Fender Custom Shop ’61 Stratocaster – Heavy Relic Black “Suphrel” – John Mayer Specification made in 2023.

This is a seriously special Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster, built in the spirit of the early ’60s instruments but with a more contemporary, player-focused specification. Finished in heavy Relic Black, or “Suphrel” as Fender termed the finish, it is an exceptionally handsome instrument with the sort of presence that only a well-executed Custom Shop Relic can deliver. The combination of the classic ’61 specification, superb neck, rosewood fingerboard and factory gold hardware makes this a very distinctive Stratocaster.

This particular example has seen only a few hours of careful home use and remains in excellent condition. It has been professionally set up and plays beautifully, with a lovely soft action and no issues whatsoever. The heavy Relic finish is, of course, part of the original Custom Shop specification rather than wear accumulated through use. It comes complete with all of its original paperwork, including the Shop Floor Traveller and Certificate of Authenticity, together with the original brown Tolex case and gold bridge cover.

The original Custom Shop specification follows the classic early ’60s Stratocaster recipe, with a select two-piece alder body finished in thin nitrocellulose lacquer. The neck is a particularly appealing ’60s-style oval “C” profile, finished in smooth nitrocellulose lacquer and paired with a beautiful AAA slab-laminated rosewood fingerboard. The 9.5" fingerboard radius and 21 narrow-tall 6105 frets give the guitar a wonderfully comfortable playing feel, particularly for players who enjoy expressive bends and a more modern approach to a vintage-style Strat.

The original Fender Custom Shop hand-wound ’65 single-coil pickups are included with the guitar. However, this example has been taken in a rather more adventurous direction and is currently fitted with a Seymour Duncan “Everything Axe” set.

As the name suggests, this is a remarkably versatile pickup combination, giving the guitar three very different voices:

• Bridge – Seymour Duncan JB Junior SBJ-1B, delivering the character and power of the famous JB humbucker in a Strat-sized format.

• Middle – Seymour Duncan Duckbucker SDBR-1N, offering a distinctive single-coil sound with a little more authority and body.

• Neck – Seymour Duncan Little ’59 SL59, bringing a PAF-inspired voice to the neck position with warmth, sustain and a more substantial humbucker character.

It is an unusually versatile setup and gives this Stratocaster considerably more tonal range than a conventional vintage-specification instrument. For the serious player, it makes this a guitar capable of covering everything from articulate Strat tones through to much thicker, more powerful humbucker territory.

The vintage-style synchronized tremolo and tuning machines retain the familiar Fender feel, while the factory gold hardware against the heavy Relic Black finish is a joy to behold. The contrast is superb, and in the hands this feels like a serious working instrument rather than simply a collector’s piece.

There is something particularly appealing about a guitar that takes the fundamental ingredients of a great early ’60s Strat and combines them with the requirements of a modern professional player. This Custom Shop example does exactly that. The neck, fretting, nitro finish and overall construction have all the feel and refinement you would expect from Fender Custom Shop, while the Seymour Duncan pickup configuration gives it a much wider sonic vocabulary.

A wonderful guitar inspired by a wonderful guitar player, and an extremely compelling Custom Shop Stratocaster for the serious electric guitar player.

Supplied with:

• Original Fender Custom Shop brown Tolex case
• Original gold bridge cover
• Fender Custom Shop Certificate of Authenticity
• Original Shop Floor Traveller
• Original Fender Custom Shop hand-wound ’65 single-coil pickup set
• Seymour Duncan “Everything Axe” set currently fitted to the guitar

Fender Custom Shop '61 Stratocaster Suphrel "John Mayer Spec" Black Heavy Relic with upgrades!