If you're in the market for a new Strat-style guitar that manages to capture the vibe of a great vintage Strat while simultaneously improving upon the design, look no further.

This beautiful Fiesta Red Grosh NOS Retro feels reminiscent of an early 60s Stratocaster, albeit a touch more refined - the neck carve is similar though the 10" radius provides a slightly more modern playing experience. For this build, we asked Don to add a touch more orange to the Fiesta Red in order to capture a bit more of that classic "Campbell's Soup" Fiesta Red that some of the old Fenders aged into (and we're also big Michael Landau fans). A few more cosmetic touches included aged amber pickup covers / knobs and clay fretboard dots. We were really going for a vintage, custom-color Fender vibe and as usual, Don and crew nailed it.

Played acoustically, this guitar has a loud and snappy voice with tons of sustain. Plugged in, this guitar proves itself to be much more versatile than the classic Strat thanks in large part to the clever blend control and bridge pickup base plate (a la Telecasters). There are no anemic bridge pickup tones on this beauty - instead, you're presented with fat, stinging, beautifully compressed bridge pickup tones and all the classic Strat "cluck" and chime you could ever want in the other positions. Don's Strats remind us of a killer vintage Strat that's already been recorded and sweetened with a classic EQ and/or compressor (1176, etc...).

Playability / setup? Flawless.

This guitar is just a joy to play, period. This could easily be the only Strat you need in your collection.