Fender Custom Shop

Many of our 'Friends of the Show' have a large fleet of guitars - always turning up with something different for me to marvel at. Many head next door for a quick fettle, but some need the third degree and consensus amongst a select few to plan a course of action.

This Custom Shop Strat is a strange one. It's a glorious one, but not as Stratty as it appears. This fret gauge was probably specified to pacify a Gibson guy - the not-quite-stoptailed bridge doing its best to emulate a ToM. The challenge is to make this unstratty Strat more like a Strat, but without changing its underlying soul. Basically soften it a bit then. Some fret-work magic and bridge adjustment took place and as usual, we had a few nerves at the handover, but none were needed. The owner bonded with it as he originally expected to. A lovely guitar now made lovelier.