The Relic Guitar Studio

• Style: Pre-CBS Body (worm route) for Fender Stratocaster
• Wood: Two-piece Swamp Ash (American) or Two-piece Alder (Japanese).
  Light-weight One-piece American Swamp Ash also available at £345 on request.
• Finish: Lake Placid Blue with Silver Undercoat Nitrocellulose (worn)
• Routing: 3 Single Coil (other options on request)
• Weight: approx. 4lbs (1.8kg)
• Price: £215.00 (alder); £260.00 (swamp ash)


• 2 available in stock now

Originally a Cadillac DuPont paint, Lake Placid Blue joined Candy Apple Red as two of the most popular and successful Fender custom colours of the late 1950s and 1960s. As with Candy Apple Red, the colour soon evolved beyond its automotive paint roots with Leo's experimentation and was eventually applied in the same three-step nitrocellulose finishing process:

• metallic base coat (silver was used with some known examples of gold being used after 1965);
• translucent blue clear coats;
• clear coat.

This allowed the metallic particles of the finish to appear more vivid beneath the colour coat rather than being mixed in with, and obscured by it. More modern applications have returned to this pre-mixed metallic paint formula so metallic undercoats are strictly a vintage and rare appointment on any guitar.

We are pleased to be able to offer a very accurate incarnation of these original 1960s bodies with genuine nitrocellulose and finished in the exact same three-step fashion as the originals were, then reliced to reveal the metallic finish beneath again in the usual wear areas. Available in either two-piece alder or swamp ash these bodies are contoured and shaped precisely for the vintage and include the all-important worm route.

Our bodies are built to a very high standard and are specifically intended for vintage guitar restoration or relic cloning. Our bodies are finished in genuine nitrocellulose (without any polyurethane or plastic-based undercoats or Fullerplast), and using original paints and mixing formulas where possible to ensure boutique-quality and a 'road worn' feel. They are built and worn using careful study and comparison with original worn vintage guitar. This means that their contours, shape, colour tones, and markings (both in construction and relicing) are as close as possible to original vintage parts, and as authentic as (if not more so) any other vintage reissue or relic replica guitar on the market today.

Pre-CBS Fender guitars only had clear top coats applied to custom colours, metallic and sunburst finishes. Others were left without a top coat unless specifically requested when the guitar was ordered from the factory, this is often sighted as the cause of the extreme fading (or tinting in the case of the lighter Olympic White bodies) of colour in vintage guitars that still retain their original lacquer. In this respect our products deviate slightly from authenticity for the sake of modern reliability, with a very thin layer of clear nitrocellulose applied to all of out bodies (and more to those which would have had these clear coats in the first place). The majority of this is removed again during the aging process, and all of our bodies can be specified without any at all, but it does add just a touch more protection from sun and heat damage to the colour finish.

All of our guitar bodies, necks, accessories, parts, and hardware are aged to customer specification, so if you want a very heavy relicing effect akin to something that's spent its life being dragged behind a truck, we can do that! Equally if you only want a very light almost-NOS effect, that's just as possible. Just let us know and we'll make sure we meet your requirements. The only exceptions are extra-heavy (Gallagher-style) relics, or exact-match relics, where there's a lot more work involved. We are also able to offer a customisation service so if you don't see the finish you want, or the routing you want, just drop us a line to let us know your requirements and we will be happy to discuss the options available to meet your particular project guitar needs. We can also provide all of the hardware, parts and plastics you need to complete your custom relic guitar, either as separate items or in kit form, just ask.

Compatibility

click diagram to zoom in

Our replacement Stratocaster guitar bodies are of the same high quality as the authentic guitars and parts that were being produced in Leo's workshop more than forty years ago, and aged to appear as if they really are a product of that era. They are intended as authentic vintage reproductions for replacement or repair of genuine vintage instruments, or as part of your own replica vintage guitar project.

It goes without saying that these guitar bodies are fully compatible with original vintage Fender Stratocaster hardware and components, as well as more modern American Fender reissue parts.

Unless otherwise requested, our replacement Stratocaster bodies are produced and sold pre-drilled in three key areas:

• Four holes in the neck pocket for Standard Vintage Fender neck positioning. The neck pocket adheres to standard Fender dimensions so it will accept most Fender and aftermarket replacement Fender Stratocaster necks.
• Two holes for the scratchplate at the top horn position and beside the lower side of the bridge. These mounting hole positions are standard amongst all of the major variations (for example: 8 or 11 hole) of American pickguard, which leaves the body able to accept the era-correct scratchplate of your choice and provides key alignment points to allow you to drill the other mounting holes necessary for your specific pickguard.
• Six holes for mounting the bridge. These are spread at 2 7/32" to accommodate genuine vintage bridges and more modern American Fender reissue pieces.

If you are at all unsure about compatibility with other parts you already own, or may be considering for your guitar project, please send us a message and ask and we'll be happy to advise further.

Unless otherwise stated, the prices quoted above (£215.00 & £260.00) are for the body only, regardless of any other items which may appear in the photographs on this page alongside the body. All parts, hardware, components, and plastics you need to complete your relic guitar project are available separately.

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