Guitars sold
Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster 56 masterbuilt Yuriy Shishkov
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No at all guitars from the Fender Custom Shop are created equal: the team built guitars are put together by a small team of luthiers in which each one them has a specific task, and then there are the master built guitars, made from beginning to end by a single craftsman, the equivalent of a luthier guitar that bears the Fender name. Since each master builder has its strengths, you can already guess what personality the guitar will have based on who will build it. The customer can choose the luthier based on whose philosophy aligns the best with the vision he has for his future instrument.
This 56 Stratocaster is the work of master builder Yuriy Shishkov. As his name clearly indicates, Shishkov was born a soviet during the Cold War, in Belarus, Homiel to be precise, where he has learnt to craft guitars without any of the tools that luthiers from the West could use. Therefore, when he arrived in the USA in 1990, he put that know-how to good use with a precision that many well-equipped artisans can only dream of. He joined the Fender Custom Shop team in 2000 and since then he has kept trying to top himself by creating the most ornate and luxurious piece for each NAMM show, guitars decorated with precious gems that sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
By contrast, it almost seems out of character that Shishkov would make a simple Strat, but this is where the true genius of a luthier gets a chance to shine. Shishkov is very capable of making such a modest instrument exceptional, without any visual gimmick. The blonde finish is sublime, the light Journeyman relicing is understated and realistic without making you feel like this Strat has been dragged around by a truck for several miles, and the neck has been crafted in a stunning flamed maple that betray its creator's taste for the finer things. Even in 1956, 56 Strats weren't that beautiful.
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