New Jimi Hendrix Custom Shop Strat revealed 50 years after Woodstock

Fender Custom Shop has announced a new 2019 Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster Limited Artist Signature Model to mark the 50th Anniversary of his legendary performance at Woodstock.

As with all Limited Artist Signature models, this is a painstaking reproduction of the original based on forensic examination of "Izabella" the white Strat that produced his iconic live performance of Star Spangled Banner at the epochal 1969 festival.

The resulting reverse-engineering extends well beyond components, vintage and model, to include each artist's wear patterns, down to every "nick, scratch, gouge and bump".

“Jimi Hendrix playing ‘Star Spangled Banner’ at Woodstock was a cultural moment heard around the world,” said Mike Lewis, VP Product Development, Fender Custom Shop. 

“We’re especially excited about this release because not only is the Izabella one of the most iconic instruments of our time, it represents a moment in history that will forever be woven in our cultural make-up. The Fender Custom Shop has done tributes to many extremely meaningful artist guitars through the years, but there was an extra sense of awe and privilege in the air in recreating the Izabella.”

Originally bought by Hendrix at Manny's Music, New York, the Izabella was a 1968 Olympic White Strat with an alder body and two-piece maple neck, with no “skunk stripe” and truss rod adjustment at the heel. 

The “F style” neck plate had the serial number 240981, which, along with the pickups and hardware, were standard 1968 issue. Significantly, the guitar featured the “big” Strat headstock with the Bob Perine-designed Fender logo and bold arced “Stratocaster” type. 

Key features
• Olympic White alder body with a
• 3-ply Parchment pickguard
• Flatsawn maple “`60s C”-shaped neck with a maple fingerboard, 21 vintage-style frets and nickel-plated steel .010-.046 gauge strings.
• 6-saddle American Vintage synchronized tremolo
• Three custom hand-wound ’69 single coil Strat® pickups in the bridge, middle and neck • Three-position blade switch with controls for Master Volume, Tone 1 (neck pickup) and Tone 2 (middle pickup)
• Vintage-style nickel/chrome Closet Classic hardware
• Vintage White control knobs

Each Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster will come with a deluxe hardshell case, custom strap, custom headband, coiled cable, commemorative booklet and a Certificate of Authenticity. 

The "Izabella" Jimi Hendrix Limited Artist Signature Model Strat is priced at £6,549. We'll let you know the dollar price as soon as we have it.