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The Fender Postmodern Journeyman Stratocaster is the perfect blending of classic looks and tone but with a more modern feel and stability that means you can rely on this guitar night after night. If you are looking to get that vintage strat sound we all love but don't want to have to deal with pains of using an older guitar, this is what you need!

Modern Features

In recent years guitarists needs have changed. While some still love the traditional 9.5" or 7.5" fretboard radius, many have moved on to more compound radius designs like the 9.5"-12" radius board on this. That among a few other features is what makes this guitar so great among a sea of vintage styled models.

Other additions include a lightweight Ash body with extra deep contours and a cutaway neck heel on a tinted quatersawn Maple neck. These may not change the tone but the feel of the guitar is greatly improved meaning you have less back pain and greater control of your instrument.

Classic Build

While the body carve and neck heel are certainly more modern the materials are still chosen for their ability to recreate those classic Strat tones. Lightweight Ash for the body and Quatersawn Maple for the neck are similar to what you would have seen on plenty of vintage Strats over the years.

Ancho Poblano Pickups

There is a really interesting new piece of hardware in this guitar and this is the use of Ancho Poblano pickups. These are handwound by the guys at Fender Custom Shop and have the tone of vintage strats but with a much fuller low end and touch more attack. This means you can get more punch in the mix and a bit more edge to your tone when you do want a more modern feel.

Journeyman Relic

Before Fender introduced their Journeyman relic you had the choice of New Old Stock (Fresh out of the factory), Closet Classic (aged but not worn) or their standard Relics, which even when done lightly still looked quite battered. Now the Journeyman finds a nice spot inbetween Relic and Closet Classic. A good amount of aging with some small marks and dings to show it has been played give this guitar a great bit of character.

Here's what Fender say about the Postmodern Journeyman Strat

The 2016 Postmodern Stratocaster is elegantly designed with a reappraisal of modern assumptions. A time-honored classic crafted with six decades of "Fender firsts," it has a lightweight ash body with a comfortably deep contours and cutaway heel, a tinted quartersawn maple neck with a finely sculpted '60s "oval C" profile and Heavy Relic back finish, a fast compound-radius (9.5"-12") fingerboard (round-laminated rosewood or one-piece maple) with 21 narrow jumbo frets, and three scintillating Ancho Poblano single-coil pickups (reverse-wound/reverse-polarity middle pickup) with modern five-way switching, Vintage Modified #2 wiring and a special "Tone-Saver" treble-bleed network that keeps tone consistent at any volume (no loss of highs when decreasing volume).

Other premium features include a three-ply parchment pickguard, American Vintage synchronized tremolo bridge, staggered tuners (no string tree), Schaller strap locks and Fender "F" logo engraved neck plate. Available in NOS and "Journeyman" Relic lacquer body finishes, the latter of which imparts the appearance of years of aging and light use without heavy wear and tear. Finishes include Black and Three-Color-Sunburst (rosewood or one-piece maple fingerboard); Daphne Blue, Olympic White and Candy Apple Red (rosewood fingerboard); and Sonic Blue and HLE Gold (one-piece maple fingerboard). Includes black hard-shell case and Custom Shop certificate of authenticity.

Specifications

Body

Body Shape: Stratocaster

Body Material: Lightweight Ash

Body Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Neck

Neck Material: Quartersawn Maple

Neck Shape: 60s Oval "C"

Scale Length: 25.5" (648 mm)

Fingerboard Radius: 9.5" to 12" Compound Radius (241mm-305mm)

Number of Frets: 21

Fret Size: Narrow Jumbo

String Nut: Bone

Nut Width: 1.650" (42 mm)

Neck Plate: 4-Bolt

Neck Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Fingerboard: Rosewood

Position Inlays: White Dot

Electronics

Bridge Pickup: Custom Shop Handwound Ancho Poblano Single-Coil Strat

Middle Pickup: Custom Shop Handwound Ancho Poblano Single-Coil Strat

Neck Pickup: Custom Shop Handwound Ancho Poblano Single-Coil Strat

Controls: Master Volume with Treble-Bleed, Tone 1. (Neck/Middle Pickups), Tone 2. (Bridge 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

Pickup Configuration: SSS

Hardware

Bridge: 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Synchronized Tremolo

Tuning Machines: Vintage-Style Staggered

Orientation: Right-Hand

Pickguard: 3-Ply Parchment

Control Knobs: White Plastic

Miscellaneous

Strings: NPS, .010-.046 Gauges