Fender Unveils New Limited Edition Models
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| The Ritchie Blackmore Strat |
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| The Noel Redding Jazz Bass |
January 16, 1997
To kick off the new year, Fender Musical Instruments is proud to announce the release of five
Limited Edition models. They are the Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster, Noel Redding Jazz
Bass, and three models centering around each of the Hellecasters: the Will Ray Jazz-a-caster,
Jerry Donahue Stratocaster and John Jorgenson Hellecaster.
"All of the Limited Edition models have been painstakingly crafted by Fender to accommodate each
artist's unique specifications and playing style," said Joe Carducci, Fender's marketing manager for
imported electric guitars.
The Ritchie Blackmore Strat is an exact replica of the guitar Deep Purple's scorching lead
guitarist played on classics such as "Smoke On The Water," "Machine Head" and "My Woman
From Tokyo." The killer combination of two Seymour Duncan(R) "Quarter Pound " Strat pickups
resonating off a rich basswood body provide just the right amount of bite and driving bottom to
propel any player into sheer metal nirvana. The guitar also boasts a three-bolt, mounted maple
neck, custom-scalloped, rosewood fretboard, large headstock
and 70s "F"-style machine heads. Some of Ritchie's other personal touches include a three-ply,
white-black-white pickguard, recessed strap locks, 70s-style tremolo bar and black covers on the
"quarter-pounders." The Limited Edition Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster is available in Olympic
White.
The Noel Redding Jazz Bass exactly mirrors the sunburst soul mate Jimi Hendrix's lanky bassist
played on groundbreaking recordings such as "Purple Haze," "Third Stone From The Sun," "Manic
Depression" and "Fire." Noel's personal touches on this gem include a light alder body, slim maple
neck, tortoise-shell pickguard, Vintage '65 bridge and two single-coil Jazz Bass Vintage '65
pickups whose variety of tones can be easily accessed through two volume controls and a master
tone control. The Limited Edition Noel Redding Jazz Bass is available in a Three-Tone Sunburst
finish.
The Limited Edition Hellecasters guitars perfectly reflect each member's penchant for impeccable
riffs, fills and slides encompassing musical styles ranging from rock, blues, country and bluegrass
to "psycho-billy" and swing a la Django Reinhardt.
The Will Ray Jazz-a-caster has a gold foil leaf finished Telecaster(R) body, small-style Strat
headstock, Vintage-tinted, satin-finished maple neck and rosewood fretboard with white pearloid
pyramid inlays. The "Hellecasters" logo is also inlaid at the twelfth fret. In addition, it boasts two
specially designed Seymour Duncan reversed-wound Jazzmaster pickups for a beefier mid range
and low end, plus a custom-wired, four-way pickup selector switch and concentric tone controls
that allow individual settings for each pickup. What's more, the Limited Edition Will Ray
Jazz-a-caster comes equipped with a Hipshot(TM) B-bender.
The Jerry Donahue Stratocaster has been affectionately dubbed a "wolf in sheep's clothing." "In
other words, there's a lot more to it than meets the eye," Carducci noted. For starters, the
basswood body has a traditional Stratocaster shape, and the one-piece maple neck has a smooth,
comfortable satin finish. The pickups, however, consist of Seymour Duncan APS-2 single-coil neck
and middle pickups, and a Seymour Duncan custom Tele-voiced, single-coil bridge pickup with a
special steel tone plate positioned underneath the pickguard for enhanced tone. What's more, a
custom-wired, five-way pickup selector with an added two-position rotary switch replaces the
customary center tone potentiometer, thus providing even more tone selections. The Limited
Edition
Jerry Donahue Stratocaster is available in a Sapphire Blue Transparent finish and features a
midnight blue sparkle pickguard and chrome hardware.
The Limited Edition John Jorgenson Hellecaster has a black sparkle-finished maple body,
Vintage-tinted, high-gloss maple neck with reversed large-style Strat headstock, rosewood
fretboard with gold sparkle dot inlays and Schaller locking tuners. It also features three Seymour
Duncan custom-voiced, split-coil, hum-cancelling pickups which allow players to get controlled
feedback when in a distortion mode. In addition a custom-wired, five-way pickup selector switch
with an additional push/pull control allows seven tone variations. Other John Jorgenson touches
include a custom, two-pivot-point tremolo, a Wilkinson "Wilkaloid" self-lubricating nut, gold sparkle
pickguard and gold hardware. For more information, visit their web site at www.fender.com. |
