M.B. Guitars Hand Built 1961 Stratocaster Replica, with 'old wood' Rosewood Board
Authentic hand built ‘Operationstrat’ replica from 2008. This one has a fantastic dark, waxy, reclaimed Brazilian rosewood board and a tastefully aged Fiesta Red finish. Very close to a real vintage ’61 Strat without the substantial price tag.
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Mike Bowes at M.B. Guitars has been quietly earning a reputation as possibly the best maker of Custom Made authentic vintage Fender replicas in the UK if not the entire World. After many years spent working on original vintage Fenders and studying their construction in intricate detail, he has applied this level of intimate knowledge to his own builds. His attention to detail is second to none, faithfully recreating the nuances which have made original vintage Pre-CBS Fenders so revered and highly sought after.
Before setting up M.B. Guitars he originally built a limited run of approximately 10 replica Stratocasters under the name of Operationstrat. This Fiesta Red example is one such guitar, being Custom Made in 2008.
This replica is made to 1961 specs with a 2 piece alder body, quarter sawn hard rock maple neck with a beautiful quarter sawn reclaimed Brazilian rosewood slab fingerboard, clay dots, correct fingerboard convex curve at the headstock, 7.25 inch radius, 2.0 mm fret wire and a soft v neck profile. Quality parts include Kluson single line tuners, Gotoh trem with rare 'Vintage Clone' made 54 style trem block with correct ball end recess and stamped Fender saddles, Fatboy aged plastics, Bare Knuckle ‘Sultans’ pick ups, Luxe 60s orange dime capacitor, CRL 5 way switch, CTS pots, and vintage spec cloth wire.
At first glance this could quite easily be mistaken for a genuine vintage Strat such is the attention to detail and finish. It even sports a correct 1961 two patent number decal, a detail which was applied by a previous owner. However, it is the gorgeous dark, waxy Brazilian rosewood fingerboard that is the Jewel In The Crown. This was cut from a very old hard to find batch of reclaimed rosewood and has the look and feel of the best rosewood boards found on pre-CBS Fenders.
The Brazilian rosewood board coupled with the soft V neck profile make this an effortless playing guitar that simply begs to be picked up and played. The neck profile is closer to ‘56/’57 specs and this was custom specified by the original owner.
Equipped with a set of Bare Knuckle ‘Sultans’ pick ups, sonically this Strat has all the classic early 60’s Strat tone you’d expect.
Comes with a modern Hiscox hard shell case.
