With a custom blue finish, chambered ash body and specially-voiced pickups, the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Stratocaster® is fine-tuned to play the blues and beyond.
Kenny Wayne Shepherds fiery leads, meaty rhythms, and hard-driving songs have propelled his robust career through nine solo records three certified platinum, major tours with Buddy Guy, Van Halen, and The Rolling Stones, and an ongoing collaboration with blues-supergroup The Rides with Stephen Stills.
The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Stratocaster features a chambered ash body for vibrant and resonant tone, while the Transparent Faded Sonic Blue lacquer finish highlights the beautiful ash grain. The early 60s inspired C-shaped maple neck and bound rosewood fingerboard with a 7.25 radius offer comfort and playability straight out of Fenders golden age. Loaded with three Kenny Wayne Shepherd custom pickups, this guitar delivers punchy and full-throated Strat tones.
FEATURES
- Chambered ash body with Transparent Faded Sonic Blue lacquer finish
- Matching painted headcap
- 25.5 scale; early 60s C-shaped maple neck with bound rosewood fingerboard, 7.25 radius and 21 jumbo frets
- Kenny Wayne Shepherd custom spec single-coil Stratocaster pickups
- Updated vintage-style hardware; six-point synchronised tremolo bridge with Graph Tech® saddles and vintage-style tuning machines
CHAMBERED ASH BODY
Chambered ash delivers resonant and articulate tone, as well as beautiful grain patterns.
CUSTOM COLOR
Transparent Faded Sonic Blue shows off the wonderful ash grain while honoring a celebrated Fender custom color from the ’50s and ‘60s.
MAPLE NECK WITH BOUND ROSEWOOD FINGERBOARD
A traditional pairing of classic Fender tone-woods elevated with white fingerboard binding – a distinctly 60s Fender appointment.
PEARLOID BLOCK INLAYS
Adorned with white pearloid blocks and a custom 12th fret ‘split-block’ for a touch of high-class style.
SIGNATURE PICKUPS
Three custom voiced single-coil Kenny Wayne Shepherd Stratocaster pickups.
UPDATED CLASSIC HARDWARE
Six-point synchronised tremolo bridge with Graph Tech® saddles provides vintage vibrato action and added tuning stability.
A FUSION OF PAST AND PRESENT
Its been 25 years since Kenny Wayne Shepherd exploded onto the national scene as a teenage blues guitar phenom. In the years since, the Shreveport, Louisiana native has served as one of the genres foremost artists and ambassadors. Having played with Buddy Guy and B.B. King, as well as Stevie Ray Vaughans Double Trouble and Muddy Waters band, Shepherd is always mindful to shine a light on the greats who preceded him. By blending the sounds of his past with his own fresh take on rock, country and soul, he's sold millions of albums, charted a string of hits and toured the world over.
And his Fender Stratocaster guitars have been along for the ride every step of the way. I grew up playing a Strat, says Shepherd, who idolised Strat icons like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Everything about the instrument is just perfect for me. Its all in the right spot for the way that I play.
The first time I picked it up, I knew it was the one, he says. It was like finding the glass slipper.
For most of Shepherds career, his primary Stratocaster has been a 1961 sunburst model. That guitar can be heard on his breakthrough 1997 platinum-selling effort Trouble Is and every album he's recorded since.
Now, Shepherd has a new glass slipper. But instead of finding this one he helped design it.
The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Stratocaster is the product of Shepherds 25-year commitment to both tradition and innovation. His new signature model boasts classic Fender appointments including an ash body and an early '60s C-shaped maple neck that Shepherd says is the closest we've ever come to replicating the feel and profile of the one on my 61 Strat.
There's also a rosewood fingerboard with binding and block inlays two features that Shepherd says hearken back to a very limited run of Strats from the mid '60s with binding and blocks. I always dug those design elements and so I wanted to see them on a premium model Stratocaster.
This distinctive Strat also features plenty of subtle but striking updates. The ash body is chambered for lighter weight and added resonance, and is finished (along with the headstock) in a Transparent Faded Sonic Blue lacquer a custom colour that highlights the rich wood grain below.
This modern finish is paired with cutting-edge tone, courtesy of a specially-designed Kenny Wayne Shepherd Single-Coil Strat® trio that references the pickups from his cherished 61 model, but are voiced hotter and for more range.
We got into some real modern technology, at the same time keeping in mind the true heart of the Fender Stratocaster in its original form, Shepherd says. And we came up with a really cohesive instrument, where all the elements flow together nicely.
That fusion of past and present is fitting for an artist who says, I've always been drawn to using blues music as a foundation to create something new and fresh.
And what better guitar to join Shepherd on this journey.
There's just an endless number of sounds and personalities you can generate from a Stratocaster that cant be done with other guitars, Shepherd says. It does everything right.
With the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Stratocaster, he adds, I think we're taking it to the next level.
General
Artist
Right-Hand
Transparent Sonic Blue
US
Neck
Quartersawn Maple
Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer
4-Bolt Standard
7.25" (184.1 mm)
Rosewood
White Pearloid Block
White
21
Bone
1.650" (42 mm)
Bone
Body
Chambered Ash
Gloss Lacquer
Stratocaster®
Chambered Ash
Hardware
6-Saddle Vintage-Style Synchronized Tremolo with Graph Tech® Saddles
4-Ply White Pearloid
White
White Plastic
White
Nickel/Chrome
Vintage-Style
Fender® USA 250R Nickel Plated Steel (.010-.046 Gauges), PN 0730250406
4-Bolt
Vintage-Style
Electronics
Custom-Voiced Kenny Wayne Shepherd Single-Coil Strat®
Custom-Voiced Kenny Wayne Shepherd Single-Coil Strat®
Custom-Voiced Kenny Wayne Shepherd Single-Coil Strat®
SSS
Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck/Middle Pickups), Tone 2. (Bridge Pickup)
5-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup, Position 3. Middle Pickup, Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup, Position 5. Neck Pickup
