Description
Up for sale is a super cool and quite rare limited edition 2021 Fender Custom Shop George Harrison Paul Waller Masterbuilt "Rocky" Stratocaster. Included is the original case, paperwork, COA, briefcase and other goodies shown in our photos. Weight: 7lbs. 11oz.
The Fender Custom Shop and their Masterbuilders have the reputation for duplicating some of the most well-known guitars of all time, to a truly painstaking level. Finally, the Rocky Strat from George Harrison has joined the likes of SRV's #1, EVH's Frankencaster, Clapton's Blackie, Andy Summer's Tele, Jeff Beck's Esquire, Malmsteen's Strat, and Robbie Robertson's Last Waltz Stratocaster! As a massive George Harrison fan, this is easily the coolest of the group. The Harrison Rosewood Tele was certainly cool but this takes things to a WHOLE new level!
Rocky was featured in some of the Beatles most popular recordings, seen during The Magical Mystery Tour film, and then down the road some years in Tom Petty's video for I Won't Back Down (along with arguably the best backing band in history!) in the hands of Mike Campbell. The story of this guitar is supremely cool and certainly worth reading up on as its impact on rock n' roll is undeniable!
Master Builder Paul Waller examined and measured the original in exacting detail—body, neck (with a rare asymmetrical “C” profile), pickups, wiring, and everything else right down to Harrison’s famous DIY paint job. Even the “Grimwoods” decal remains in place on the back of the headstock. With these features and more, it’s an amazing and meticulously crafted Custom Shop tribute to a truly magical guitar played and loved by one of rock’s greatest guitarists.
You know a project is a big deal when Abigail Ybarra comes out of retirement to be a part of it! And what makes her participation even cooler is that it is likely that Abby wound the pickups in George's original Strat! THAT'S how long she worked with Fender! Rocky is loaded with a set of 1960's spec pickups that are warm and sweet, with a wonderful kerrang on the top end that is captivating. Abby's pickups have gone on to be the stuff of Legend, selling for huge bucks online when you can find them. A 5-way switch leads you down a familiar path along with a Master Volume, and 2 tone controls. Played clean, slightly broken up, or madly overdriven, this guitar sounds amazing! Handwound pickups provide added dynamic range, responding to the touch like no machine wound pickup can. Slight movements on the volume or tone controls offer unparalleled shaping abilities. The wealth of usable, musical tones you can find is staggering!
Here is some of the Rocky Lore from the Folks at the Fender Custom Shop. Stratocaster® guitars were almost impossible to find in England in the late 1950s and early 1960s, so when George Harrison actually found one in a shop during the pre-fame early days of the Beatles, he meant to get it but was scooped by the guitarist for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes (whose drummer went by the stage name Ringo Starr).
A few dizzying years later, when the sessions for Beatles Help! album got underway in early 1965, Harrison had better luck—he and John Lennon sent roadie Mal Evans out to get one for each of them, and Evans soon returned with a matching pair of Sonic Blue Strat® guitars. Harrison’s guitar, serial number 83840, still bore a decal from a music store where it was purchased at one point—“Grimwoods; The music people; Maidstone and Whitstable”. Thus, Help! marks the first appearance of a Stratocaster in Beatles music; heard in the low drone throughout that album’s “Ticket to Ride” and in the solo for “You’re Going to Lose That Girl.” Near the end of 1965, both Strats were put to even more prominent use on groundbreaking album Rubber Soul, most notably on the ringing chordal solo in “Nowhere Man”, and again on mid-1966’s Revolver.
In 1967, sometime between the end of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sessions and the June 25 live worldwide telecast of “All You Need is Love”, Harrison took up paint and brush himself to give his Stratocaster a multicolored psychedelic dayglo paint job. It also appeared prominently in the “I Am the Walrus” segment of 1967’s Magical Mystery Tour film. The guitar remained a favorite of Harrison’s for the rest of the decade, and by December 1969 Harrison had painted “Bebopalula” on the upper body, “Go Cat Go” on the pickguard, and “Rocky”—the guitar’s nickname—on the headstock.
We love seeing these recreations. Fender pulls out all of the stops on them and every spec, ding, dents, glob of paint, is something worth taking a moment to appreciate. The execution from Paul Waller is jaw-dropping. The guitar plays like a dream and sounds astounding thanks to the Abigail Hand Wound Pickups, and is the most eye-catching guitar we have seen in years! The paint-job certainly looks like George had some help from Lucy (in the Sky with Diamonds) and the ability of the Custom Shop to recreate it perfectly is shocking! Also included with the guitar is a Custom Embroidered Brown Tolex Briefcase that carries the special case-candy that it comes with including a White El Dorado Leather Strap, Mini Model of Rocky along with a stand, and a special two-fold certificate of authenticity. It is an insanely groovy add-on to this otherwise already staggeringly cool piece.
Details
Finish
:
Sonic Blue
Model
:
George Harrison Masterbuilt Rocky Stratocaster
Year
:
2021
Modifications
:
None
Condition
:
Excellent
Weight
:
7lbs. 11oz.
Case
:
OHSC
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We offer a 48 hour approval period on all guitars, amplifiers, and pedals from the date of purchase for in store transactions or date of delivery for internet orders. This approval period is for the buyer to make sure that the instrument is in the condition and originality we advertised. If a return is requested because the buyer simply doesn’t like the way an instrument plays, sounds or other personal preferences we reserve the right to deduct a 10% restocking fee at our sole discretion. In the event of any return the buyer pays all shipping and insurance costs, both to and from, as well as any other fees associated with the transaction. In the event a return is requested on an item prior to shipment or delivery a 10% restocking fee will be deducted at our sole discretion. All returns must be approved by phone or email and must be returned in the exact condition they left our store. Any item returned not in the same condition it left our store is subject to a 20% restocking fee at our sole discretion. For logistical reasons we are unable to accept returns on any transaction involving a trade, both in store and online. Unauthorized returns will be refused and returned at customer's expense. Please know we go to great lengths to ensure with 100% confidence that you are getting the exact item you purchased in the condition and originality described. We strive to earn your business.