Blade California Custom ca. 2005 - Honey Burst

Blade California Custom – Honey Burst, circa 2005

The California Custom was Blade’s flagship model, priced even above the RH-4.

Outstanding build quality throughout, top-tier hardware and exceptional tonal versatility set this guitar apart — along with its very attractive, timeless look.

The instrument is in excellent condition with only minimal signs of use (see photos).

All electronics work perfectly.

Specs:

- Body: Swamp ash with a beautiful flame maple top and transparent pickguard

- Neck: Hard rock maple

- Fretboard: Ebony

- Gold hardware

- Sperzel Trimlok locking tuners

- Falcon tremolo

- Pickups: 2 × V-3 single coils (noiseless) + LH-55 humbucker

- Electronics: VSC-3 (Variable Spectrum Control) – treble/bass and mid boost

- Switches: 5-way selector + 3-way mini-switch for VSC

- Controls: Volume + Tone

- Finish: Honey Burst with matching headstock

- Weight: 3.7 kg

At first glance the body looks like that of a classic Strat, but it is actually slightly smaller and slimmer.

The frets and fretboard are both extremely smooth and provide a very comfortable playing feel.

With the VSC-3 electronics you can boost bass and treble, or mids only.

In the center position of the mini-switch the VSC-3 is bypassed, so you hear the pickups in their pure form (the guitar also works without a battery in this setting).

The tone control is not a conventional pot but a four-position rotary switch that inserts different capacitors into the signal path. This is both sonically superior and fully repeatable.

The patented Falcon tremolo sits flush on the body for more attack and sustain, yet still allows both downward and upward bends. The guitar stays in tune if a string breaks, and you can bend while playing open strings without those strings going out of tune — something normally possible only with hardtails.

The guitar has just been serviced: new strings, neck relief, action and intonation set.

Included: Stagg hard-shell case (purchased with the guitar when new) and the tremolo arm.