Fender Custom Shop Pays Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan
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January 15, 2004
One of the greatest guitarists of all time, Stevie Ray
Vaughan, was and forever will be remembered for his soulful music, his
revolutionary playing style and for his distinctive, beat-up Fender
Stratocaster guitar. Affectionately known as "Number One", this guitar in
Stevie's hands helped bring Texas blues to the forefront of popular music in
the 1980s, and together, Stevie and "Number One" inspired a new generation
of musicians both young and old to pick up a guitar and try to
recreate some of their magic.
In honor of the legendary guitarist and his guitar, the
Fender Custom Shop announce that it will
offer a Limited Edition Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute Model "Number One"
Stratocaster Guitar. These guitars have been commissioned to the Custom
Shop by the estate of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and only 100 replicas will ever be
built.
Recently, a team from Fender comprised of Richard McDonald, George Blanda,
and Mike Eldred visited guitarist Jimmie Vaughan in Austin, Texas, to
"dissect" his brother's guitar, and to scientifically record its every
aspect--from measuring the output of each of the three single-coil pickups
and the tension of their copper wire, to digitally weighing each piece of
wood and hardware, to measuring the body and neck shapes and their contours,
and to using calipers to measure every nick, scratch and wear mark on the
guitar.
"We will be able to painstakingly reproduce 'Number One' in every way, shape
and form," says Eldred. "But it's a labor of love. Just about every
guitarist today has been influenced by Stevie's playing in some way, and not
only is it an honor to be a part of this project, we're thrilled to be able
to offer replicas of this historical guitar."
Master Builder John Cruz of the Fender Custom Shop will handcraft each of
these Tribute Models, and each of the guitars will feature the exact same
specifications found on the original "Number One", including the body
weight, neck shape, hardware, and pickups. Moreover, the distinctive
well-worn finish on the entire guitar will be recreated on the Tribute
Model, utilizing the Custom Shop's "relic-ing" processes.
The Custom Shop Limited Edition Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute Model "Number
One" Stratocaster will be made from hand selected Alder with a highly
distressed 2-Tone Sunburst lacquer finish. It will have a gold left-handed
tremolo bridge and gold hardware, along with a 1-ply black pickguard adorned
with the initials "SRV".
This very special instrument will be made on a per-order basis in a Limited
Edition of only 100 guitars globally, and will never be reproduced by Fender
again. The Fender Custom Shop will have the first guitar made in the run on
display at their booth at this winter's NAMM show, where they will begin
taking orders for the guitars.
For more information, visit their web site at www.fender.com. |
