The Johnny A. Signature Stratocaster is an amalgamation of Johnny's four favorite model years—1963 through 1966 - and features a select two-piece alder body with off-center seam, paired with a 3A birdseye maple neck featuring a ’65-style “oval C” profile and contoured heel. The round-lam rosewood fingerboard has a comfortable 7.25” radius and 21 medium jumbo (6150) frets.

The neck and middle pickups are hand-wound 11/56 models, while a steel bottom plate on the custom 11/56 bridge pickups delivers livelier tone with more wide-ranging response (think: Tele); all are fixed to a three-ply mint green pickguard, along with a five-way switch and Strat Blender wiring with Tone-Saver bleed circuitry.

Ok, specs aside? This is one of the nicest vintage-leaning Custom Shop Strats we've played. Johnny was kind enough to stop by the shop last year to walk us through the inspiration for the build - there are a lot of thoughtful touches incorporated and we were really impressed with the attention to detail that went into it. This is a guitar that has a lot of heart and soul in it and you feel - and hear - it the second you sit down with it. And to be sure, this is an amazing sounding Stratocaster - we can't stress that enough!

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About Johnny A Born John Antonopoulos in Malden, Mass., he first got the guitar bug when he saw the Beatles in Boston at age 13. He saw Jimi Hendrix a couple years after that and avidly soaked up the era’s finest fretwork, especially that of the Yardbirds holy trinity of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

Taking the stage name “Johnny A.”, he steadily acquired a sterling reputation as a rock, blues and jazz ace with artists including Delaney & Bonnie, Derek and the Dominos keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, and Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug Clifford.

The 1990s saw a seven-year stint as guitarist and musical director for J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf, and to really bring his career full circle, Johnny A. joined the Yardbirds in 2015 for a three-year stint. Today, he continues to wow listeners with his impeccable playing in a variety of studio and onstage projects.

• Body//Style--Solid Body, Body--2-Piece Select Alder with Offset Seam, Finish--Flash Coat Lacquer, Color--Lydian Gold Metallic
• Hardware//Pickups--Custom Shop Hand-Wound 11/56 (neck/middle) / Custom Shop Hand-Wound (bridge w/bridge plate), Controls--Volume / Tone / Blend / 5-Way Switch, Electronics--250K 10% Taper Split, Bridge--Fender, Tuners--Vintage Style, Pickguard--3-Ply Mint Green
• Neck//Neck--3A Birdseye Maple, Carve--1965 "C" (.810"-.980"), Fingerboard--Round-Laminated 3A Rosewood, Radius--7 1/4", Frets--6105, Nut--1.625" Bone, Dots--Vintage Clay, Scale Length--25 1/2", Finish--Flash Coat Lacquer
• Other//Weight--Approx. 7 1/2lbs, Case--Deluxe Hardshell Case

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The Music Emporium has been a fixture of the Boston music community since 1968. We're a shop built by musicians - players, luthiers, photographers, and gear obsessives - and that shapes everything about how we do business.

Every instrument we ship is inspected and set up by our in-house guitar techs before it leaves the shop.

We're a Fender Showcase Dealer, Collings' largest dealer worldwide, and a Martin Custom Shop Expert Dealer. Our showroom is at 165 Massachusetts Ave in Lexington, MA.

Questions about any instrument are always welcome. We're happy to talk gear.