Fender’s Custom Shop has built a number of great relic guitars, and the Classic HBS-1 Stratocaster Relic Guitar is one of the best they’ve done.  This guitar, a part of their Custom Shop Special Edition Series, combines both vintage and modern elements to make a relic guitar like no other.  The Classic HBS-1 comes in two different colors: classic black and a three-color sunburst.  Both are available in either relic or new old stock finishes.

The Classic HBS-1 Stratocaster relic guitar features a two-piece lightweight body made out of premium ash and a neck made from maple.  The neck is done in a ’57 soft V shape and features a nitrocellulose lacquer finish.  The fingerboard is also made from maple and has a 9.5 inch radius.  The Classic HBS-1 uses 21 medium jumbo frets and has two different pickups: it features two custom ’69 single-coil Strat pickups for neck and middle and one Seymour Duncan SH-4 Humbucker for the bridge.  It has a five position blade for switching, including positions for full bridge, bridge and middle, middle only, middle and neck, and neck only. There’s also a push/push S-1 switch for selecting either standard HSS 5-way switching with full bridge Humbucking pickup or for selecting rear coil bridge Humbucking pickup.  The guitar also features a limited edition neck plate, artificial aging on the body and neck, and aged knobs.