BLABBERMOUTH.NET
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (
FMIC) and the
Fender Custom Shop have announced the limited-edition
Mike McCready 1960 Stratocaster in the artist's first-time collaboration with the iconic guitar brand. The
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee partnered with one of
Fender's world-renowned master builders,
Vincent Van Trigt, to disassemble his famous vintage
Stratocaster in order to account for every spec, detail and iconic scratch.
With 2021 marking the 30th anniversary of
PEARL JAM's debut album,
"Ten", the limited 60-piece run celebrates the impact of the legendary rock band. The collector's edition promises
PEARL JAM fans a nearly exact replica of the guitar
McCready has used to wow audiences for decades.
"Once I could afford a quality guitar, I immediately went for the vintage
Stratocaster. It was my dream guitar because of my love for
Stevie Ray Vaughan, and as my musical aspirations were coming true I had to have it," said
Mike McCready. "It was the first significant guitar that I bought, never thinking I could ever own one before
PEARL JAM happened. My favorite feature is the playability of the neck. It's so worn in and easy to play. It's got the best neck and fretboard of any of my guitars. I also love how light it is. I actually picked up the prototype thinking it was the original a couple of times which shows me how meticulous and caring master builder
Vincent Van Trigt and the whole
Fender team has been throughout this process."
McCready's purchase of the original vintage guitar was inspired by his idol, wanting to get his hands on
Vaughan's 1959
Stratocaster. His love for the model went so far as getting the year memorialized with a tattoo on his wrist. In deconstructing the guitar,
Van Trigt uncovered a long-held secret kept from
McCready — his beloved '59
Strat was actually constructed in 1960. It was discovered decades ago by
PEARL JAM's longtime luthier after working on the guitar and finding date stamps on the neck. Recognizing
McCready's pride in the specific model, the luthier and
PEARL JAM's equipment manager let him believe for 28 years that it was built in 1959, only revealing the secret in order to create the perfect
Fender guitar replica.
"It was an honor to deconstruct and recreate
Mike's vintage 1960
Stratocaster," said
Van Trigt. "He plays an esteemed model, and the unique story behind its history gives even more character to the road-worn guitar we aimed to recreate."
Complete with a lacquer finish, flat-sawn flame maple neck and flat-lam rosewood fingerboard with 21 vintage frets, the well-loved guitar became a centerpiece for
McCready's iconic solos on tour and was used to record classic
PEARL JAM hits like
"Daughter",
"In My Tree",
"Nothing As It Seems", and
"Superblood Wolfmoon". The custom hand-wound pickups wound by
Josefina Campos herself, "treble bleed" tone capacitor and synchronized tremolo with
Callaham bridge block allow for
McCready's signature blues and classic rock sounds to shine through, inspired by his music idols like
Jimi Hendrix,
Pete Townshend and
Keith Richards.
"
Mike McCready is a bonafide rock n' roll legend, and it was a privilege to recreate his all-time favorite guitar," said
Mike Lewis, VP of product development at
Fender's Custom Shop. "When considering the partnership, we knew we had to get
Vincent Van Trigt on the case. He worked on the
Vaughan brothers 30th-anniversary
Strat set, so he was the natural choice to create an exact copy of
Mike's time-worn
Strat for his fans to collect and enjoy.
"
PEARL JAM has been inspiring us at
Fender, and not to mention audiences around the world for 30 years, and we couldn't think of a better way to honor the legacy of this legendary rock guitarist."
The
Fender Custom Shop limited artist series celebrates the storied guitars of legendary musicians by building recreations of their instruments in exacting detail. Based on close examination of the original guitars, every nuance is noted and incorporated into the build. Reverse-engineering the model, vintage, wood, hardware, electronics, finish and player customizations are all vital to the process. Most importantly, the player's wear patterns are recorded: every nick, scratch, gouge and bump are vital to the authenticity of the recreation — they are mapped and documented with precision.