2016 Fender Custom Shop Michael Landau Signature 1968 Relic Stratocaster Black
Excellent condition featuring double cutaway contoured hand selected alder body with black nitrocellulose distressed “Heavy Relic” finish, multi-ply mint green pickguard, three Fender Fat 50s single coil pickups with aged white pickup covers, one volume control and two tone controls with aged white plastic skirted knobs, five way pickup selector switch with aged white switch tip, oval pointed output jack plate mounted to the front treble side of the body, vintage style Stratocaster tremolo bridge unit with six individual Fender stamped bent steel saddles, bolt on maple neck, rosewood fingerboard with pearloid dot inlays starting at the third fret, bone nut, large Fender Stratocaster peghead shape with black and gold Fender block logo, Stratocaster logo and large “With Synchronized tremolo”, single butterfly string tree, six in a line Fender single line tuning machines, Fender Custom Shop logo on the back of the peghead, four bolt neck fastening plate, aged nickel hardware and original Fender hard shell rectangular case with tweed covering. This instrument includes all paperwork, COA, strap, trem bar, ashtray bridge cover and the tremolo cavity cover plate.
This 2016 Fender Custom Shop Michael Landau Signature 1968 Stratocaster is in excellent virtually unplayed condition. The finish and hardware have been aged and distressed by the manufacturer. The neck profile on this guitar is what Fender describes as an “oval” shape and it is extremely comfortable to play. It's very round and chunky and was carved to be extremely close to the neck on Michael’s '68 Strat. The frets on this Stratocaster show virtually no signs of play wear and this instrument plays excellent up and down the fingerboard. This particular example is lightweight coming in at 7lb even. It is very resonant and rings loud and clear when played unplugged. The original Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s single coil pickups sound absolutely superb in this guitar and have a very strong and snappy tone from the bridge and middle positions while the neck pickup puts out some pretty serious and tight low end while remaining articulate. The “in between” 2 and 4 positions are exceptional and really give you that Stratocaster quack. This instrument sounds incredible with a clean or overdriven amp and is, in my opinion, one of the best overall sounding Stratocasters that has passed through my shop in a while. The Fender Custom Shop has done an outstanding job on this instrument from the finish to the tone to the playability and while this guitar is a signature model that pays tribute to the absolutely legendary guitar player Michael Landau, this is an instrument that could become an instant “go to” for your own Stratocaster needs. A gem of a guitar shipped safely and promptly from our little shop in Clarksville, Tennessee, to your front door.