Fender Custom Shop 1964 HSS Stratocaster Sonic Blue/Journeyman (USED, 2023)

A Custom Shop take on a player-modded ‘64 Strat, in Sonic Blue with an EVH humbucker in the bridge.

It’s always cool to us to see a guitar that shows evidence of a previous owner through mods and other personal touches (stickers, etc.), so having the Custom Shop dip into that sort of thing is really cool to see.

Using a ‘64 Strat as a launchpad, this Sonic Blue guitar sports an EVH bridge pickup for a hot-rodded take on the iconic Strat. Sonic Blue was one of Fender’s custom colors in the ’60s, so the finish is right at home on a ‘64. The humbucker is the twist. In 1964 this mod wasn’t something you’d see players doing, and it would be years before the HSS “Super Strat” we all know and love came to be.

Speaking of which, before we go any further, for players just getting into these guitars: HSS stands for Humbucker-Single-Single. Putting a humbucker, which is higher output and fuller sounding than a Fender single coil, in the bridge solves a common complaint from some players that the bridge position on a Strat sounds weak. Drop in a humbucker and problem solved!

So how is this guitar in hand? It’s loud acoustically, the Oval C neck profile with its aged finish feels immediately comfy and broken in, the fret work is excellent (jumbo frets too!), the 9 1/2"-12" compound radius is great for faster playing, and the aging looks great and believable.

First impression of tones? Fantastic. HSS Strats can sometimes suffer from an output imbalance between the neck position and the bridge position (which makes sense, right?) but this guitar doesn’t do that nearly to the degree that others we’ve played do. The EVH bridge pickup sounds awesome, like a fat single coil with more aggressive midrange. The single coils are throaty and do that scooped midrange thing that great Strats are known for.