Fender Custom Shop Jimmie Vaughan Stratocaster, Aged Aztec Gold (USED, 2022)

From his days with the Fabulous Thunderbirds to his partnership with SRV, Family Style, and his own solo works, Vaughan’s tasteful playing style and classic tone continue to carry the torch for a truly indigenous American art form - the blues.

Signature models tend to go one of two ways - either the artist's name is simply a decal, or, the guitar genuinely reflects how that person plays. This signature Strat is of the second kind, and you can feel it within about thirty seconds of sitting down with it.

Jimmie Vaughan built a career on restraint. Fewer notes, placed better, with tone doing the work that flash does for other players (his little brother Stevie idolized his playing - say no more, right?). The Custom Shop spec list reads like a direct translation of that approach. Hand-wound JLV single-coils, a reverse-wound reverse-polarity middle pickup for a quiet second and fourth position, and the JLV Modified #2 wiring, which gives you tone-shaping this platform does not normally offer. There is a treble-saver bleed in there too, so rolling the volume back cleans up without dragging the top end down with it.

The neck is the part most people will notice first. The custom JLV C profile is copied from his own favorite neck, in one-piece rift-sawn maple, with a 9.5" radius and 21 jumbo frets. It's a profile we immediately bonded with and think most players will as well - it's right up the middle as they say.

The body is two-piece select alder in the '50s style, under a Deluxe Closet Classic lacquer finish. Thin nitro, lightly worn, and it does what a good closet classic finish is supposed to do: the guitar breathes and sustains instead of feeling sealed in plastic. It's very resonant and snappy in-hand.

Plugged in, things get interested - meaning, this isn't just "another" Strat. Positions 2 and 4 are lower output and out-of-phase, which gets you into a totally different / old-school place vs your standard "clucky" 2 and 4 position tones. This helps nail some of those old blues tones and is perfect for players looking access some atypical sounds in a familiar feeling/playing platform.