Fender Custom Shop have announced an upcoming release of the Limited Edition Pete Townshend Stratocaster. Pete has been primarily using Fender Stratocasters on stage with The Who since 1989, which have been a good match with his Fender Vibro-King amplifiers to help create his signature sound for nearly 30 years. He has favored the Eric Clapton Signature Strat, but with modifications to add a Fishman Powerbridge tremelo bridge that enables him to switch between electric and acoustic tones onstage without changing guitars. The Fishman piezo pickup with a fourth control knob to blend the acoustic with electric has been included with the new Limited Edition model, along with three lace Sensor Gold single-coil pickups that provide a clean crisp tone. The guitar comes in that beautiful Torino Red color with the 1-piece maple fingerboard that Pete loves to play while performing with The Who.
“My model does vary from the Eric Clapton model from which it’s based. I have an electro-acoustic pickup in the back. It’s just an instant magical flexible sound. The three pickup setup on the Strat is fabulous. I wanted to play acoustic guitar, but sometimes I wanted to strap on a Fender Stratocaster so that The Who fans would think I was playing electric guitar, when I was actually still playing acoustic, so I wanted the guitar to be acoustic.” – Pete Townshend on his Limited Edition Stratocaster
According to a representative from Fender, the Limited Edition Pete Townshend Stratocaster is due to arrive in shops this November. The retail price will be £4009, with a very limited run of 28 units available in Europe and 75 units sold globally.
For more information, please visit fendercustomshop.com.
Photo by Diane Corcoran
Pete recently discussed his Limited Edition Stratocaster in a promo video put up by Fender.
Here are a few photos of the Limited Edition Pete Townshend Stratocaster, interspersed with a few action shots of Pete playing his red Strat during The Who Hits 50 tour in North America earlier this year.
Here's a great video of Pete's guitar tech Alan Rogan, who discusses working with Pete's Stratocasters.