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Fender Dealer Select Masterbuilt
For years, session and the Fender Custom Shop have been successful co-operation partners, working together to design and launch new and interesting instruments. Our Fender and session teams work hand in hand to inspire our session customers with new guitar and bass creations. Of course, our in-house custom shop guru and Fender fanatic Olli Lohmann, who has already created the successful Fender Custom Shop Dealer Select series, has a particularly large role to play in this.
The Dealer Select Strat now available as a Masterbuilt!
As if that wasn't enough, Olli decided to go one better: With the Fender Custom Shop session Select Masterbuilt Strat! When the two Fender master builders Andy Hicks and David Brown visited us in our Frankfurt shop, Olli presented them with our popular Dealer Select HSS Strat, which he had customised to his personal preferences. They were both enthusiastic about Olli's ideas and our guitars, so they immediately agreed to build us not just one, but several different Masterbuilt models with specs selected by Olli himself. The first Fender Custom Shop Dealer Select 1959 Masterbuild Strats have already arrived and not only Olli is overwhelmed by the results!
Discover all Fender Dealer Select Masterbuilt strats:
The Dealer Select Stratocaster in detail
Olli's favourite model now as a Masterbuilt
Of course, this new Dealer Select is once again modelled on a 1959 Fender Stratocaster with an HSS pickup combination, Olli's absolute favourite model from the American cult manufacturer. And this Masterbuilt guitar is available in several versions: With a hardtail bridge, RSD tremolo bridge or with Floyd Rose locking tremolo. You also have the choice between a maple or rosewood fingerboard and two different relic levels. And then there are many different colours to discover...
Quite a lot of options, but don't worry! We present the most important differences between the individual guitars and explain the most important features to you.
What all models have in common
In addition to the numerous differences, there are also some specs that all guitars in the series have in common, such as the super comfortable ‘60s oval “C” neck profile and the 9.5" - 12" compound radius fingerboard with 22 jumbo nickel silver frets. The pickup combination is also the same on all Dealer Select Masterbuilts: A Fender Custom Shop Handwound ‘59 single coil with reversed winding and polarity on the neck, a Fender Custom Shop Handwound Fat 50s single coil in the middle and Olli's favourite humbucker, a Seymour Duncan EVH ’78 humbucker with a zebra look on the bridge. The humbucker also has an auto-split function.
Different bridge - different sound
Fender RSD Vintage Tremolo bridge
This vintage tremolo bridge provides the classic, floating and warm Stratocaster sound we all know and love and allows you to create expressive vibrato effects.
Fender String-Thru-Body Hardtail bridge
With this bridge, the sides are guided through the body, which makes for a tighter sound than with a tremolo bridge. However, you have to do without vibrato sounds.
Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo bridge
With a Floyd Rose locking bridge and the corresponding saddle, endless retuning is a thing of the past. It enables extreme vibrato effects without the guitar going out of tune.
The Dealer Select Relic levels
Heavy Relic
The most extreme of Fender's Relic levels, Heavy Relic evokes the spirit of the most tried and worn Fender instruments in history. If you want a guitar that looks like it hasn't left your side since the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll, this is the right finish for you. Masterbuilder Andy Hicks is a true rock and metal fan, so the Heavy Relic finish is one of Andy's personal favourites and personal strengths. All Dealer Select Masterbuilts with a Heavy Relic finish were built by Andy Hicks.
Journeyman Relic
Our Teambuilt Dealer Select models also come in this Relic finish. It's all about the look and feel of a guitar that's been loved and played. If you play your instrument often, it's a simple truth that your guitar will eventually show signs of wear and tear. Even for players who take great care of their guitars, a fall off the stand, other people's hands or even a mysterious-looking dent can take its toll. Each of these marks adds character to the guitar. And that's what you get with the Journeyman Relic Level from Fender Custom Shop. A well-maintained instrument that has been played, played on and loved. All of our Dealer Select Masterbuilts with Journeyman Relic were crafted by David Brown.
Meet the Masterbuilders
David Brown
David Brown's musical adventure began in the late 70's when he was in middle school. By high school, he was playing in bands and working at a local shop in Anaheim, where he learned guitar repairing and building. In the mid 80's he worked at Yamaha Music Corp. in Buena Park as a guitar technician. In 2000, David was offered the opportunity to work at Fender and his career with the company began. By 2006, he earned a degree in marketing from California State University at Fullerton and was working in the Fender Custom Shop, building new models and making instruments for various artists.
Andy Hicks
Andy Hicks grew up in a household full of music lovers. He received his first guitar on his 11th birthday. Andy spent his teenage years playing along to his favourite records by Nirvana, Black Sabbath and Metallica. He played in rock bands and in his early 20s he became increasingly interested in experimenting with guitars. In 2009, Andy decided to take his passion for guitar making seriously and enrolled at the Guitar Craft Academy in Hollywood. Just one week after graduating, he started working in the Jackson Custom Shop. From 2013 to 2018, he worked as an assistant to Gretsch Senior Master Builder Steve Stern.
Olli and his favourite guitar
When the first guitars from the series arrived, Olli immediately wanted to know how his Dealer Select sounded in the masterbuilt version. So he dragged six model variants into the video studio and tested them extensively. In the video on the left, he presents the new interpretations of his favourite guitar and explains the most important differences between the various models. Each guitar is unique and only available once. The guitars shown here in the shop are therefore exactly the ones you will receive with your order. So don't wait too long, they might be gone...
Know-how
With us you not only get what you need - we also show you how it works! Go to the guides.
