If you're looking for a '60s-inspired Strat with modern convenience and playability, look no further than the Fender American Original '60s Stratocaster. This guitar tips its hat to Transition-era Strats of 1965, with a chunky "C" neck profile, a rosewood fingerboard, pearloid dot inlays, and a mint green pickguard. The American Original '60s Strat's 9.5" fingerboard radius will please today's lead players, while its period-correct Pure Vintage '65 pickups and contemporary 5-way switching are sure to please tone aficionados. Aged pickup covers and controls give this Strat a classic played-in look.
This Strat's '60s-era "C" neck profile is suited for all playing styles. It's a little chunkier than the modern Fender "C," but still contoured, for both thumb-behind and thumb-over players. Where the American Original '60s Strat has the advantage over a classic '65 is its enlarged 9.5" (from 7.25") fingerboard radius, which allows for upper-register leads and bends with less risk of fretting out.
This Strat's Pure Vintage '65 gray bottom single-coils are as period correct as they come, from the fiber bobbins and Alnico V magnets right down to the enamel-coated coil wire and cloth-covered output wires. Wax potting keeps feedback and icepicks to a minimum, while contemporary 5-way switching unlocks in-between tones that are impossible on a true '65.
This Strat's lightweight, resonant alder body retains its full tonal characteristics thanks to a nitrocellulose lacquer finish. This is just another reason why, for classic inspiration and modern playability, it's hard to top the Fender American Original '60s Strat from Music Experience.
A period of change, both for Fender and for pop culture as a whole, the 1960s saw the Strat mellow slightly as it grew up. The white pickguard was updated to mint green, and the fingerboard was switched from the original maple to rosewood, adding a smoother note to the Strat’s clear, articulate voice. The American Original ‘60s Stratocaster keeps these refinements intact while adding modern feel and pickup switching to the iconic instrument that helped birth guitar rock as we know it.
The nitrocellulose lacquer not only finish lets the body breathe with its true tonal character, it also ages and wears in a distinctively personal way.
American Original instruments feature specially voiced pickups crafted to reproduce authentic Fender sound.
The thick "’60s C"-shaped neck profile is sculpted for a vintage-style playing feel. It’s remarkably comfortable and ideal for any playing style.
Original-era fans can rest assured every curve and line of the body and neck are accurate to the historic originals.
From the bridge to the string tree and tuning machines, every piece of hardware is just like the original.
This 9.5”-radius fingerboard is slightly flatter than a vintage-style 7.25” radius, providing a comfortable fret-hand feel. Vintage-tall frets make it easier to bend notes without fretting out.
| Body Type | Solidbody |
|---|---|
| Body Shape | Stratocaster |
| Left-/Right-handed | Right-handed |
| Number of Strings | 6 |
| Body Material | Alder |
| Body Finish | Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer |
| Color | Candy Apple Red |
| Neck Material | Maple |
| Neck Shape | Thick C |
| Radius | 9.5" |
| Fingerboard Material | Rosewood |
| Fingerboard Inlay | Dots |
| Number of Frets | 21, Vintage Dots |
| Scale Length | 25.5" |
| Nut Width | 1.650" |
| Nut Material | Bone |
| Bridge/Tailpiece | 6-Saddle Pure Vintage Synchronized Tremolo |
| Tuners | Pure Vintage |
| Neck Pickup | '65 Pure Vintage Single-coil |
| Middle Pickup | '65 Pure Vintage Single-coil |
| Bridge Pickup | '65 Pure Vintage Single-coil |
| Controls | 1 x volume, 2 x tone, 5-way blade pickup switch |
| Strings | Fender USA, .010-.046 |
| Case Included | Vintage-Style Hardshell Case |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 0110120809 |
