Fender '62 Strat, faded sonic blue, crafted in Japan 1997-00. The coolest Fender finish ever might well be sonic blue, but only once it's had a couple of decades of wear and yellowing and turns into this superb cloudy, minty seafoam green hue. A plain surf green is nice, but a naturally worn and faded finish like this just has so much more depth and character to it. These '62 reissue Strats win a lot of friends in the store for their slim, round vintage C neck shape, which is superbly easy to get along with. The dark rosewood board and vintage spaghetti logos tie the look together perfectly: it's always summer with this in your hands. We had a spare Fender Japan single coil with a cream cover we could have dropped into the bridge position, but I kinda dig the mismatching pickups from an aesthetic angle and the Tone Zone humbucker sounds awesome. It delivers a whole bunch of rich creamy growl, the perfect alternative to the always-awesome sparkling plonk of the Strat neck pickup. The wiring is done in such a way that you get half of the humbucker paired with the middle pickup in position four, so that Jimi 'quack' is still on offer too. There's a lot to love here!

Model: Fender Stratocaster '62 Reissue (ST62)
Made: Japan, Dyna plant, 1997-2000 (serial O056027)
Finish: sonic blue (SBL), heavily yellowed, 3-ply mint green guard
Body: basswood 
Neck: maple with rosewood board, 25.5" scale, 7.25" radius
Weight: 3.545kg
Mods: bridge pickup replaced, re-wired
Pickup: Fender USA ST-Vintage single coil x2, Dimarzio Tone Zone S mini-humbucker
Case: basic non-original gig bag

Cosmetic condition notes: mild finish wear. The headstock has some minor dimples on the end and bottom edge. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples on the back only. The back has widespread scuffs and dimples and some chips along the back edge. The sides have scuffs and dimples around the whole body, some chips and dents near the jack and a decent bald patch in the elbow area, as well as some extra holes from previous strap pin shenanigans on the top horn. The front has widespread light scuffs and dimples around the whole body, rust on the screws and significant fading. Overall: good condition (6.5/10)

Playing condition notes: Neck is straight, action is low, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. The frets have some normal wear including the start of some pitting, but they're pretty even with no major buzz issues, 6/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 10/46 Moonshiners strings.