Fender Custom Shop 1956 Stratocaster HSS Relic, Super Faded Aged 2-Colour Sunburst #R133851

Full Description

Vintage styling with modern power

The Fender Custom Shop 1956 Stratocaster HSS Relic is a masterful blend of period-correct design and modern sonic flexibility. While it proudly wears the look and feel of a well-loved '50s Stratocaster, this model pushes beyond vintage boundaries with a carefully chosen pickup configuration. By combining a pair of Fat '50s single coils with a powerful Shawbucker at the bridge, it opens up a wide tonal palette. This HSS layout offers sparkling clarity in the neck and middle positions, while the humbucker gives you punch, warmth and drive when you need it.

Relic nitro finish with timeless character

The body wears a Super Faded Aged 2-Colour Sunburst finish—applied using a thin nitrocellulose lacquer that allows the wood to breathe and age naturally over time. Fender’s Relic treatment gives the guitar a broken-in appearance. Subtle checking, worn edges and tasteful hardware tarnishing create a convincing sense of history. This relic job is artfully executed by Fender’s expert Custom Shop artisans to enhance both aesthetics and comfort. It's a truly unique finish that gives you a taste of the '50s.

Comfortable playability with a vintage touch

This 1956 Stratocaster features a tinted quartersawn maple neck shaped to a soft '57-style “V” profile, giving you that unmistakable vintage hand feel. The back of the neck is worn smooth for easy movement across the frets, which are medium vintage-sized and sit atop a classic 7.25" fingerboard radius. Combined with the responsive nitro lacquer finish, the neck offers a highly tactile playing experience that encourages expressive bends and chordal clarity. It’s a neck that responds perfectly to both delicate phrasing and more aggressive playing styles, delivering fantastic comfort and control.

Expertly crafted for tonal balance

Beyond the obvious attention to visual and tactile detail, this guitar has been meticulously voiced for balance across all positions. The Fat '50s pickups are reverse-wound, reverse-polarity in the middle to provide noise cancellation in the combined settings. The Shawbucker in the bridge retains warmth and dynamics even at higher gain settings, giving you a seamless transition between vintage sparkle and modern power. A carefully matched wiring harness includes a combination of 250K and 500K potentiometers to optimise output and tonal response depending on pickup selection. From clean articulation to full-throated roar, this Strat handles it all with ease.

Custom Shop details and reliable hardware

Every component on this instrument has been carefully selected and relic’d to match the guitar’s aged aesthetic. The vintage-style tuners bear the correct Fender logo, while the American Vintage tremolo bridge offers a smooth expressive outlet, encouraging fluid vibrato use without compromising tuning stability. The parchment pickguard features a cut for the humbucker, maintaining the classic Strat silhouette while adapting to the HSS layout. Each guitar is built in Fender’s Custom Shop by skilled luthiers focused on quality, consistency and heritage. From the 4-bolt neck joint to the R-serial neck plate, every detail honours Fender heritage reaching back to the '50s.

Specifications

• Product Name: Fender Custom Shop 1956 Stratocaster HSS Relic, Super Faded Aged 2-Colour Sunburst
• Product Code: 9238014429 #R133851

Body

• Body Wood: 2-piece Alder
• Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
• Finish Type: Super Faded Aged 2-Colour Sunburst (Relic)
• Routing: Humbucker route in bridge
• Finish Package: Relic
• Weight Sorting: No sort

Neck & Fretboard

• Neck Wood: Plain grain maple
• Neck Finish: Medium tint nitrocellulose lacquer
• Neck Shape: 1957 Soft "V"
• Fingerboard Radius: 7.25"
• Fingerboard: Maple (no separate board)
• Frets: 21 Medium Vintage / 47095
• Nut Width: 1.650"
• Neck Thickness at 1st Fret: .850"
• Neck Thickness at 12th Fret: .990"
• Neck Butt Width: 2.200"
• Truss Rod: 50s style
• Headstock: Small with 0.575" thickness
• Scoop: 1956
• Dot Inlays: Micarta black front (.250") and side (3/32")
• Decal: 1954–60 Strat with OCB
• Neck Plate: R-serial vintage, relic finish
• Neck Bolts: 4-bolt

Hardware & Electronics

• Bridge: American Vintage Strat Bridge, Relic
• Tremolo Arm: Vintage Strat style with white relic tip
• Tuners: Vintage with Fender logo, Relic
• Output Jack: Vintage Strat, Relic
• Back Plate: Parchment, Relic
• Strap Locks: None
• String Gauge: .010–.046
• Pickups:
  • Neck: Custom Shop Strat Fat '50s, Relic
  • Middle: Custom Shop Strat Fat '50s RWRP, Relic
  • Bridge: Shawbucker Zebra, Relic
• Controls: Volume (250K 10 taper), Tone 1 (500K split), Tone 2 (Dual 500K/250K split)
• Control Assembly: POMO Strat HSS Relic
• Selector Switch: 5-way lever (CRL), white tip, Relic
• Pickguard: Custom 1956 Strat HSS, .06" parchment, Relic