Celebrate the 6-string That Started it All
Celebrating the Stratocaster’s 70 years of solidbody dominance, the LTD 70th-anniversary ’54 Stratocaster Heavy Relic is a time machine of a 6-string that transports you straight back to Fullerton, California, circa 1954. From the 2-piece select ash body’s offset center seam to the chunky feel of the 5/4 quarter-sawn maple neck’s period-correct profile, the Fender Custom Shop has spared no expense in recreating the magic and mystique of Leo Fender’s very first Stratocasters. Three custom-designed hand-wound ’54 Stratocaster pickups replicate the snappy, bell-like tone that originally put the Strat on the map, with an updated 5-way switch for easy access to the two and four position’s signature “quack.” It’s all finished off with two modern performance-minded specs that even Sweetwater’s most rabid vintage fanatics can’t help but appreciate: a 7.25–9.5-inch compound radius and medium-vintage frets for slick playability from the first fret all the way to the 21st. Last but certainly not least, each LTD 70th-anniversary ’54 Stratocaster sports a striking nitrocellulose lacquer finish with attention-grabbing colors handpicked by Sweetwater’s guitar experts. Here’s to 70 more years of Stratocaster supremacy!
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Precision-voiced pickups capture the sound of '54
Few Fender fans can knock the Telecaster's two powerhouse pickups, but Leo Fender was of a much different mind back in 1954. The electric guitar was still in its early days, and just a few years before, one pickup was the norm for electric guitars, let alone two pickups. Well, why not bring that count up to three?
Like many of Leo Fender's 1950s creations, he hit the Stratocaster's trio of single-coil pickups right out of the park on his very first try. The Fender Custom Shop LTD 70th-anniversary '54 Stratocaster’s custom trio of Custom Shop hand-wound ’54 pickups expertly replicate the sound of the world's very first Stratocasters — a sound that many players argue has ruled as the definitive electric guitar sound for 70 years. These pickups capture the same crystalline highs, rotund lows, and snappy bite that first solidified the Stratocaster as perhaps Leo's crowning achievement, crafted by the Fender Custom Shop for exacting component-level authenticity. Lastly, the LTD 70th-anniversary ’54 Stratocaster takes a minor modern detour, brandishing a 5-way switch, allowing you to easily access the Strat's iconic quack without lodging the pickup selector switch in between positions.
Modernized compound-radius fingerboard
From headstock to strap pin, the Fender Custom Shop LTD 70th-anniversary ’54 Stratocaster is a spot-on replication of the Strat as Leo envisioned it back in 1954. Well, with a few tiny exceptions, namely the frets and the fingerboard radius. Instead of the rounded 7.25-inch-radius fingerboard found on most vintage Strats, the LTD 70th-anniversary ’54 Stratocaster comes equipped with a 7.25–9.5-inch compound radius — a supremely playable setup that both preserves the comfortable low-position chording afforded by the classic 7.25-inch radius, while also smoothing out for easier bends as you climb up the frets. Similarly, this guitar’s medium-vintage frets clock in just slightly larger than diminutive vintage frets, enhancing performance without negating the fast feel provided by smaller frets.
Period-correct neck profile
As a general rule, neck shapes have thinned out since the early days of the electric guitar; neck profiles that most guitarists would regard as “chunky” today were positively speedy by the standards of the mid-20th century! So it is with the LTD 70th-anniversary ’54 Stratocaster’s profile. A rather stout shaft of ultra-stable 5/4 quarter-sawn maple mirrors the shape found on Leo’s first Strats. Substantial but not unwieldy, this Strat’s neck profile is sure to please players who favor a vintage feel, while remaining fast enough to not scare off modern adherents to the slim “C” neck.
Fender Custom Shop LTD 70th-anniversary '54 Stratocaster Heavy Relic Electric Guitar Features:
- Celebrating the Strat’s 70th birthday, with custom nitrocellulose lacquer finishes handpicked by Sweetwater’s guitar experts
- 2-piece select ash body with a period-correct offset center seam
- Ultra-stable 1-piece 5/4 quarter-sawn maple neck in a rather chunky-feeling ’54 Stratocaster profile
- Modern compound 7.25–9.5-inch radius and medium vintage frets offer the easy low-position chording made famous by early Strats, with a flatter, higher-performance feel as you climb the neck
- Classic Custom Shop Vintage synchronized tremolo and vintage-style tuners offer endless expressive possibilities with optimal tuning stability
- A trio of custom-voiced hand-wound ’54 Stratocaster pickups capture all the bell-like highs, gritty mids, and rotund lows of Leo’s first Stratocasters
- Modern 5-way switch for quacky in-between positions
