Featuring measurements and components we hand-selected from across history, our “Chicago Special” Fender Custom Shop guitars highlight important years in the development of core models like the Stratocaster, Telecaster and more. We capture the energy and essence of their respective eras with iconic fingerboard radii and period-correct plastics, matched headstocks and slab fingerboards, classic finishes and not-so-classic colorways. But that’s just the beginning of what makes our Fender Custom Shop guitars so special. We take customization a step further with rift sawn necks for added resonance and expanded control sets for tonal versatility. Every “Chicago Special” Fender Custom Shop guitar features our own custom-wound Chicago Special pickups, which we had the great fortune to conceive and design in partnership with the late great Vice President of Product Development at Fender Custom Shop, Mike Lewis.
"Chicago Special" Strat pickups:
- Calibrated set - bridge to neck - for balanced output
- Each pickup as custom AlNiCo 5 magnet stagger for optimum output balance string-to-string 42 gauge enamel wire for round highs
- Potted in shellac for open wide range frequency response
NOS (New Old Stock)
NOS (New Old Stock) is built without any relic or wear at all. For vintage-inspired instruments, it feels as if you went back in time and bought it new in the golden-era. Most are finished with nitrocellulose lacquer and in those instances you should expect the finish to age similarly to their vintage counterparts. However, some modern-era Custom Shop creations in NOS are finished in polyurethane, which is far more durable and will likely remain glossy and lustrous for decades to come with proper care
