The setting of countless legendary live recordings – The Rolling Stones' Love You Live and Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble's Live at the El Mocambo, to name just a couple – the El Mocambo club in Toronto is one of the most storied in popular music.
With that in mind, the Fender Custom Shop decided to pay tribute to the club by creating two new electric guitars – the El Mocambo Stratocaster and Telecaster – made from pieces of the club itself.
Built by Fender Custom Shop Master Builder Ron Thorn (himself a Toronto native) the two guitars feature bodies made from Eastern White Pine sourced from the club during its 2014 renovation. Each board was subsequently examined with a metal detector so builders could locate and delicately remove nails embedded in the wood.
The Strat and Tele each boast a quartersawn and roasted Canadian maple neck with a ‘59-style D profile and a 9.5”-radius, flat-laminated African blackwood fingerboard with 21 jumbo frets.
The guitars are each powered by hand-wound Josefina Campos pickups, with your typical Strat and Tele control layouts.
Though the unique wood definitely does the most to set these axes apart, the palm tree design inlayed on the first fret of both models – a tribute to the club's famous logo – is a neat signature touch. Both guitars also boast a similarly themed engraved neckplate.
Elsewhere, the axes are appointed with vintage-style tuners and wing string trees, and custom bridges.
Both El Mocambo guitars also come with a custom hardshell case, guitar strap, collectible case candy kit and a certificate of authenticity.
The prices of the Fender Custom Shop El Mocambo Stratocaster and Telecaster have not been announced as of press time, but one can likely expect a price tag comfortably in the five-figure range.
For more info on the guitars, visit the Fender Custom Shop.
