Although the company still relies on the good old stuff established back in the 1950s, Fender always loves to experiment. We’ve seen how exciting things can get with their Parallel Universe series. And now they’re bringing yet another unusual yet very creative instrument.
Coming from Fender’s Japanese branch, the Hybrid II Stratocaster further pushes the limits of conventional guitar design practices. As reported by Guitar World, this Strat not only comes with a super-versatile HSS pickup combination but also has a Telecaster headstock. And, what’s more, the headstock is flipped.
This is also accompanied by an extraordinary Ocean Turquoise Metallic finish. It perfectly complements the guitar’s three-ply tortoiseshell pickguard. We’d also like to add that the instrument’s maple neck and fretboard also look pretty great with this combination.
As far as its pickups go, we have a Modern Modified humbucker Type I in the bridge, while Hybrid II Custom Voiced single-coil pickups stand in its middle and neck positions. Along with this comes an expected control configuration with a 5-way selector switch, one master volume knob, and two tone pots.
Aside from the aforementioned maple neck with a maple fretboard, the body is made of alder. The neck comes with a total of 22 frets, a modern “C” shape, as well as a 9.5-inch fingerboard radius. This is all accompanied by your standard 25.5-inch scale length.
Its hardware is vintage-oriented, which is a pretty great touch. We have a two-point synchronized tremolo, but it comes with vintage saddles. The tuning machines are vintage-style locking ones.
This is, of course, a limited-edition run. What’s kind of a bummer is that the guitar is only available through Fender Japan’s online store or Miki Gakki Americamura megastore. The price is ¥148,500 which is about $1,160.
Photos: Fender Japan
