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Fender 70th Anniversary Player Stratocaster | Demo and Overview with Michael Eisensteinplay button

Fender 70th Anniversary Player Stratocaster | Demo and Overview with Michael Eisenstein

Fender

collapse expand iconDescription

The long and storied history of the Fender Stratocaster begins in 1953 as Leo Fender and Freddie Tavares, one of Fender's earliest and most valued employees, started sketching out designs. This revolutionary contoured-body, double-cutaway masterpiece first rolled out of Fender's Fullerton factory in 1954. To celebrate the 70th consecutive production year of this iconic guitar, Fender has designed a broad-ranging 70th Anniversary Stratocaster collection which are available in strictly limited quantities. The 70th Anniversary Player Strat in a sleek Nebula Noir finish is not just one of the most distinctive, but also one of the most accessible of these soon-to-be-treasured special instruments.

Fender 70th Anniversary Nebula Noir Player Stratocaster

Seven Decades of Stratocaster

When the Strat first appeared in 1954, it was unlike any guitar seen before, with body-hugging carved contours, asymmetric double cutaways, a solidbody-first three-pickup configuration and, most of all, a brand-new bridge design. The look summoned the same futuristic feel as the swooping, streamlined, automobile designs of the times. Unlike those cars, though, the Stratocaster still looks contemporary today, and Fender's constant small improvements have kept the Strat as modern and exciting to play as it was 70 years ago.

Fender 70th Anniversary Nebula Noir Player Stratocaster Pure Vintage '59 Pickups

A Strat Designed for the Player in You

The 70th Anniversary Player Strat is designed to summon up the vintage tonal heritage of the line with Fender's Pure Vintage '59 single-coil pickups. Loaded with all the bell-like chime and spank you want from a classic Stratocaster, these transducers work well across genres with just slight adjustments of the volume and tone knobs. 

Fender 70th Anniversary Nebula Noir Player Stratocaster Back View

Classic Construction With Modern Touches

With a resonant alder body helping produce those vintage tones, the 70th Anniversary Player Stratocaster provides a modern feel with a fast 9.5"-radius rosewood fingerboard on a Modern C profile "skunk-stripe" maple neck. The pearloid pickguard is a perfect choice to offset the deep, dark, limited-edition Nebula Noir finish.

Fender 70th Anniversary Nebula Noir Player Stratocaster Electronics and Controls

Classic Hardware Meets Versatile Electronics

The Fender Synchronized Tremolo Bridge (technically a vibrato, but tradition is tradition) was a feature that was revolutionary in the original 1954 design. While it wasn't the first six-saddle electric guitar bridge, it was the first one to offer both height and intonation adjustment for individual strings, and the combination of subtlety and brashness with which a player could approach the "whammy bar" was absolutely unprecedented. The evolution to a two-point pivot design enabled even more stability and made it easier to "float" the bridge without painstaking adjustments. Fender ClassicGear tuners complete the bridge and tuning setup, increasing stability and enabling wilder whammy action without going sour. The switching and control knobs are full-on classic Strat, a 5-way switch with master volume and a pair of tone knobs—one neck/middle and one for the bridge pickup—for a wide tonal palette.

This guitar would be a great accessible everyday player, but, as a special edition for the Stratocaster's 70th Anniversary, it's so much more than that. With the limited quantities available, you'll want to jump on it quickly, to make sure that you can be part of the celebration now and treasure the instrument for years to come.

collapse expand iconFeatures

  • Pure Vintage '59 single-coil Strat pickups
  • Modern C profile maple neck
  • 2-point synchronized tremolo bridge
  • Fender ClassicGear tuners

collapse expand iconSpecs

Body
  • Body Wood: Alder
  • Body Finish: Gloss polyester
Neck
  • Neck: Maple
  • Neck Construction: 4-bolt standard
  • Neck Finish: Satin Urethane
Fingerboard
  • Fingerboard: Rosewood
  • Fret Size: Medium jumbo
  • Number of Frets: 22
  • Position Inlays: White dot
  • Side Dots: White
  • Nut Material: Bone
  • Nut Width: 1.650" (42 mm)
  • Truss Rod: Standard
Electronics
  • Tuning Machines: Fender ClassicGear
  • Scale Length: 25.5" (64.77 cm)
  • Bridge: 2-point synchronized tremolo with bent steel saddles
  • Pickguard: 4-ply white pearloid
  • Pickup Configuration: SSS
  • Bridge Pickup: Pure vintage '59 single-coil Strat
  • Middle Pickup: Pure vintage '59 single-coil Strat
  • Neck Pickup: Pure vintage '59 single-coil Strat
  • Controls: Master volume, Tone 1: (neck/middle pickups); Tone 2 (bridge pickup)
  • Switching: 5-position blade: Position 1: bridge pickup; Position 2: bridge and middle pickup; Position 3: middle pickup; Position 4: middle and neck pickup; Position 5: neck pickup
Hardware
  • hardware Finish: Nickel/chrome
  • Strings: Fender USA 250l nickel-plated steel (.009–.042 gauges)
  • Included: Deluxe gig bag