shop builds an Artisan Stratocaster, they're not just assembling premium components - they're creating instruments that prove exotic tonewoods and traditional craftsmanship can coexist beautifully. This isn't your typical Strat, and that becomes obvious the moment you see that stunning 4A flame maple burl top over roasted ash body.
Here's what makes the tonewood selection so thoughtful: that roasted ash body provides the resonance and bite you expect from ash, but the roasting process removes moisture and adds harmonic complexity you can actually hear. The flame maple burl cap isn't just eye candy - it increases sustain while adding midrange bite that helps your notes cut through dense mixes. The roasted 3A bird's-eye maple neck topped with Macassar ebony fingerboard creates incredible clarity and attack, plus the kind of sustain that makes single notes sing for days.
Those hand-wound Fat '60s single-coil pickups tell the real story. These aren't mass-produced pickups wound by machines - they're crafted by hand to capture that classic bell-like jangle, smooth bluesy warmth, and distinctive midrange bite that defined the golden era of Stratocaster tone. The balance between brightness, warmth, and those ear-popping mids gives you incredible versatility whether you're playing crystalline cleans or pushing your amp into sweet spot overdrive.
The 1963 C neck shape fills your hand perfectly without feeling chunky, while that 9.5"-12" compound radius fingerboard starts comfortable for chord work and flattens out for fast lead playing up high. Twenty-one narrow jumbo frets provide excellent note articulation without feeling oversized under your fingers.
That vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge gives you classic Strat vibrato expression while the nitrocellulose lacquer finish ages naturally, developing character over time. This guitar represents Custom Shop craftsmanship at its finest - where exotic materials meet traditional techniques.
General:
Number of Strings: 6
Left-/Right-handed: Right-handed
Body:
Body Type: Solidbody
Body Shape: Artisan Stratocaster
Body Material: Roasted Ash
Top Material: 4A Flamed Maple Burl
Body Finish: Nitrocellulose Gloss Lacquer
Color: Natural Maple Burl
Neck:
Neck Material: Birdseye Maple
Neck Shape: 1963 C
Neck Joint: Bolt-on
Radius: 9.5"-12" compound
Fingerboard Material: Madagascar Ebony
Fingerboard Inlay: Dots
Number of Frets: 21, Narrow Jumbo
Scale Length: 25.5"
Nut Width: 1.650"
Nut Material: Bone
Hardware:
Bridge/Tailpiece: 6-saddle Vintage-style Synchronized Tremolo
Tuners: Vintage-style
Electronics:
Neck Pickup: Hand-wound Fat '60s Single-coil
Middle Pickup: Hand-wound Fat '60s Single-coil
Bridge Pickup: Hand-wound Fat '60s Single-coil
Controls: 1 x master volume, 2 x tone
Switching: 5-way blade pickup switch
