Celebrate the 6-string That Started it All
Celebrating the Stratocaster’s 70 years of solidbody dominance, the Limited Edition 70th Anniversary ’54 Stratocaster NOS 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 a classic 3-way switch for ultimate authenticity. 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-inch radius and medium vintage frets for slick playability from the first fret all the way to the 21st. Last but certainly not least, each 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 70th Anniversary '54 Stratocaster’s custom trio of Custom Shop hand-wound ’54 pickups expertly replicates 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.
Classic 7.25-inch radius fingerboard
From headstock to strap pin, the Fender Custom Shop 70th Anniversary ’54 Stratocaster is a spot-on replication of the Strat as Leo envisioned it back in 1954. The rounded 7.25-inch-radius fingerboard found on most vintage Strats, the 70th-anniversary ’54 Stratocaster comes equipped with a 7.25 radius — a supremely playable setup that both preserves the vintage vibe of a classic Strat.
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 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 Limited Edition 70th Anniversary '54 Stratocaster 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
- Vintage-correct 7.25-in. fingerboard radius and medium vintage frets offer the easy low-position chording made famous by early Strats
- 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 captures all the bell-like highs, gritty mids, and rotund lows of Leo’s first Stratocasters
- Old-school 3-way switch for traditional Strat tones
