Fender '56 Closet Classic Stratocaster

This is a 2001 Closet Classic in Fiesta Red. Strats are not feature-laden guitars, but these custom shop instruments are very authentic and very well crafted. The Closet Classic wear is subtle and nicely done. This isn't beat-up like a Relic. The plastic looks a little aged and the nitro finish on the body is checked. The gold hardware has a slightly worn, but still shiny. From a few feet away, it could be mistaken for a NOS model. But when I hold her, she feels just right - broken in, but not beaten down. Very comfortable to hold and a delight to play. Fairly lightweight, at a little over 7 lbs. It has the usual Strat characteristics: 3 single coil pickups, 3-way switch, 21 vintage frets on a maple neck with 7.25" radius. The neck is slightly chunky with a slight v shape. I normally prefer u shaped necks, but this particular shape is a great fit. It comes with a G&G tweed case with plush lining and storage pocket. Extras include a 50s style narrow leather strap, 5-way switch, gold ashtray bridge cover, a cable, polishing cloth and Custom Shop certificate signed by Mike Eldred.

My main style is blues. But I also love classic rock and I play some Cream, CCR, and Hendrix when the mood moves me. My main amp is a 1980 Fender Deluxe Reverb. I also have a 1968 Vibro Champ that I use for my at home midnight jams and practicing. I love this Strat! The single coils are a little noisy but not bothersome. And they sing like a choir. I believe they're slightly underwound, compared to the usual modern single coil. But they sound crisp, clear, and they have a nice treble as well as a powerful bass. The neck pickup has a rich tone with lots of harmonics. The middle pickup is a little nasal, and the bridge pickup is nice and twangy. I'm still using the 3-way switch, so I don't know what the 2 and 4 positins would sound like, but I'm sure they'd be great, also. Some day I'll get around to installing that 5-way switch. So far, I just haven't felt the need for it.

The Fender Custom Shop is staffed by skiled luthiers and it certainly shows on this guitar. It's flawless. The setup was just right, and I tend to be fussy about that.

Is there a tougher guitar than a Strat? Well, maybe a Tele. The fact is, Fender solid body electrics have been known for decades as the battle axes of music. They can take just about anything you're likely to throw at them, within reason. I've owned several Strats and Teles over the years, and this one is just as sturdy as any of them.

The custom shop is a great bunch of people to deal with.

This is my first Fender Custom Shop guitar. Yes, it's a common Strat to those who don't play her. To me, it's a thing of beauty. It fits my hands so well. It's a joy to play. This is the BEST guitar I've owned.

"Opinions are like arpits...Everyone has them and some of them stink." This Custom Shop '56 Closet Classic was made in 2003. The 10/56 Maple neck has 21 expertly inlaid frets. The fretwire is typical early Fender so all you jumbo fret players need to think about that. The neck is based on an original 1956 neck manufactured in October (10/56) and has a nice beefy feel. I compared the Custom Player Strat with this '56 and could feel the difference at once. The black finish is "flawless" over the two piece Alder body. The aging on this finish is quite remarkable. Unlike the Relic guitars the Closet Classic still looks good and well taken care of. The gold plated hardware is worn just enough to look authentic. Just like in '56 there is a three way pickup selector and the standard vol-tone-tone controls. The three '56's reissue pickups are what really sets this guitar apart from the rest. Being only available on this guitar adds to the cool factor but the sound is the thing. Playing through a THD UniValve into a Marshall 2x12 loaded with Heritage and Vintage speakers these pickups sounded awesome. I used both 12ax7 and 12at7 in the drive section with oustanding results. The pickups never got muddy or dull even with the amp cranked in the "Roll" input. The perfomance with 6L6, EL34, and 6550 power tubes was equally as pleasing. The nice accessory pack was cool to. I liked the "ash tray" bridge cover the best.

Playing this guitar live was a pure joy. I used A THD UniValve with 12ax7 and EL34 tubes thru a stock Marshall 1960 4x12. The ony effects were a HK Rotoshpere and a Tonebone Classic. I normall shy away from the bridge pickup but due to the limitations of a three way switch I had to give it a try. The bridge pickup souded as rich an full as the other two. There was not even a hint of the "icepick" sound you can get from a strat bridge pickup. Again the pickups are the main reason to get this guitar.

The guitar was set up very well at the factory. I requested a little tweaking on the neck. The saleman at Musicians' Alley was more than willng to to make the adjustment at no charge. The neck must be remove from the body to adjust the truss rod and he even put new Fender strings on at no charge. Once again the customer support at the small strore beats ANY superstore ANY time as far as I'm concerned. The nut and bridge were set up perfectly. The nut slots are clean, perfectly aligned and angled. The bridge saddle radius was dead on and so was the intonation once the neck was adjusted. Note: Always have the intonation checked and set last.

Everything seems to be rock solid fresh from the case but only time will tell.

I don't know about Fender service directly since I had all of my service issues handled at the local level. I did have a question about the pickup wire and was talking to a very cool Fender facory rep in a matter of minutes. Turns out the wire used in the '56's pickups are unique to this pickup and not used any where else in the Fender line. I gave this catagory a 10 based on the support from the Fender dealer.

If this guitar was stolen or lost tomorrow I would sell a kidney to get it replaced. I absolutely love the worn in look of theis Closet Classic. The light checking and worn in feel of the finish is exactly like the vintage instruments you see at a guitar show or a vintage instrument dealer. I compared it to my '60's Melody Maker and ES125. The Closet Classic looks authentic. At first I wasn't thrilled about a three way pickup selector but after hearing this instrument I'm going to think long and hard about changing to a five way. I'm afraid change ANY tone from this guitar. This instrument will cover my Bluez, Rock and Country gigs with no problem. I've compared the sound to a SRV strat, an American 50th strat loaded with Seymour Duncans, and a Custom Shop Classic Player strat and this thing blows them away. If you are in search for tone this is THE MACHINE. Rather than reaching for a strat from now on I'll make sure this is with me for any gig live or in the studio.

