“One day it hit me, I want a Fender 7-string Stratocaster. I got a lot of ‘no’s”: How the Fender Custom Shop was convinced to make the firm’s first 7-string guitar

Suicide Silence’s riff beast Chris Garza may be the proud owner of the world’s first official seven-string Fender Strat, but he says getting the firm’s Custom Shop to commit to the build was a massive challenge.

Strat shapes are a common sight in the extended-range guitar world but, save for the short-lived Squier Stagemaster 7 – which came and went in the early 2000s – Fender hadn’t dipped its toes into that particular market until Garza twisted its arm.

Sure, its family of firms has done so in the past – Charvel’s latest signature seven-string for Angel Vivaldi is proof of that – but getting Fender to follow suit was another matter altogether.

Discussing the instrument’s origins in a new video with Sweetwater, Garza says seeing Korn at age 12 sparked his seven-string obsession, though he first had to make do with a six-string Stratocaster gifted by his dad.

“My whole life revolves around the seven-string,” Garza begins. “I've played almost every company out there and nothing’s ever felt right. Then one day it hit me: I want a Fender seven-string Stratocaster. They're not out there, but I'm going to try to get one.

Through his friend's dad, who worked at Fender, Garza approached Fender's Custom Shop, called them, and before long he was in the workshop.

He quickly struck up a partnership with luthier Jason Klein, who “stuck his neck out” for Garza, but a series of roadblocks lay ahead.

“I got a lot of nos,” he sighs. “A couple of years passed. They got a new Master Builder, Carlos Lopez, and he was the guy who wanted to take on all the new stuff – the weird things that Fender wouldn't normally do.” Finally, Garza got the green light he craved.

Chris Garza Artist Spotlight | Fender’s First-ever Official 7-string Stratocaster - YouTube

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Aside from the extra string quirk, Garza also side-stepped some typical Stratocaster ingredients. He opted for a mahogany body and 24-fret ebony fingerboard. It has a 26.5" scale length and is saddled with Bare Knuckle Aftermath humbuckers.

Garza now dreams of turning his custom cab bruiser into a signature guitar to give players “access to what I didn't have”.

“This is for the 13-year-old who wants to start a band,” he explains. “This guitar can do it all. It combines the old school foundation with the most modern specs. No guitar can touch this.”

This isn't the only left-field seven-string we've seen in recent years. Johnny Marr also made a surprising venture into the world of seven-strings with his latest signature Martin acoustic guitar, but his build isn’t what you think it is.