A Well-aged Tribute to the Strat’s Late-’50s Glory Days
The Fender Custom Shop’s Limited-edition ’58 Stratocaster Heavy Relic is a well-worn tribute to the Stratocaster’s final year of full maple fingerboard production, modified with a few period-defying upgrades to split the difference between vintage and modern realms. A 1-piece AA flamed maple neck starts this Strat off with an eye-catching aesthetic. And while the chunky 1954 Soft “V” neck comes straight out of the early Fender playbook, the fingerboard’s 9.5-inch radius and 21 narrow-tall frets are anything but vintage. The 2-piece select ash body comes equipped with a charmingly old-school anodized aluminum pickguard, housing three full-bodied Custom Shop hand-wound Fat ’50s single-coil Stratocaster pickups — a formidable pickup design that emboldens the single-coil bite and snap of the Strat’s first decade with a more authoritative wallop. You also get classic vintage-style Fender tuners and a Custom Shop vintage synchronized tremolo unit. Lastly, the Limited-edition ’58 Stratocaster Heavy Relic’s nitrocellulose lacquer Heavy Relic finish brandishes its 6-plus-decade heritage with pride, beaming with hard-earned nicks, dings, and scars.
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Capture the feel of a first-year Stratocaster
Crafted from a premium 1-piece shaft of AA flame maple, this guitar’s 1954 Soft “V” profile captures the substantial vibe of a first-year Stratocaster. It’s certainly a robust feeling profile — this is no thin “C” shape — but the 1954 Soft “V” profile found on the Limited-edition ’58 Stratocaster Heavy Relic offers a slightly more manageable grip than the proverbial “baseball bat” necks commonly found on early Fender guitars. This decidedly vintage-style neck is paired with a not-so-vintage 9.5-inch fingerboard radius and 21 narrow tall frets — a combo sure to please players who favor a flatter, more modern playing experience.
Custom Shop Fat ’50s pickups
This Limited-edition ’58 Stratocaster Heavy Relic can pull double duty as a rhythm machine, a lead monster, or both. A trio of onboard hand-wound Fat ’50s pickups from the Fender Custom Shop deliver beefy vintage-style tone with enhanced bass response and balanced midrange that’s never harsh. These pickups look and sound period correct with staggered hand-beveled alnico magnets and formvar magnet wire for refined harmonic response to dynamics. The middle Fat ’50s is reverse wound, a welcome modern touch that cuts pickup hum when playing in position 2 or 4. Fat ’50s are often called a workhorse pickup — their sound is balanced but never flat or bland. With three of them and a 5-way pickup selector, endless tones are ripe for exploration.
Aged to perfection
The most extreme aging that the Fender Custom Shop typically offers is their Heavy Relic package — an aesthetic tribute to the world’s battle-scarred 6-strings, with all the dents, dings, and scratches to reflect a lifetime of music making. From the all-too-common missing patch of finish where your forearm rests to the rubbed-through finish on the back of the neck, Fender Custom Shop Heavy Relic instruments are perfect for the player who requires a perfectly worn-in feel from day one. Plus, since the Fender Custom Shop’s instruments are finished in a period-correct nitrocellulose lacquer, guitars such as the Limited-edition ’58 Stratocaster Heavy Relic will only continue to age and develop character the more time you spend with them.
Fender Custom Shop Limited-edition ’58 Stratocaster Heavy Relic Electric Guitar Features:
- Modernized reimagining of a classic late 1950s Stratocaster
- 2-piece select ash body grants you a clear, snappy attack and ample articulation
- Premium-grade 1-piece AA flame maple neck, with a chunky 1954 “Soft “V” shape that captures the authentic feel of first-year Stratocasters
- Modern 9.5-inch radius supplies a smooth, easy-playing feel across all 21 narrow-tall frets
- 3 Custom Shop hand-wound Fat ’50s Stratocaster pickups embolden biting 1950s Strat sonics with a fuller-range output
- Charming old-school gold anodized aluminum pickguard
- Vintage-style tuning machines and a Custom Shop vintage synchronized tremolo ensure your tuning remains stable and secure, even with heavy trem usage
- Heavy Relic nitrocellulose lacquer finish gives you the feel of a vintage guitar that’s been played hard for decades
