Fender 1962 NAMM 2025 Limited Edition Heavy Relic Custom Built Stratocaster - Candy Tangerine

Exclusive and Direct from the Fender Global Dealer event held at NAMM 2025

The whole world knows of the pre eminence of the NAMM show - for 100 years it has been the global ‘shop window’ of the world’s finest and most exclusive guitar releases. Art of Guitar were invited as a ‘Fender Global VIP dealer’ to the 2025 event and invited to participate in the auction of what can only be described as, the best of the best.

Along with the incredible Masterbuild guitars we were able to land we also chose what we identified as the ‘killer’ Team Builds on show - All Strat fans now that ‘62 is an iconic year: the pickups, neck profile and even additional custom colours were a big leap forward and the slightly thinner necks and less round and heavy vintage fretboards led to a real step up in playability. Each one of the selections we made and won by bidding were chosen specifically because of the tone, specs and overall awesome aesthetics. Believe it or not the pictures don’t really do them justice, they are the pinnacle of team built guitars and are drop dead gorgeous!

Armed with the knowledge that of the two dozen or so Team Builds on display only the very very best would be presented at NAMM 2025 we spent hours perusing and demonstrating the guitars with the Fender Custom Shop team : After all this was time for Fender to come ‘home’ (after over 5 years away) and they weren’t going to do that without making a statement and a splash: we’ll wait until you see these guitars up close and get chance to play them, they really are exceptional. Once we got really stuck in it was really difficult to limit our buying to the guitars we felt were best in show!

Knowing a maximum run was allowed (making each guitar a limited edition with LTD decals too) we also put our focus on the famous ‘62 models : the lauded year when everything seemed to come together for the Fender Strat (look at Eric’s original Brownie, and Blackie both with 62 bodies and pick ups, similarly the original David Gilmour Black Strat pre many mods started life as a ‘62 Black bodied Stratocaster - although not Black this was the most vibrant and exclusive colour we saw on any of the Strats on show that night. period!! It was also the lightest in weight - actually described as Super Light at the Event and a simple comparison test showed us the quality of the woods used for this build without losing an inch of tone and resonance!!!

Finally - as FENDER - You don’t take up a slot at NAMM when you’re displaying for the first time in half a decade without ensuring that only the BEST guitars were on display - it  was quite a scramble even with the limited VIP dealers to get the guitars we just knew you would love and expect of Art of Guitar :

ESSENTIALLY stunning finishes and specs = we’re talking Quartersawn AAAA Rosewood fretboards with a slightly less vintage feel for faster more accurate playing and hand wound and voiced pick ups alongside engraved LTD TB decals and FULL NAMM 2025 COA and full build details / in fact when we blind tested the 3 TB guitars we landed on it was really hard to feel and hear the difference between these and the higher end Master Builds : if we were to guess some of the apprentice Masterbuilders got to build these guitars end to end and we’ll be looking for neck and pocket signatures of the next round of Masterbuilders to make the grade. For sure whoever built them did so with exceptional instruments in mind and the best specs possible..

Now that’s out of the way take a look at the specs and pictures of this one off beauty - if I had to pick a favourite…?!

It’s the Art of Guitar!

General Information:

• Finish Package: Heavy Relic
• Plating: Chrome/Nickel Hardware
• Right/Left Handed: Right Handed
• Case: FCS Strat/Tele Brown
• Catalog Color: Catalog (Color NAMM Only)
• Certification: LTD Certificate & Decal
• Model: ‘952’ Strat (Heavy Relic)

Body:

• Body Type: Guitar & Bass Alder
• Body Color: Candy Tangerine (NAMM Color)
• Body Construction: 1-Piece or 2-Piece
• Weight Sorting: Light Weight (Yes)
• Body Finish: Nitro Lacquer, Thin Skin Nitro Lacquer
• Body Text: LTD Decal

Hardware:

• Bridge Type: Standard Bridge Assembly
• Bridge Assembly: Vintage Strat Bridge Rel
• Output Assembly: Vintage Strat Rel
• Back Plate & Trem Cover: Vintage Strat with Big Nitro Rel
• Rear Control Cover: None
• Strap Locks: No Strap Locks
• Tremolo Arm: Vintage Upgraded 60's Rel
• Tremolo Arm Tip: White Rel

Strings:

• String Set: 010-013-017-026-036-048

Neck:

• Neck Type: Custom Neck (60 Strat Profile)
• Neck Finish: Medium Tint Nitro Lacquer
• Neck Blank: Guitar Maple, 5/4 Quarter Sawn
• Neck Lamination: Round/Flat Lam, Scalloped, Reverse Flat Lam
• Fingerboard Material: CITES Rosewood AAAA
• Fingerboard Sorting: Dark Rosewood
• Truss Rod: Early 60s
• Head Style: Small
• Neck Head Thickness: 0.75"
• Neck Scoop: 60's Style
• Dot Spacing: Wide
• Face Dots: Micarta White (25mm)
• Side Dots: Micarta White (37/32”)
• Fret Wire: Narrow Tall / 6105
• Number of Frets: 21
• Fingerboard Radius: 9.50" Radius
• Neck Shape: 60s Oval "C"
• Neck Nut Width: 1.650"
• Neck Thickness (1st Fret): 0.730"
• Neck Thickness (12th Fret): 0.330"
• Neck Butt Width: 2.200"
• Neck Plate: Engraved Guitar LTD Edition Chromed

NOTE: The NAMM guitars are landing this weekend at AOG and represent the culmination of visits to Corona, debates with every Master Builder and being part of a very lucky small community of Fender Select dealers to even get an invite to the screening and the bidding. In our opinion these guitars are the Best we’ve ever managed to land from NAMM - an awesome array of styles from classics to ‘never before built’ and some in between. All of them daring colours or insane wood quality (or both) and all showcasing the best in tone possible from the Masterbuilders and Top Teambuilders . We now you’re going to love them and pre selling or appointments to view and play the guitars are being taken so reach out to your Account Manager or direct to the store or through the socials to get some time with a top guitar demo artist and pick your favourite quick… these are going to be unmissable!! Ship worldwide from the website too

ALL come with a Limited Edition Exclusive NAMM 2025 certificate 

AOG - the Finest Guitars in the World