Friedman USA Custom Shop Vintage-S HSH — AAA Quilted Maple Top — Grover Jackson Era

Friedman USA Custom Shop Vintage-S HSH — AAA Quilted Maple Top — Grover Jackson Era — Probable One-Off — Original Owner

This is a 2020 Friedman USA Custom Shop Vintage-S, built during the Grover Jackson era, in an HSH configuration (humbucker/single/humbucker) with a AAA-grade quilted maple top over an alder body, finished in a striking blue-tinted "blue jean" color. I am the original owner.

This guitar appears to be a one-off, or very likely one-off, configuration. I have never come across another example built exactly like this, and Dave Friedman himself, in email correspondence with me, said he believed it might be the only one built this way. He also confirmed the top on this guitar is graded 3A. I'm not aware of any others matching this spec.

Every Friedman Vintage-S features a 25.5" scale length and Grover Jackson's signature 10"-14" compound radius fingerboard, giving smooth playability across chords and lead lines without fretting out on bends, along with the exclusive Zero-Shift Neck Pin design that locks the neck and body together for maximum vibration transfer and stability. This is an incredibly resonant guitar. The neck is select eastern hard maple with a low-drag natural satin finish on the back, a rosewood fingerboard, a 1.65" bone nut, and medium jumbo frets, PLEK-finished for precision. The profile is a full C shape without pronounced shoulders, comfortable in hand rather than chunky. Pickups are the original factory-installed Friedman units, with a Classic Plus humbucker in the bridge position. It is completely stock and in all-original condition; nothing has been modified or replaced. Weight is 7.47 lbs.

Currently strung with D'Addario NYXL nine-gauge strings, set up with low action.

It has seen very light use while stored as part of a collection, with virtually no visible wear. It presents in excellent condition. I'm not calling it mint, since Friedman guitars of this era are built with a deliberately aged, relic'd finish from the factory rather than pristine gloss, but any wear beyond that intentional aging is essentially unnoticeable.

Included with the sale:

Original Friedman hardshell case, certificate of authenticity (signed by Dave Friedman and Grover Jackson, serial 1020-1980), original shipping box sticker, case key, original back plate with screws, and the original tremolo/vibrato bar.