We've just had a customers collection of custom shop and masterbuilt Fender Stratocasters hit our shop. All are close to collector grade condition. Here's a first-run Fender Custom Shop Rory Gallagher Signature Stratocaster from 2006 that's part of the collection.

Following an initial limited run of 40 masterbuilt replicas (hand-built by John Cruz) for the European market in 1997–1998. It meticulously replicates Gallagher's legendary, heavily battered 1961 original.

Overview

The Fender Custom Shop Rory Gallagher Signature Stratocaster celebrates the late Irish master's career and talent with an exact handmade replica of his revered 1961 model.

Body: Select alder in relic'ed 3-color sunburst finished in nitrocellulose lacquer

Neck: Maple in Early '60s C shape with slab fretboard

Electronics: Three custom-wound '60s Single-Coil Strat pickups, aged volume and tone knobs, five-way selector

Other Features: Reproduced wear patterns on body, five Sperzel tuners with one Gotoh tuner like the original, American Vintage synchronized tremolo
Origin and Release History 1997 Inspection: Rory’s brother, Donal Gallagher, loaned the original '61 Sunburst Strat to the Fender Custom Shop in Los Angeles. The First 40 (1997/1998): Master builder John Cruz constructed an initial limited run of 40 exact-replica instruments initially designated for European distribution (primarily Germany).  Official Production Launch (2004): Due to overwhelming demand, Fender added the to its regular Artist/Custom Shop lineup as a production-team-built model.
Key Replica Features The Finish: Extremely worn 3-Color Sunburst nitrocellulose lacquer finish, exposing bare alder wood to match Rory's sweat-and-tour-worn original. The Tuners: Famously features five non-original Sperzel die-cast tuners and one replacement Gotoh tuner on the low E string. The 12th Fret Dot: Includes a historically accurate mismatched plain white plastic dot marker instead of the original clay dot. Electronics: Loaded with three custom-wound '60s single-coil pickups, a traditional 3-way blade switch, and vintage-accurate wiring