There are few bigger names in the entire guitar world than Jeff Beck! His career spans over 40 years and includes many hits, including a number of influential singles with The Yardbirds! As you can imagine, this is a musician that can play any instrument he chooses – and he chooses the Fender Jeff Beck Artist Series Strat. That’s right, the same guitar you can own and play.
You’ll notice the neck shape is a softer “C” shape and not as large or deep as Jeff’s previous choice. The guitar features the Fender Special Design dual-coil ceramic Noiseless pickups, a contoured heel for easier access to the higher registers, and straight-ahead Strat guitar five-way switching.
Fender Jeff Beck Artist Series Stratocaster at a Glance:
Solid alder body with Surf Green polyurethane finish and three-ply white pickguard.
Three dual-coil ceramic Noiseless Strat pickups.
One-piece maple neck and rosewood fingerboard with special “C” shape.
Just like Jeff’s Own Guitar
You might think that a famous guitarist like Jeff Beck would pick some amazingly figured maple and ash, but in truth, Jeff prefers to stay with a fairly basic Strat design. Once you play it, you’ll see why he never really asked for anything more (though Fender did build him a custom “one-off” with a special paint job that honors Jeff’s love of hot rods). You start with a lightweight alder body with a Surf Green polyurethane finish and three-ply white pickguard and three hot, dual-coil ceramic Noiseless pickups. If you’ve heard Jeff play, you know he really works the tremolo unit hard, so this Artist Series instrument comes with a modern American two-point synchronized tremolo for outstanding tuning stability. Bend notes or entire chords up or down and the guitar stays in tune!
Screaming Hot Strat Sound
The original Strat had three single coil pickups, so it was able to produce sounds that no other guitar could deliver, particularly once players discovered they could lodge the three-position blade switch in those “in-between” positions to access neck / middle and bridge / middle pickup combinations. These were often erroneously referred to as the “out-of-phase” settings. The Jeff Beck Strat comes standard with a modern five-way blade switch, making it easy to access all the pickup combinations. Three dual-coil ceramic Noiseless pickups deliver a searing Strat sound, but otherwise there are no special tone circuits since Jeff’s fingers produce the outrageously diverse range of timbres, from crystal clear to smoking hot. And remember, Jeff believes that “guitar picks are for sissies.” It’s certainly hard to argue when you hear him play.
Fast Playing Maple Neck with Special “C” Shape
Leo Fender wasn’t afraid to “think outside the box” when it came to guitar designs – after all, he was an engineer, not a guitar player. In the 1950s and well into the 1970s, the blond natural maple neck became almost synonymous with Fender guitars. The Jeff Beck Stratocaster comes with a one-piece maple neck and a slightly warmer-sounding rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and Jeff’s personal favorite “C” shape, allowing you to really dig into the strings. In keeping with contemporary player preferences, the fast playing neck is finished in a smooth satin polyurethane.
