Fender Custom Shop '55 Stratocaster Dual Mag, Candy Apple Red

Description

"Originally my work was design, modification, repair, and custom building. I guess you would say the objectives were durability, performance, and tone." - Leo Fender

We are very excited to welcome the Fender Custom Shop to The Music Emporium! Many of us started our guitar playing journey on Fender guitars - and we certainly noticed all of our idols playing them - so to be able to work with the Dream Factory in CA and spec out our perfect Fender guitars? A dream come true to be sure.

The Limited Edition Dual Mag Stratocaster, so named for its unique Custom Shop pickups that use both Alnico 2 and 5 magnets (more on that in a minute), is all about combining old-school Fender vibe with more modern refinements. A two-piece Ash body w/deep '57 contours (sorted for light weight), rift sawn maple neck w/a '54 soft V carve, rounded "transitional" '54 pickup covers, '55 style knobs, and an anodized pickguard bring the more traditional specs, while the 7.25-9.5" radius and electronics bring in the more modern touches. 

So...Dual Mag pickups...what's the deal?

Different magnets will change a guitar's tone - brighter, darker, hotter, mellower, etc...The Dual Mag pickups use a mellower Alnico 2 magnet to drive the top 3 strings (to help tame treble), while an Alnico 5 magnet drives the lower 3 strings (for more piano-like punch and clarity).

Combined with Fender's Greasebucket circuit on the master tone control and a blend control on the 2nd tone knob, you've got a really wide range of very useable, and killer, tones available to you. The Greasebucket tone control attenuates top-end frequencies without making your tone muddy or boomy. It's incredibly useable and a favorite of many pro players. The blend control on the 2nd tone knob simply lets you get Tele-like tones by providing access to the "outer" pickups - the neck and bridge combined a la a Tele.

Another highlight for us on this guitar, aside from the versatile and tone-filled electronics, is the neck. We're huge fans of the 7.25-9.5" radius - best of both worlds, vintage and modern. The non-relic'd, satin finish on the slightly chunky neck feels fantastic!  

We're sold, what can we say? Fender's Custom Shop is at the top of their game and the Dual Mag is yet another example of why. Priced with hardshell case.