Just how popular Fender Strats are today is something every guitar player knows. After all, it is one of the most prolific guitar styles in the world, and the most copied electric guitar out there.
One thing about Fender Strats is that they always came in a variety of finishes which were more or less standardized. That means that you either went with the nitro sunburst, or you chose one of the numerous solid color options.
The thing about solid color versions is that they always came down to five or so colors.
These included black, red, blue, white, and sometimes another color. Hardware and components aside, certain guitars became in high demand purely based on their color.
One of the rarest versions you will see in stores is the purple Fender Stratocaster. It seems that Fender gave up on using purple in their main selection of colors, however Fender Custom shop is still producing guitars that support this color option.
An Overview
Fender’s Custom Shop Deluxe Strat is one of the rare Stratocasters which still comes with purple as an option. There is just something special about how purple sits on this guitar.
We got so used to the usual choices that a rare color like this really breaks up the monotony and introduces some variety. If you follow used adds, you will see that old Strats which came in purple, tend to sell a lot better and at a higher price. In all honesty, Fender should have kept purple as an option.
Features
Fender Custom Shop Deluxe brings that same alder body in the already legendary package. If you didn’t know, Fender actually sources their alder from a small patch of woods in Ohio.
The reason for this is because that alder in Ohio grows large enough to allow cutting of solid blanks. This guitar is different from the majority of Strats out there because it comes with the AAA maple top.
The finish is a purple Satin Urethane, which gives this guitar some depth. As usual, the neck is a maple design sports a maple fretboard and satin finish. Neck profile Fender went with for this Strat is the Large ‘V’.
Hardware comes in form of two point synchronized tremolo, which is supported by a set of Sperzel locking tuners on the headstock. Together they do a great job at keeping the guitar in tune no matter what. Electronics you get on this Deluxe Strat are the Custom Shop Fat ’60s single coils.
There’s three of them as usual, only the middle one is reverse wound to reduce the noise. Five-way pickups selector is there, along with the standard two tone and one volume knobs.
Performance
In terms of performance, this is about as good as Strats get these days. Custom Shop Fat ’60s pickups have all the range you need for accurate and detailed playing, and they absolutely sing on a decent tube amp.
When it comes to playability, every sane person who has ever dealt with Fender guitars will appreciate the fine maple fretboard. These things are so smooth and soft that it’s hard to find anything else that comes even close. Overall, this Strat is the creme of the crop at this moment.
What we like
A purple Fender Stratocaster is always a nice things to see. On top of that, we are talking about a Fender Custom Shop model which is currently one of the most refined in their offer.
What we don’t like
Since we are talking about a high end Stratocaster, there is nothing wrong with this guitar. It looks incredible, works even better, and sound like the top of the line Strat that it is. The only thing we don’t like is the price, but that’s because we would like to see one of these in every guitarist’s hand.
Conclusion
For the most part this purple Fender Stratocaster Deluxe is business as usual from Fender. However, it is better than the majority of their lineup. This huge difference is mostly in the small things.
One of which is definitely the unusual color choice. Like we said before, there is something oddly attractive about a purple Strat.