Description
The Fender Custom Shop 1956 Hardtail Stratocaster Heavy Relic captures an alternate path in Strat history; one where simplicity, sustain, and raw resonance take center stage. Finished in a beautifully weathered Faded Blue Ice Metallic, this Time Machine creation looks every bit like a hard-worked original from the golden age of Fender, complete with decades of imagined club wear, finish checking, and honest road scars.
While tremolo-equipped Strats tend to dominate the spotlight, hardtail Stratocasters have long held a cult following among players who crave added sustain, tighter attack, and a more direct connection to the body's resonance. This Custom Shop build leans heavily into that personality. The string-through-body hardtail bridge anchors every note with piano-like clarity and firmness, giving the guitar an exceptionally immediate response that works beautifully for blues, classic rock, country, and roots-driven styles.
The two-piece select alder body delivers the balanced, articulate voice that made mid-'50s Stratocasters legendary in the first place. Finished in thin nitrocellulose lacquer and treated to Fender's Heavy Relic process, the body feels comfortably broken-in from day one, while the faded metallic finish perfectly complements the instrument's vintage-correct aesthetic.
One of this Strat's standout features is the substantial 10/56 "V" neck profile. It fills the hand with the kind of confident vintage feel players associate with Fender's earliest electric instruments, while the compound 7.25"-9.5" radius keeps the playing experience smooth and modern enough for wide bends and lower action. Combined with Jescar Vintage frets and a comfortably rolled maple fingerboard, this neck strikes a superb balance between old-school character and modern playability.
The trio of Custom Shop hand-wound '56 Strat pickups delivers everything players love about early Stratocaster tone; glassy highs, woody mids, percussive low-end snap, and exceptional touch sensitivity. The reverse-wound reverse-polarity middle pickup keeps positions 2 and 4 quiet without sacrificing the unmistakable hollow "quack" that defines classic Strat tones.
Visually, the Faded Blue Ice Metallic finish gives this guitar an especially striking personality. The softened metallic hue, paired with aged plastics and heavily worn lacquer, feels straight out of a forgotten vintage collection; equal parts custom color cool and hard-earned stage history.
At Cream City Music, we love the way this guitar combines rare hardtail Strat character with authentic Custom Shop craftsmanship. It has the soul of a true vintage survivor, but with the precision, consistency, and effortless feel that modern players demand.
Specifications:
- Body: 2-Piece Select Alder with Offset Seam
- Body Shape: Stratocaster
- Body Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer Heavy Relic
- Color: Faded Blue Ice Metallic
- Neck Material: Maple
- Neck Shape: 10/56 "V"
- Neck Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
- Fingerboard Radius: 7.25"-9.5" Vintage Compound Radius
- Scale Length: 25.5"
- Number of Frets: 21
- Fret Size: Jescar Vintage (45085)
- Inlays: Black Micarta Dot
- Nut Material: Bone
- Nut Width: 1.650"
- Bridge: 6-Saddle Strings-Through-Body Strat Hardtail with Bent Steel Saddles
- Tuning Machines: Vintage-Style with Fender Logo
- Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome
- Pickguard: 1-Ply Parchment
- Control Knobs: White Plastic
- Switch Tip: White
- String Tree: American Vintage '56-'58
- Neck Plate: 4-Bolt with Custom Shop "V" Logo, Serialized
- Neck Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound '56 Single-Coil Strat
- Middle Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound RWRP '56 Single-Coil Strat
- Bridge Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound '56 Single-Coil Strat
- Pickup Configuration: SSS
- Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1 (Neck Pickup), Tone 2 (Middle Pickup)
- Switching: 5-Position Blade
- Potentiometers: 250K 10% Taper Split
- Case: Deluxe Hardshell Case
Sku: 9235700224
While tremolo-equipped Strats tend to dominate the spotlight, hardtail Stratocasters have long held a cult following among players who crave added sustain, tighter attack, and a more direct connection to the body's resonance. This Custom Shop build leans heavily into that personality. The string-through-body hardtail bridge anchors every note with piano-like clarity and firmness, giving the guitar an exceptionally immediate response that works beautifully for blues, classic rock, country, and roots-driven styles.
The two-piece select alder body delivers the balanced, articulate voice that made mid-'50s Stratocasters legendary in the first place. Finished in thin nitrocellulose lacquer and treated to Fender's Heavy Relic process, the body feels comfortably broken-in from day one, while the faded metallic finish perfectly complements the instrument's vintage-correct aesthetic.
One of this Strat's standout features is the substantial 10/56 "V" neck profile. It fills the hand with the kind of confident vintage feel players associate with Fender's earliest electric instruments, while the compound 7.25"-9.5" radius keeps the playing experience smooth and modern enough for wide bends and lower action. Combined with Jescar Vintage frets and a comfortably rolled maple fingerboard, this neck strikes a superb balance between old-school character and modern playability.
The trio of Custom Shop hand-wound '56 Strat pickups delivers everything players love about early Stratocaster tone; glassy highs, woody mids, percussive low-end snap, and exceptional touch sensitivity. The reverse-wound reverse-polarity middle pickup keeps positions 2 and 4 quiet without sacrificing the unmistakable hollow "quack" that defines classic Strat tones.
Visually, the Faded Blue Ice Metallic finish gives this guitar an especially striking personality. The softened metallic hue, paired with aged plastics and heavily worn lacquer, feels straight out of a forgotten vintage collection; equal parts custom color cool and hard-earned stage history.
At Cream City Music, we love the way this guitar combines rare hardtail Strat character with authentic Custom Shop craftsmanship. It has the soul of a true vintage survivor, but with the precision, consistency, and effortless feel that modern players demand.
Specifications:
- Body: 2-Piece Select Alder with Offset Seam
- Body Shape: Stratocaster
- Body Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer Heavy Relic
- Color: Faded Blue Ice Metallic
- Neck Material: Maple
- Neck Shape: 10/56 "V"
- Neck Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
- Fingerboard Radius: 7.25"-9.5" Vintage Compound Radius
- Scale Length: 25.5"
- Number of Frets: 21
- Fret Size: Jescar Vintage (45085)
- Inlays: Black Micarta Dot
- Nut Material: Bone
- Nut Width: 1.650"
- Bridge: 6-Saddle Strings-Through-Body Strat Hardtail with Bent Steel Saddles
- Tuning Machines: Vintage-Style with Fender Logo
- Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome
- Pickguard: 1-Ply Parchment
- Control Knobs: White Plastic
- Switch Tip: White
- String Tree: American Vintage '56-'58
- Neck Plate: 4-Bolt with Custom Shop "V" Logo, Serialized
- Neck Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound '56 Single-Coil Strat
- Middle Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound RWRP '56 Single-Coil Strat
- Bridge Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound '56 Single-Coil Strat
- Pickup Configuration: SSS
- Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1 (Neck Pickup), Tone 2 (Middle Pickup)
- Switching: 5-Position Blade
- Potentiometers: 250K 10% Taper Split
- Case: Deluxe Hardshell Case
Sku: 9235700224
