If a more modern spin on a classic Strat is something that interests you, the 1960 “Chicago Special” Stratocaster is for you. The 1960’s were a period of innovation, so we honored the spirit of the time by including a 9’5” radius (a modern upgrade) and a the Fender ½ blender which allows you to blend in the neck pickup in the 1st and 2nd position by way of the first tone knob. The slab rosewood fretboard is joined to a rift sawn maple neck to enhance the resonance of the neck. Finally, the Chicago Special pickups we’re created with Mike Lewis to ensure a balanced output across every pole piece. The Alnico 5 magnets are wrapped in 42 gauge enamel wire, and potted in shellac to recreate the round highs, and wide open frequency range of a vintage pickup.
"Chicago Special" Strat pickups
Calibrated set - bridge to neck - for balanced output
Each pickup as custom AlNiCo 5 magnet stagger for optimum output balance string-to-string
42 gauge enamel wire for round highs
Potted in shellac for open wide range frequency response
Deluxe Closet Classic is a house favorite here at CME. It shows its age like a fine wine, built for those who want to more clearly feel the life of the instrument, but without all those forced dings and dents. Maintaining many of the subtleties of a traditional Closet Classic such as less brilliance to the finish, slight discoloration of plastics, and mild oxidation of metal parts, this aging package adds notably more extensive and lush finish checking that you will see and feel throughout. (*Note. Our photographs sometimes do not capture finish checking as well as we’d like, so please get in touch with us for an in-hand description and additional photographs.)
