Music

Fender releases limited edition reclaimed wood guitars

Fender releases limited edition reclaimed wood guitars
Fender's Special Edition Reclaimed Wood guitars
Fender's Special Edition Reclaimed Wood guitars
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Fender's Special Edition Reclaimed Wood guitars
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Fender's Special Edition Reclaimed Wood guitars
The Fender Reclaimed Eastern Pine Stratocaster
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The Fender Reclaimed Eastern Pine Stratocaster
The timber used for the body of the Reclaimed Eastern Pine Strat was originally used to build a dairy barn in Lake Odessa, Michigan in 1868
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The timber used for the body of the Reclaimed Eastern Pine Strat was originally used to build a dairy barn in Lake Odessa, Michigan in 1868
The Fender Reclaimed Eastern Pine Telecaster
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The Fender Reclaimed Eastern Pine Telecaster
The Reclaimed Eastern Pine Tele has a 25.5-inch scale rosewood neck with a modern C-shaped profile
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The Reclaimed Eastern Pine Tele has a 25.5-inch scale rosewood neck with a modern C-shaped profile
The Fender Old Growth Redwood Stratocaster
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The Fender Old Growth Redwood Stratocaster
Fender's Old Growth Redwood Stratocaster is made from timber reclaimed from bridges built as part of job creation projects in the Great Depression
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Fender's Old Growth Redwood Stratocaster is made from timber reclaimed from bridges built as part of job creation projects in the Great Depression
The Old Growth Redwood Strat features a brown anodized aluminum pickguard and a HSS pickup configuration
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The Old Growth Redwood Strat features a brown anodized aluminum pickguard and a HSS pickup configuration
Both the body and neck have been hand-rubbed in oil to bring out the natural beauty of the wood
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Both the body and neck have been hand-rubbed in oil to bring out the natural beauty of the wood
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No matter how good the tone of modern materials such as Flaxwood and Arium are claimed to be, some players will simply not entertain owning a guitar unless it's made from vintage wood. Fender has soft-launched a Special Edition series of guitars aimed at players looking for the distinct tone of old growth timber, while enjoying the benefits of modern features and hardware. The company has secured a limited amount of reclaimed wood from obscure locations in the US for an interesting take on its iconic Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars. The redwood model is made using wood from the 1930s, and the pine models timber dates back to 1868 ... and you don't get much more vintage than that.

The body of Fender's Old Growth Redwood Stratocaster is made from timber reclaimed from bridges built as part of job creation projects in the Great Depression. The Walker Basin Creek and Caliente Creek bridges near Bakersfield, California, were both constructed in 1933, and decommissioned in 2012. The one-piece body has been hand-rubbed in oil to bring out the natural beauty of the wood. Fender says that players can expect a tone that's "warm and rich; similar to cedar."

The Fender Old Growth Redwood Stratocaster
The Fender Old Growth Redwood Stratocaster

This Special Edition guitar has a 25.5-inch scale, modern C-shaped maple neck (also hand-rubbed in oil) with a rosewood fingerboard sporting 21 medium jumbo frets and a synthetic bone nut. The nickel/chrome hardware includes a two-point synchronized tremolo system with bent-steel saddles and staggered cast/sealed tuners, and the brown pickguard is fashioned from anodized aluminum. Fender has chosen to give this model a humbucker/single/single (or HSS) pickup configuration, with a Fender Diamondback bridge pickup and two American Vintage '65 gray-bottom singles in the middle and neck positions.

The Old Growth Redwood Strat comes supplied with a Fender hard case, strap, cable and polishing cloth.

The timber for the Reclaimed Eastern Pine Stratocaster and Telecaster is the same kind of tone wood used by Leo Fender to create the very first Telecasters. The wood used for these new models was originally used to build a dairy barn in Lake Odessa, Michigan in the middle of the 19th century. Fender's craftsmen haven't worked around all the knots, gashes and other imperfections, but have left them intact – only adding a hand-rubbed dark satin stain finish. As such, no two guitars in this limited series will be exactly alike. The tone is described by the company as "resonant and airy, with plenty of sustain and a prominent midrange; similar to ash."

The Fender Reclaimed Eastern Pine Telecaster
The Fender Reclaimed Eastern Pine Telecaster

Both guitars feature a 25.5-inch scale, 22-fret rosewood neck with rosewood fingerboard with a modern C-shaped profile, a single-ply phenolic pickguard, black plastic knobs, and aged hardware. The Strat is treated to three Custom Shop 1950s single-coil pickups, a 5-way switch selector and black plastic knobs, while the Tele gets a Texas Special single-coil at the neck and a Custom Shop Broadcaster at the bridge, a 4-way switch and knurled flat-top knobs.

All three limited run instruments are available now for a list price of US$2,599.99. As for exactly how limited these undeniably beautiful creations are, Fender's Jason Farrell told us that, "once these are gone, they're gone. However, I'm sure we'll find other new reclaimed woods in the future."

Product pages: Redwood Strat, Pine Strat, Pine Tele

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4 comments
4 comments
Tom Swift
well for old growth wood try: http://www.finewoodworking.com/how-to/article/ancient-lumber-from-new-zealand-and-south-carolina.aspx
but it seems someone else thought of and is using it: http://news.baileyguitars.co.uk/index.php/2011/04/bailey-custom-acoustic-from-40000-year-old-kauri/
wle
reclaimed,,, like boards from an old house? i;m sure the sound will be ... well, what IS the point of this?
wle
StWils
WLE, old growth timber of any species is much denser than trees grown rapidly in modern tree plantations. Aside from being typically stronger the acoustic resonant properties are far better.
Bassmandan
Fender is a little slow on the draw. People have been doing this for quite a few years now. A friend of mine made me a Tele copy a few years back out of a piece of a piano wood that is over 100 years old. It has a beautiful burst finish and the backing wood is full of worm holes. It's very cool looking and plays and sounds great with an Eric Johnson hum at the neck, a Seymour Duncan 5-2 at the bridge and a 5-way selector. Lots of great tones, light weight and stage appeal. i think I have about $350 into it.