What would have happened if legendary guitarist Les Paul agreed to design a signature model with Fender? That's the question the Fender Parallel Universe Volume II Uptown Strat attempts to answer. This solidbody guitar features everything that you'd expect to see when two manufacturing juggernauts collide. These appointments include a mahogany slab body, mahogany neck with bound rosewood fingerboard and inlaid blocks, 2-point tremolo bridge, and a unique electronics configuration. The Uptown Strat is powered by a pair of custom Double Tap humbuckers that produce old-school humbucker crunch and single-coil chime without any loss of volume. Tonally versatile and totally unique, the Uptown Strat is ready to command the audience's attention, all it needs is a player.

Fender Parallel Universe II Uptown Strat at a Glance:

• Mahogany body with lacquer finish
• 24.75” scale 60s “C"-shaped neck profile; 9.5”-radius fingerboard with 22 medium-jumbo frets
• PAF style DoubleTap™ humbucking bridge and neck pickups
• Includes optional Aged White “Uptown/Downtown” Switch plate in case
• Includes Surf Green Parallel Universe hardshell case and Certificate of Authenticity

The best of both builders

The Uptown Strat was designed to provide LP-style tone and good looks with the signature Stratocaster feel and simplicity. For a warm and resonant tone, a mahogany slab body is mated to a one-piece mahogany neck with a traditional ’60s "C" neck profile. Meanwhile, the 2-point tremolo bridge enables playing possibilities such as subtle vibrato or massive dive bombs. Unlike most of its Fender-designed siblings, the Uptown Strat has a shortened 24.75" scale length that makes the strings feel a little softer and more slinky than usual. Finally, to add a bit of bling to normally simplistic Strat design, the Uptown Strat includes binding and block inlays on the fingerboard and a specially-designed tortoise pickguard.

Custom pickups and switching

The Uptown Strat is unlike any Stratocaster to come before it. As such, it requires pickups just as unique as it is. That's why Fender equipped this axe with a pair of Double Tap humbucking pickups. Designed by Fender's resident pickup expert, Tim Shaw, Double Tap humbuckers are in a league of their own. They create howling humbucker tones, thanks to specially made Alnico IV magnets. When you engage the S-1 switch, the pickup delivers clear, articulate single-coil tones with no loss in volume. To give you greater control over your signal, the Fender Uptown Strat has individual volume and tone controls for each pickup.

A neck crafted with the player in mind

While it does have show-stopping good looks, the Uptown Strat is built to be played. The one-piece mahogany neck sports the classic Stratocaster headstock and Fender logo. When you play it for the first time, you'll appreciate the more modern 9.5" fingerboard radius. The comfortable ’60s "C" neck carve provides the perfect amount of thickness without feeling overly thick. At Music Experience, we love the neck on the Uptown Strat because it gives you plenty to hold on to, but it won't interfere with your playing.

What Fender Says...

Dapper and bold – the Uptown Strat® commands attention when it enters a room. Static White lacquer highlights and accentuates the slab mahogany body, a bound and block inlaid rosewood fingerboard radiates class and a pair of chrome DoubleTap™ humbucking pickups draw the eye. Featuring a 24.75” mahogany neck with 22 medium-jumbo frets and a 9.5” radius, 2-point Synchronized Tremolo System, and individual volume and tone controls for each pickup, the Uptown Strat is as versatile as it is unique.

Mahogany Body

Known for great sustain, punchy mids and full lows, mahogany is an ideal pairing with low-gain humbuckers and short scale necks.

Lacquer Finish

The nitrocellulose lacquer finish lets the body breathe with its true tonal character and also ages and wears in a distinctively personal way.

9.5" -Radius Fingerboard

This instrument’s modern 9.5” fingerboard radius is slightly more flattened than a vintage-style radius, offering enough arc to provide a natural fret-hand feel.

PAF Style DoubleTap™ Humbucking Pickups

These versatile vintage-output humbucking pickups feature DoubleTap™ technology for improved single-coil tones when using the coil-split.

Two-Point Tremolo Bridge

Superior intonation, sustain, tuning stability, tremolo action and ease of adjustment.