Here we have a Glas Customs Stratocaster build inspired by the transitional period of late 1965, when Fender’s familiar pre-CBS language began giving way to the larger headstock and bolder visual identity of the CBS era.
Finished in matte Daphne Blue with a dark rosewood fingerboard and aged tortoiseshell guard, this one balances mid-’60s character with a handful of carefully chosen modern upgrades. It is not intended as a forensic museum clone. It is a piece of functional art built to capture the look and spirit of the period while remaining practical, reliable and highly playable.
The alder body weighs a well-balanced 7.8 lbs and has been given a full medium-relic treatment across the entire instrument. The matte finish carries natural-looking wear and aging without pushing into heavy-relic territory. The aged and lightly warped tortoiseshell guard adds serious character, paired with parchment pickup covers, cream controls and tastefully aged hardware throughout.
The genuine Fender neck features a rosewood fingerboard, early large-style headstock and period-inspired transition decal. The neck, headstock and fingerboard have all been aged to match the body, creating one cohesive instrument rather than a collection of separately finished parts.
A few details deliberately depart from strict 1965 construction. The neck uses 22 medium-jumbo frets, a 7.25" radius and a top-adjusting truss rod. The additional fret, larger wire and straightforward truss-rod access are intentional pieces of poetic licence, adding modern functionality while preserving the vintage visual language of the build.
The fingerboard edges have been hand rolled, the nut hand finished, and the frets professionally dressed and polished. Kluson/Fender vintage-style tuners complete the headstock and provide smooth, dependable operation.
At the heart of the guitar is an Arcane ’62 pickup set. These deliver the open highs, woody attack and hollow in-between response associated with a strong early-’60s Strat, with enough warmth and body to pair beautifully with the rosewood board and alder body.
The electronics include:
- Arcane ’62 pickup set
- CTS matched 450G potentiometers
- Full vintage cloth wiring
- 5-way pickup selector switch
- Treble tone control modification
- 0.1µF paper-in-oil capacitor
- TonePros output jack
- Genuine vintage solder
The 0.1µF paper-in-oil capacitor preserves the broad, deep tone sweep associated with mid-’60s Strat wiring, with the PIO construction selected as a boutique interpretation of the original circuit. The treble tone modification places the bridge pickup on the tone circuit, providing greater control over its upper range without changing the classic three-knob layout.
The vintage-spaced tremolo uses full 56mm string spacing and is set flat against the body with three springs. This gives the guitar a firm, direct response and strong tuning stability while retaining the familiar appearance and feel of a traditional synchronized tremolo. The tremolo arm is included.
Set up with 9–42 strings, low action and accurate intonation, the guitar feels fast and responsive across the full neck. The medium-jumbo frets make bending easier, while the vintage radius keeps the overall feel rooted in the era. It plays like hot butter.
Now, relics aren’t for everyone. But these builds aren’t museum clones. They’re pieces of functional art made to riff on the golden era with purpose: vintage tone, old-school looks and high-performance reliability. Every part is assembled by hand, and every detail is reviewed and tested before it leaves our shop.
Condition
This guitar is listed in Excellent condition. The matte finish, wear, aged guard, hardware aging and cosmetic marks are intentional and form part of the Glas relic process.
Neck Specifications
- Genuine Fender neck
- Rosewood fingerboard
- Profile: Vintage-inspired C/D
- First-fret depth: Approximately 21.51mm
- 12th-fret depth: Approximately 23.64mm
- Radius: 7.25"
- Frets: 22 medium jumbo
- Scale length: 25.5"
- Nut width: Approximately 42mm
- Top-adjusting truss rod
- Hand-rolled fingerboard edges
- Hand-finished nut
- Professionally dressed and polished frets
- Kluson/Fender vintage-style tuners
- Bridge spacing: 56mm
- Strings: 9–42
The guitar ships in the pictured relic’d grey Fender tweed hard case with red lining, complete with the tremolo arm and ready to play straight out of the case.
If you would like to see more pictures, please check us out online, as we are limited to how many we can display on this platform.
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