*Old Stock*

left over from our music store's guitar department...

factory plastic is still on the pick guard!...

The Fender Stratocaster XII is the version of the made by . It was introduced in 1988 and re-issued 20 years later after a brief discontinuation in 1996. Unlike the , it uses a Strat-style body. Fender discontinued the Strat XII in 2009.

The Stratocaster XII is designed in the and manufactured in . The original 1988 version featured some slight differences compared to the re-issue model of 2005; it had a larger bridge and saddle system similar to that of an Electric XII and an altered shape with raised machine heads. It also used a 22-fret neck with a rosewood fingerboard and dots. The current version features a modified hard-tail Strat bridge, a fretboard with 21 frets and clay dot inlays.

Fender’s modern era saw the arrival of a 12-string Stratocaster. Made in Japan and introduced in 1988, the Strat XII had most customary Stratocaster features and design elements, with the additions of a special 12-saddle bridge and a large headstock with a brand-new shape to accommodate six tuners on each side.

Surprisingly durable for such a specialized instrument, the 22-fret Strat XII remained in the lineup for nearly a decade; it was discontinued in 1997. It was resurrected a few years later as the 21-fret Classic Series Stratocaster XII 12-String (2003-04), which then moved to the Special Edition Series until being discontinued in 2010.

The Fender Custom Shop even offered a 12-string Telecaster model in the 1990s. The limited edition Telecaster XII of 1995-99 featured a two-piece lightweight ash body in several finishes, a single-ply black pickguard and a maple neck and fingerboard.

As of 2013 then, the Fender guitar lineup is once again without a 12-string electric model—though there are available—but you never know what the future holds. Fender is fond of periodically delving into its colorful history and paying affectionate homage to some of its more esoteric instruments.