I have just acquired a Fiesta Red 'Closet Classic' with a gorgeous birdseye maple neck, which I hear the Custom Shop have stopped doing on the 'Time Machine' strats. It was made in May 2000 and was originally imported by a music shop in the UK along with 5 other Relics when they heard that Fiesta Red and figured maple necks were to be discontinued. So it has been sat in a case in a music shop for two years waiting for me to buy it.....just as well as I didn't have the cash back then!

Usual strat spec, so I won't elaborate, only to say that it has a very clever 'crazed cracking' finish to replicate the look of 45 year old nitro-cellulose paint, those CS boys sure are clever. It comes with a CS tweed case with velvet lining and a goodie bag including an old fashioned leather strap.

The main reason for choosing this guitar, as well as the look and the fact that all current US strats fee lifeless, is the TONE. This baby nails it. I play through a 1996 blonde Fender 212 Blues Deville and it is sooooo sweet, Hank would be proud of me. I expected the pickups to be noisy, but they aren't too bad at all, although they look a bit grubby they sound so clean it's untrue. It comes with a 3 way selector (spare 5 way switch in the case) which doesn't bother me, I only tend to use mid and neck pickup positions anyway. The neck pick up sounds very woolley and quieter than I anticipated, but the range of sounds is better than my other strats.

The set up is fine, although I often find the trem is incorrectly set up on new strats, often with the trem plate fast against the body - this means you can only ever decrease the pitch of a note. By taking off the back plate and loosening the 2 big screws you can alleviate the problem (but keep checking the tuning). Ideally the trem plate should be 3-4mm off the body. Other than that it played fine out of the case. The Finish is superb, I already mentioned the cracking effect, there are also a few 'dings', but it all appears very authentic, and the beauty of it is that you have a world class guitar you don't mind getting scratched or knocked about. I have other guitars in perfect condition that I'm too afraid to play in case they get damaged - so this solves that problem! The hardware is slightly oxidised, but not pitted or rusty, so I might get it gold plated for that extra touch.

This is a Custom Shop Strat built by Fender's finest (so the certificate says), so I do not anticipate this ever to go wrong. I have 5 other strats and they are pretty much indestructable. It is very light and feels more fragile than my other strats, but I cannot imagine it will fall apart in the near future - there are plenty of strats out there approaching the grand old age of 50, and if this has genuinely been built in the same way with equal materials (if not better) it should last me well in to my old age.

Not had to deal with them, but I imagine the Custom Shop is very busy and takes a while to get back to you. Does anyone have an e-mail address for them?

I have been playing now for 16 years and have become very pick with my guitars of late. This one is definately a keeper and is the second best guitar I have played, the best being a hand built EG2 by Joe White Guitar Workshops at the UK National 'Music Live' show, check out his website, it blows away production line PRS's (an for half the price). However, this strat is also the closest thing you will get to a smelly old original 50's strat unless you have #15,000 to burn. They also hold their value extremely well. Go and buy one.

This is an Aug. '99 Closet classic strat in two tone burst, nickel hardware. You know the drill: three single coil vintage pickups, maple neck, slightly checked finish, tarnished hardware, etc. Body is made of alder. Comes with a beautiful tweed case with crushed red velvet interior. The neck is large--as big as a PRS wide-fat, with a slight V from the 1st-3rd frets. There is no flame or birdseye on the neck. The frets are vintage small. The neck radius is 7.25". Came with a stock 3 way switch and a 5 way in the case, which I had installed. I have to rate it a 10 for features, after all, the strat is the most popular electric guitar of all time.

Although I usually play PRS guitars, I instantly fell in love with this guitar. I had been looking for a good strat for a long time. I was bothered by the incorrect headstock shape on current strats--even the custom shop guitars. However, the custom shop revamped their specs in early '99-they fixed the headstock, neck shape, and improved the pickups. So this guitar is about as accurate as it gets without buying a real 50's strat. It sounds perfect--just like a strat should. I mainly play it through a Marshall 30th, combo, although I plan to buy a Mesa Blue Angel soon, since the Marshall can't really bring out the sparkle of this guitar. This guitar really doesn't go well with heavy distortion, if that's your bag, so it's not as versatile as a guitar with humbuckers. This guitar is very loud when played acoustically-it's very vibrant. Yes it hums when plugged in, but who cares? No noise, no tone. If you play electric guitar, you need a good strat, period.

I must admit I've criticized Fender heavily in the past for poor quality control, but I can't find anything wrong with this guitar. I'm very picky about the neck pocket joint and this one is perfect--absolutely airtight. It couldn't be any better. The finish is great-very thin. Of course it's meant to look old--a few dings, lacquer checking, etc. It looks so real. The sunburst is dull and faded--just like a real 50's strat would be, not bright like the American Vintage strats. The neck has very little finish on it, so it picks up dirt quickly, but that just adds to the character. The small frets don't bother me at all--they really fit this guitar. I'm trying not to be biased, but I have to rate this a 10. The action was set medium-high, which really lets the strings ring out. I hate low action.

Very solid. Finish is thin, but that's what makes it so great. Standard vintage hardware--not the most accurate or modern, but it works well and feels great

Haven't really dealt with them that much, but when I was looking for a new strat I called Fender and asked them to see which dealers had been shipped certain models recently, so I could shop over the phone. They were very helpful. I do think a large company like Fender should have an 800 number though, so I'll give them a 7.

Feel free to email if you have any questions.