With a custom blue finish, chambered ash body and specially-voiced pickups, the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Stratocaster® is fine-tuned to play the blues and beyond.

Kenny Wayne Shepherds fiery leads, meaty rhythms, and hard-driving songs have propelled his robust career through nine solo records three certified platinum, major tours with Buddy Guy, Van Halen, and The Rolling Stones, and an ongoing collaboration with blues-supergroup The Rides with Stephen Stills.

The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Stratocaster features a chambered ash body for vibrant and resonant tone, while the Transparent Faded Sonic Blue lacquer finish highlights the beautiful ash grain. The early 60s inspired C-shaped maple neck and bound rosewood fingerboard with a 7.25 radius offer comfort and playability straight out of Fenders golden age. Loaded with three Kenny Wayne Shepherd custom pickups, this guitar delivers punchy and full-throated Strat tones.

FEATURES

• Chambered ash body with Transparent Faded Sonic Blue lacquer finish
• Matching painted headcap
• 25.5 scale; early 60s C-shaped maple neck with bound rosewood fingerboard, 7.25 radius and 21 jumbo frets
• Kenny Wayne Shepherd custom spec single-coil Stratocaster pickups
• Updated vintage-style hardware; six-point synchronised tremolo bridge with Graph Tech® saddles and vintage-style tuning machines

CHAMBERED ASH BODY

Chambered ash delivers resonant and articulate tone, as well as beautiful grain patterns.

CUSTOM COLOR

Transparent Faded Sonic Blue shows off the wonderful ash grain while honoring a celebrated Fender custom color from the 50s and 60s.

MAPLE NECK WITH BOUND ROSEWOOD FINGERBOARD

A traditional pairing of classic Fender tone-woods elevated with white fingerboard binding a distinctly 60s Fender appointment.

PEARLOID BLOCK INLAYS

Adorned with white pearloid blocks and a custom 12th fret split-block for a touch of high-class style.

SIGNATURE PICKUPS

Three custom voiced single-coil Kenny Wayne Shepherd Stratocaster pickups.

UPDATED CLASSIC HARDWARE

Six-point synchronised tremolo bridge with Graph Tech® saddles provides vintage vibrato action and added tuning stability.

A FUSION OF PAST AND PRESENT

Its been 25 years since Kenny Wayne Shepherd exploded onto the national scene as a teenage blues guitar phenom. In the years since, the Shreveport, Louisiana native has served as one of the genres foremost artists and ambassadors. Having played with Buddy Guy and B.B. King, as well as Stevie Ray Vaughans Double Trouble and Muddy Waters band, Shepherd is always mindful to shine a light on the greats who preceded him. By blending the sounds of his past with his own fresh take on rock, country and soul, he's sold millions of albums, charted a string of hits and toured the world over.

And his Fender Stratocaster guitars have been along for the ride every step of the way. I grew up playing a Strat, says Shepherd, who idolised Strat icons like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Everything about the instrument is just perfect for me. Its all in the right spot for the way that I play.

The first time I picked it up, I knew it was the one, he says. It was like finding the glass slipper.

For most of Shepherds career, his primary Stratocaster has been a 1961 sunburst model. That guitar can be heard on his breakthrough 1997 platinum-selling effort Trouble Is and every album he's recorded since. 

Now, Shepherd has a new glass slipper. But instead of finding this one he helped design it.

The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Stratocaster is the product of Shepherds 25-year commitment to both tradition and innovation. His new signature model boasts classic Fender appointments including an ash body and an early '60s C-shaped maple neck that Shepherd says is the closest we've ever come to replicating the feel and profile of the one on my 61 Strat. 

There's also a rosewood fingerboard with binding and block inlays two features that Shepherd says hearken back to a very limited run of Strats from the mid '60s with binding and blocks. I always dug those design elements and so I wanted to see them on a premium model Stratocaster.

This distinctive Strat also features plenty of subtle but striking updates. The ash body is chambered for lighter weight and added resonance, and is finished (along with the headstock) in a Transparent Faded Sonic Blue lacquer a custom colour that highlights the rich wood grain below.

This modern finish is paired with cutting-edge tone, courtesy of a specially-designed Kenny Wayne Shepherd Single-Coil Strat® trio that references the pickups from his cherished 61 model, but are voiced hotter and for more range. 

We got into some real modern technology, at the same time keeping in mind the true heart of the Fender Stratocaster in its original form, Shepherd says. And we came up with a really cohesive instrument, where all the elements flow together nicely.

That fusion of past and present is fitting for an artist who says, I've always been drawn to using blues music as a foundation to create something new and fresh.

And what better guitar to join Shepherd on this journey.

There's just an endless number of sounds and personalities you can generate from a Stratocaster that cant be done with other guitars, Shepherd says. It does everything right. 

With the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Stratocaster, he adds, I think we're taking it to the next level. 

General

SERIES

Artist

ORIENTATION

Right-Hand

Colour

Transparent Sonic Blue

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

US

Neck

NECK MATERIAL

Quartersawn Maple

NECK FINISH

Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer

NECK CONSTRUCTION

4-Bolt Standard

FINGERBOARD RADIUS

7.25" (184.1 mm)

FINGERBOARD MATERIAL

Rosewood

POSITION INLAYS

White Pearloid Block

SIDE DOTS

White

NUMBER OF FRETS

21

STRING NUT

Bone

NUT WIDTH

1.650" (42 mm)

NUT MATERIAL

Bone

Body

BODY

Chambered Ash

BODY FINISH

Gloss Lacquer

BODY SHAPE

Stratocaster®

BODY MATERIAL

Chambered Ash

Hardware

BRIDGE

6-Saddle Vintage-Style Synchronized Tremolo with Graph Tech® Saddles

PICKGUARD

4-Ply White Pearloid

PICKUP COVERS

White

CONTROL KNOBS

White Plastic

SWITCH TIP

White

HARDWARE FINISH

Nickel/Chrome

TUNING MACHINES

Vintage-Style

STRINGS

Fender® USA 250R Nickel Plated Steel (.010-.046 Gauges), PN 0730250406

NECK PLATE

4-Bolt

STRAP BUTTONS

Vintage-Style

Electronics

BRIDGE PICKUP

Custom-Voiced Kenny Wayne Shepherd Single-Coil Strat®

MIDDLE PICKUP

Custom-Voiced Kenny Wayne Shepherd Single-Coil Strat®

NECK PICKUP

Custom-Voiced Kenny Wayne Shepherd Single-Coil Strat®

PICKUP CONFIGURATION

SSS

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