thanks largely to the chambered ash body . Not too bass heavy , not to bright , just kind of right , and incredibly consistent . Although not all great Strats do that , it ’ s always a treat to be able to play or demo and instrument where you don ’ t have to shy away from one register or another .
THE ELECTRONICS In the same way that great electronics rarely fix what ’ s wrong with an instrument acoustically speaking , they obviously play a huge role in bringing best characteristic of an instrument to live , and that ’ s certainly the case here . All the things that worked acoustically on this guitar , translate beautifully when plugged in .
One of the reasons I tend to love signature instruments is that they reflect the best elements of an artist ’ s favorite guitars , often wrapped into one . While this instrument was not light in the bottom end , one of the things in like most about it is that you ’ re not fighting the low end at the bottom of the neck or on the ‘ bass ’ strings . The point being , after a while an artist figures out what work in the mix , and the right instrument reflects that both with its ‘ core sound ’ and when amplified . The pickups on
this guitar check all those boxes , and of course sound great when adding some drive into the mix .
The to other box that I ’ m always looking to check on a Strat is what I like to call “ the Eric Johnson tone control mod ” for the bridge pickup . Not sure why Leo and George opted not to put a tone control on the brightest pickup on the guitar , but whether it ’ s Eric Johnson , Lincoln Brewster , or Kenny Wayne Shepherd , my favorite Fender signature artists have opted to right this wrong , thankfully . Being able to back the tone control off in order to tame the bridge pickup adds a whole range of great tones to both the bridge and ‘# 2 ’ pickup selections , amen !
THE FEEL Last but in no way least , the feel is outstanding , and unique in a couple of areas . First and foremost , this is a wide neck that is not too wide . I don ’ t have huge hands , but I do have fairly wide callouses and if the string spacing and / or neck is too narrow it affects my intonation . Definitely not the case here , thankfully . The other thing that I love is the vintage 7.25 ” neck radius .
Kenny shied away from the current compound radius trend , and instead opted to make this neck feel and play as close as is possible to his prized ’ 61 Strat , and I ’ m glad that he did . This neck plays and bends like a dream .
THE WRAP As I will mention once again , not all worship guitar players just play at church and if you ’ re looking for a Strat that sounds , feels , and looks great , then I strongly urge you to check out the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Stratocaster . Although it is designed to be a lean , mean Blues machine , this guitar also delivers a myriad of tones well suited for a wide array of styles , worship included !
$ 1,999.00 Fender . com