Love them or hate them but 'aged' Relic Strats are here to stay and sales are excellent, but I fully appreciate that a number of customers do not like the whole 'aged' concept - As a result we are always on the hunt for nice NOS Vintage Strats with the new shiny gloss finish and this is how we came across a Fender Custom Shop 60's NOS Strat with a cool Ocean Turquoise finish - I'll list the key spec details shortly, but note this guitar has been custom ordered with the Clapton noiseless pick-ups and wiring loom, hence the active mid boost control

Overall the guitar is based on a 60's Strat and as such all the spec and features are from this period - As a result you get the classic 60's oval C neck profile, but now with the upgraded 9.5" fingerboard radius and a set of Dunlop 6105 frets, both chosen to enrich the playing performance - This combination allows you to set-up the guitar with a more fluid playing action, allows for effortless controlled string bending and no choking out when you rip into those big blues bends - Strung and set-up with a set of 10's and these now feel slinky, so very few players will feel the need to use 9's - The neck receives the usual nitro tint finish, but in this case it has a slight soft satin sheen to it, so whilst it still looks new, it feels more played in than a full shiny gloss lacquered finish would - Again these tweaks are chosen to enrich the whole feel and playing performance - All hardware is 60's spec'd so no surprises there - The nitro gloss ocean turquoise finish sits on an alder body

Tonal issues - The whole guitar just about nudges 8lbs on our scales - Played acoustically it has a nice lively ring about it, so good news on that score - The EC electronic package on this Strat is a nice upgrade and certainly gives the guitar some additional tonal variation and as such makes it very versatile for many playing styles - Overall the tonal quality is crisp, and lively, with a clear soft and warm texture pouring out of the neck pick-up and more bite/edge from the bridge pick-up, yet it still retains plenty of body - The 2 out of phase settings on position 2 and 4 of the 5 way switch are very spanky with plenty of quack and musical warmth - Add some overdrive and with the tone control and volume control on 10 the guitar has a nice edgey vibe to it that pushes the amp, so for a softer voice just 'roll off' the tone and/or volume pot a notch until you find that magical sweet spot - The tone and volume pots will respond nicely across the 1-10 range - Remember on the Clapton circuit the tone pot has the TBX function, so as you turn the tone put from 5 to 10 it adds some additional highs and bite, if required - At this stage I have not touched on the Clapton active mid boost control - On a clean amp setting, the control range from 1 to 10 is extreme to say these least, but I found it very useful to add just a touch of boost just to fatten up the mids - Subtle is the key word here and as such it is a very useful tool - On blues/rock overdriven amp settings it allows you to add more ooomph to the tone, so whilst you retain the edge, clarity and snap of a single coil pick-up, you now get the beefed up voice of a humbucker, hence more sustain - A combination of the the volume control, TBX tone pot and the mid boost pot certainly makes this a versatile Strat - You can push it to the edge for more bite and shrill, or obtain a sleazy chilled out jazz voice, all with subtle adjustments on the pots

The price includes the deluxe brown tolex case, certificate and a few nice goodies

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Every guitar in stock at Guitars4You has been personally selected, inspected and approved by me, with particular attention paid to the set-up and playing performance - Every sale, phone call, mail order transaction or e-mail is handled my me - Mark Hopkin, the owner, Managing Director, cleaner and coffee maker (Jo, my wife helps with the coffee) - A 35 year journey has fuelled my knowledge, experience, love, devotion and passion for exceptionally fine guitars - This reflects in every aspect of our business

I have no desire to run an Amazon style 'click to buy' guitar shop, that lacks any soul or passion, or indeed to fill a showroom with a selection of dirty, shop soiled or dusty guitars that are in need of a set-up