Fender Custom Shop Masterbuilt Jerry Garcia Alligator Stratocaster Electric Guitar in Aged Natural

When famed U.K. singer-songwriter-musician Graham Nash released his solo debut album Songs for Beginners in May 1971, he was so pleased with Jerry Garcia's contributions to the sessions that he presented Garcia with a special gift — a 1955 Stratocaster Nash had bought the year before in a Phoenix, Arizona pawn shop for $250.

Garcia immediately adopted it as his main instrument for the next two years, during which it became his first dramatically modified guitar. Although Garcia and the Dead became well known for heavily altering their equipment through the band's own offshoot gear company, Alembic, it was this Strat that first received the extensive workbench surgery that served as a Grateful Dead hallmark. Garcia’s new Strat became a favourite known and loved by the guitarist and his fans as the "Alligator" — so nicknamed for the grinning cartoon alligator sticker Garcia affixed to the pickguard in 1972.

Fender Custom Shop Replica

Now, the Fender Custom Shop is proud to introduce the Jerry Garcia Alligator Stratocaster — a faithful recreation of one of Garcia's most famous instruments. Every detail is meticulously recreated, from the carefully measured contours and radii of the one-piece Ash body to the hammered brass control plate, replica pickguard and body stickers, and custom replica "Blaster" clean-boost output jack assembly. Master built in the Custom Shop by Austin MacNutt, the Jerry Garcia Alligator Stratocaster is limited to 100 built-to-order instruments.

All three pickups are Josefina hand-wound '55-style single-coil Stratocaster pickups replicated from the Alligator itself, along with five-way switching, standard vintage Stratocaster wiring and replica "hat" control knobs on a 3-ply parchment pickguard. Premium features also include a relic lacquer finish, one-piece rift-sawn Maple neck with a profile scanned and replicated directly from the original guitar, 7.25" fingerboard radius and 1.625" brass nut width, 21 'Medium Vintage' frets, custom brass bridge and tailpiece with Rosewood base plate, Schaller M6 tuners, disc string tree with custom retainer bar, and custom birdseye Maple back plate.

Specifications

Body

• Body Shape: Stratocaster
• Body Material: 1-Piece Select Ash
• Body Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Neck

• Neck Material: 1-Piece Rift Sawn Maple
• Neck Shape: 1955 Soft "V"
• Neck Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
• Neck Plate: 4-Bolt Serialized
• Scale Length: 25.5" (64.77 cm)
• Fingerboard Material: 1-Piece Rift Sawn Maple Neck
• Fingerboard Radius: 7.25" (184.1 mm)
• Number of Frets: 21
• Fret Size: Medium Vintage (47095)
• Position Inlays: Black Micarta, 0.25" (6.35 mm)
• String Nut: Brass
• Nut Width: 1.625" (41.3 mm)
• Headstock: Stratocaster Small

Electronics

• Pickups: Custom Shop Josefina Hand-Wound '55 Single-Coil Strat
• Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Middle Pickup)
• Pickup Switching: 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
• Special Electronics: Custom Replica "Blaster" Clean-Boost Output Jack Assembly

Hardware

• Bridge: Custom Brass Bridge and Tailpiece with Rosewood Base Plate
• Tuning Machines: Schaller M6 90 Chrome-Plated Die-Cast Tuners with Large Buttons
• Pickguard: Custom 3-Ply Parchment
• Control Knobs: Custom Black "Alligator" Knobs
• Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome/Brass

Miscellaneous

• Strings: Fender USA 250R Nickel Plated Steel (.010-.046 Gauges), PN 0730250406
• Included Accessories: Deluxe Hardshell Case, Strap and Certificate of Authenticity