Team Built at the Fender Custom Shop in Corona, California, dated 5/11/2011. Serial R58385. Certificate of Authenticity signed by Mike Eldred, Director of the Custom Shop.

Fiesta Red over alder, with a one-piece maple neck. It is the most-wanted color the Custom Shop offers and arguably the best it has ever looked on a Strat.

The aging is why you buy this one. Fifteen years on, the Closet Classic nitro has checked evenly across the entire finish — fine, tight lines over the whole body, not a patch here and a patch there. There is no wear-through anywhere. Hardware has the light, even patina that comes with the tier. This is what a carefully kept mid-'50s Strat actually looks like -- you can't buy it new or rush it.

One thing to know about the spec: this is the player-appointed build, not the vintage-correct one. 9.5" fingerboard radius and medium jumbo frets rather than 7.25" and vintage wire. The original Music Zoo sales receipt confirms it — part number 9231002483, "56 STRAT CC 9.5-MJ – FRD." If you want mid-'50s looks and feel with a neck you can actually bend above the 12th fret, this is the combination. If you are after strict vintage spec, this is not that guitar, and I would rather you know now.

Specifications

• Two-piece alder body, nitrocellulose lacquer, Faded Aged Fiesta Red
• One-piece maple neck, integral maple fingerboard
• 9.5" fingerboard radius
• 21 medium jumbo frets
• Bone nut
• 25.5" scale
• 5-way switch, master volume, two-tone
• Custom Shop vintage synchronized tremolo, vintage-style tuners
• Closet Classic aging package

Condition

Played and cared for, not displayed and not abused. Even light nitro checking throughout, light hardware patina, no wear-through.

Honest disclosure: there is cable swirl on the lower bout near the jack plate and a scratch through the finish in that area, from years of a cable hanging against it. Photographed clearly below. It is the one real flaw on the guitar.

Otherwise: no cracks, no breaks, no repairs, no modifications, no headstock damage, no fret issues, no electronic issues. All original. Everything works exactly as it should.

Included

• Original tweed G&G hardshell case
• Certificate of Authenticity, signed by Mike Eldred
• Original Fender Custom Shop build tag (serial and inspection stamps intact)
• Fender Custom Shop Time Machine Series hang tag
• Spare aged switch tip
• Fender medium pick
• Original 2011 dated sales receipt from The Music Zoo
• TREMOLO ARM

Documented from original retail purchase forward: build tag, COA, and dealer receipt all carry serial R58385.

Shipped fully insured in the original case, double-boxed, strings detuned. Ships within one business day of cleared payment. Questions and reasonable offers welcome.