Fender 1956 Heavy Relic Stratocaster Review

1956 Heavy Relic Stratocaster is a tribute to the original 1956 Strat and it is a new model for 2012. Set in the Time Machine Series from Custom Shop, this model is one of the premier instruments for this year. It comes in faded 2-color sunburst, black and desert sand color options with nitrocellulose lacquer finish. This Strat has a solid double cutaway body made of ash, like the originals back in the '50s. This flat-top model features no binding around the top. The bridge is American Vintage Styled Synchronized Tremolo with chrome plating and string-through-body construction. The pickup layout is a standard one with three single coil pickups in the bridge, middle and neck positions. All of the pickups are Custom '50s Strat pickups. They are controlled through master volume and two tone knobs. Five position blade takes care of pickup switching. The neck is made of quartersawn maple and has a 10/56 Large V shape with a bolt-on joint. One-piece maple fingerboard is equipped with 21 6105 sized frets, black dot inlays, 9.50" fingerboard radius and 1.65" wide micarta nut. Tuning machines are vintage styled Fender/Gotoh, hardware is chrome plated and the white plastic pickguard has classic Strat shape. The MSRP for 1956 Heavy Relic Stratocaster is set at $5,000.