Like the Shelby this Thorn R/S draws its inspiration from, this guitar is simply a blast to take for a spin.

Since the earliest days of solid-body electric guitars, Southern California car culture has always been a source of inspiration for builders. Makes sense in many ways since Fender was a Southern California company after all - and - who doesn't love the artistry, colors, and creativity on display on those old hotrods?

Ron Thorn, you guessed it, is also a Southern California-based builder known for his high-performance guitars (ie, immaculately built with modern twists-turns applied to key specs) that occasionally draws inspiration from car culture, in this case, the gorgeous Shelby pictured below (as an example).

Some of the modern twists we mentioned earlier include hidden fret ends (which means Ron has to pre-cut each fret to sit perfectly in each nut slot with no fret tang exposed - ie, no fret-sprout will ever occur); a "Precision Lock" neck joint that is more involved than what you can see (the body and neck are each cut in a way that locks them in place, thus eliminating any movement & increasing coupling between the neck/body); stainless steel machine screws and neck inserts (ie, the screws don't go into the wood direction; Ron's own bridge design which produces an incredible amount of sustain; in-house designed and wound pickups...

So, in simple terms, you have a master builder building a better mouse trap (Ron was the chief masterbuilder at the Fender Custom Shop for about 5 years). What that means for you is an incredibly resonant Strat-style guitar that's effortless to play and sounds fantastic. Speaking of which, Ron's staple top G-90 pickup in the bridge position puts a subtle twist on the modern-leaning Strat tones this R/S delivers. And like the Shelby this guitar draws its inspiration from, this guitar is simply a blast to take for a spin.