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Fender Masterbuilt Vincent van Trigt 1955 Roasted Ash Ultimate Relic (2023)
Masterbuilt Vincent van Trigt · Ultimate Relic · Josefina hand-wound Fat 50's · only 3.25 kg
| Model | Fender Custom Shop Masterbuilt “1955” Roasted Ash Stratocaster, Ultimate Relic |
|---|---|
| Master Builder | Vincent van Trigt (neck plate with engraved signature, series VVT0206) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Colour | Dirty White Blonde, thin nitro |
| Body | Roasted lightweight ash (“1955 Cooked Wood”) |
| Neck | Roasted quartersawn maple, walnut skunk stripe, '57 soft-V profile, dark-tint nitro (worn through to bare wood on the back) |
| Fretboard | Maple, 9.5" radius, black dot inlays |
| Frets | 21, 6150 medium jumbo |
| Nut | Bone, 1.650" |
| Pickups | 3× Josefina Campos hand-wound “Fat 50's” (middle RWRP), aged white covers |
| Electronics | 5-way switch, volume, 2× tone, aged knobs with green numbers |
| Hardware | Chrome/nickel, American Vintage Strat tremolo, parchment pickguard |
| Weight | 3.25 kg |
| Included | Tweed case, COA, original Shop Floor Traveler, Fender Custom Shop strap, complete case candy — as pictured |
A light, roasted Fender Masterbuilt from Vincent van Trigt — and they don't come up often.
Van Trigt is one of the real names in the Fender Custom Shop. He learned the job under John Cruz, became an appointed Master Builder in 2019, and built his reputation on vintage accuracy and ageing work that holds up to close inspection.
The foundation is a “1955 Cooked Wood” body in roasted lightweight ash under a wafer-thin nitro finish in Dirty White Blonde, taken all the way to Ultimate Relic — the most involved ageing level there is. And it's been done without pulling any punches: the back is worn through to bare roasted wood across a large area, grain wide open, with fine checking and honest patina everywhere else. It looks like seventy years on the road. None of that is accidental — it's vintage storytelling, done by hand.
Then there's the roasted quartersawn maple neck with its dark walnut skunk stripe and that lovely grippy '57 soft-V. The back of it is worn smooth, so the thing feels played-in the second you pick it up, like a Strat someone has loved for decades. The rest of the spec makes it easy to live with too: 9.5" radius, 6150 medium jumbo frets and a bone nut.
That feather-light roasted ash body rings out wide open, with a fast response and the dry, woody voice you normally only get from a real 1950s guitar. At 3.25 kg your back will thank you. Pickups are three Fat 50's wound by hand by Josefina Campos — bell-like and glassy, clear and dynamic, with exactly the right amount of bite. The 5-way covers the whole Strat map, from shimmering cleans through the quacky in-between spots to a bridge pickup with teeth. A proper working guitar for stage and studio.
Van Trigt left the Fender Custom Shop in 2024, so there won't be any new masterbuilt Fenders from his hands. Which makes one like this harder to find with every year that passes.
It comes in very well kept condition, complete with COA, the original Shop Floor Traveler, a Fender Custom Shop strap, tweed case and all the case candy.
Price€9,990 VAT not outlined (§ 25a UStG)