September Birthdays 
A Strat is a Strat, right? Well, not so fast, friend! Every Strat model is a little different, and every Strat in that model is its own guitar, with its own vibe. It’s hard to go wrong with any American-made Strat, but it’s especially hard to go wrong with a US-made-in-1989 Heavy Metal Strat like this one—perhaps the greatest Super Strats of the glam metal era, and the only one made by Fender!
The solid basswood body is covered with a glorious White Pearl finish. Thin, wide maple neck (25.15” scale length) with a rosewood fretboard (17” radius—so flat!) and 24 big, beautiful medium-jumbo frets. A Kahler Spyder 2720 double-locking (Floyd Rose clone) tremolo system. A classic hum-single-single pickup configuration. It simply doesn’t get any more ‘80s/’90s than the HM Strat!
The whole package weighs in at 7.1 pounds. The 7” trem bar is a replacement, as it came to me without a bar.
This guitar has obviously seen some stage time and shows the marks to prove it, but no damage goes through to the wood. There is some discoloration along the side of the neck, which is typical for maple necks and fretboards of this era. The top has a few marks on it, I’ve tried to photograph them as best I can. There is visual evidence the fretboard was repaired at the factory, but it’s impossible to feel the repairs.
When it came to me it had EMGs in it, which apparently required some minor wood removal in the neck and middle pickup cavities to make enough room for the wires. It now has three beautiful purple (with black hardware) DiMarzio pickups in it: PAF 36th Anniversary (DP223) in the bridge, Fast Track 1 (DP181) in the middle, and Satch Track (DP425) in the neck. Controls are a master volume and a master tone (in the T2 spot), both 500K pots. Pickup switching is unique: Choose between the bridge and neck/middle with a 3-way blade switch, then choose between OR BLEND TOGETHER the neck and middle pickups with a blend pot in the T1 position. This enables you to get all possible pickup combinations with two simple controls. See the linked video for a better feel of the tonal possibilities.
This guitar also came to me with no case. It will come to you with a simple Fender gig bag (in which case the guitar will be double-boxed for shipping, if needed) -OR- I will buy you a modern Fender ABS Strat case (I verified that it fits in them) for an additional $229. (This price is non-negotiable. I will not buy you a case for free, nor will I knock $229 off the price if you want the gig bag. You are welcome to purchase and send me a hard case of your choice, at your expense, if you prefer.)
No trades will be accepted. Cash price is $900 with free delivery within 60 miles of Richmond, VA. Shipping, if needed, is additional and will cover box*, padding and UPS fees.
- Double boxing if shipped in a gig bag.
I've included 2 photos here; please visit the Reverb listing for more photos. Link is https://reverb.com/item/84427651-fender-hm-strat-1989-pearl-white-relive-your-glam-metal-glory
Video link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMMwwxX64Dc
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Project: MAYHEM by Hypersonic Secret now available!
Last edited: Aug 30, 2024 11:46:51
