Fender today released the new Albert Hammond Jr. Stratocaster. The Strokes guitarist's signature model features his own customized pickups switching: pickup switch position four activates the neck and bridge pickups in tandem, while positions one and three are reversed from the traditional layout. Hammond’s signature graces the back of the large Seventies-style headstock, while other Seventies-inspired features include a bullet truss rod nut, a 3-bolt “F”-stamped neck plate with period-correct Micro-Tilt adjustment and a Seventies-era logo.
The ceramic single-coil Stratocaster pickups are custom-designed to match Hammond’s brash, visceral playing style. The traditional master volume and two tone controls are easily at hand, one for the neck pickup and one for the middle pickup. The guitar also features a vintage-style 6-saddle synchronized tremolo bridge, a “Modern C”-shaped maple neck and a 7.25”-radius rosewood fingerboard with 21 medium-jumbo frets.
