The limited edition 1956 Stratocaster Relic contains everything the greatest Stratocasters of the year featured.  In 1956, the Stratocaster was still a fairly young instrument, but it was becoming more and more popular.  Ronnie Wood, guitarist for the Rolling Stones, actually used a 1956 Sunburst Strat for quite some time.  Thanks to the Fender Custom Shop, you can now own a guitar that looks identical to Wood’s.  However, you had better get one quickly because the 1956 Stratocaster Relic comes in a very limited supply—Fender has built 50 two-color Sunburst Strats and 50 desert sand strats.  Once they’re sold out, that’s it.

This Stratocaster Relic features a premium ash body and a one piece Maple neck in a U shape.  The guitar’s finish is done in a Nitrocellulose lacquer finish.  The fingerboard is made out of Maple and has a 9.5 inch radius.  It features 21 Dunlop 6105 narrow jumbo frets and three custom Mark Kendrick Design single-coil Strat pickups.  The middle pickup is actually a reserve wound/reverse polarity that allows for hum canceling.

The guitar also features five-way switching, an American vintage synchronized tremolo bridge, and a tinted neck.  As with all relic guitars made by Fender, the finish of the 1956 Strat has been naturally aged so that it shows what appears to be years of wear and tear, scratches, nicks, and more.  The plastic parts have been aged, and some hardware appears rusty.