# John Mayer leaves Fender, still plays Strat.



## TheStig1214 (Oct 14, 2014)

So John Mayer left Fender as an endorsed artist yesterday, announcing it via Twitter.

https://twitter.com/johnmayer/status/521761261197869056

https://twitter.com/johnmayer/status/521763349873172480

He will still play Fender strats, but they will no longer make his sig Strat or the pickups. Shame, one of the few Stratocasters I liked.


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## neurosis (Oct 14, 2014)

I was coming to post this but damn you guys are fast!

I am intrigued why this happened. Is it an artist relations miscommunication, a personal thing or just some sort of marketing disagreement?

If it's the later I could imagine Fender saying from now on your signature models will be made in Mexico or just become Squiers. After al that's what's been happening to a lot of other endorsed artists that however seem to be fine putting out cheaper versions of the stuff they play.

This guys is a guilty pleasure of mine. His songwriting is impecable, sounds so classic, but still has a new pop edge in it... enough for the mass appeal. 

Will subscribe to this and wait if somebody knows more about it. In another forum I read something about Jennifer Aniston. That was weird. No idea what that's all about.


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## Randy (Oct 14, 2014)

Strictly 7 offered him a better deal?


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## BucketheadRules (Oct 14, 2014)

I heard it was Emperion actually.

The impeccable CS Strats are cool, but aren't we all a sucker for a 7-string Flying V with a badly-fitted Floyd?


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## JD27 (Oct 14, 2014)

I wonder how well any of the Fender Signature models sell? The JR models all seem to sell pretty well, but I don't see much else.


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## Esp Griffyn (Oct 14, 2014)

JD27 said:


> I wonder how well any of the Fender Signature models sell? The JR models all seem to sell pretty well, but I don't see much else.



The Malmsteen model has been a good seller across it's lifetime.


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## TheStig1214 (Oct 14, 2014)

JD27 said:


> I wonder how well any of the Fender Signature models sell? The JR models all seem to sell pretty well, but I don't see much else.



The John Mayer sig was a brilliant guitar. Blues shredding machine. Like I said, one of the few Fender strats I like. I feel like the remaining Mayer sigs are gonna skyrocket in price now, as well as the pickups in them, because the pickups were also custom by Fender for him.


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## JD27 (Oct 14, 2014)

TheStig1214 said:


> The John Mayer sig was a brilliant guitar. Blues shredding machine. Like I said, one of the few Fender strats I like. I feel like the remaining Mayer sigs are gonna skyrocket in price now, as well as the pickups in them, because the pickups were also custom by Fender for him.



May be an awesome blues shredding machine. I wonder how well they actually sell though?


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## Mordacain (Oct 14, 2014)

The Jeff Beck, Jimmy Vaughan, SRV, Malmsteen models all sell pretty well from what I gather. Makes sense, since they are not insanely over-priced like some of their other sigs.


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## wat (Oct 14, 2014)

neurosis said:


> This guys is a guilty pleasure of mine.



Why guilty?


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## BrailleDecibel (Oct 14, 2014)

Randy said:


> Strictly 7 offered him a better deal?



It was probably Etherial...their bodies are a wonderland.


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## drgamble (Oct 14, 2014)

It's probably because he doesn't play anything newer than a 60's model Strat anyway, so why have a sig, there are plenty of vintage Strats out there, especially when price is no object.


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## TheStig1214 (Oct 14, 2014)

drgamble said:


> It's probably because he doesn't play anything newer than a 60's model Strat anyway, so why have a sig, there are plenty of vintage Strats out there, especially when price is no object.



Teh $$s. I suspect the theory above, like it would have been a Mexi or Squier. That would explain the "they're not the company they used to be" comment.


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## tommychains (Oct 14, 2014)

Gotta give it to him, takes balls to sever ties with a company like that. To me it seems like he'd rather cut ties before he lets them ruin the reputation of something with his name on it.


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## lucasreis (Oct 14, 2014)

Let's make a campaign for him to start playing an RG9. Would be dope


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## Vhyle (Oct 15, 2014)

He got an endorsement deal with BC Rich.


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## neurosis (Oct 15, 2014)

wat said:


> Why guilty?



My bad. I thought that´s what it means when you really like something you might not have thought you would like.

I just looked it up and it actually means ¨The "guilt" involved is sometimes simply fear of others discovering one's lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes, such as campy styles of entertainment. Fashion, video games, music, theatre, television series,[1] films,[2] junk food and fetishes can be examples of guilty pleasures.[3]¨

So I guess I learned a new thing and it wasn't totally what I meant. When I first heard about this guy I thought he might just be a convenient replacement for journalists to keep mentioning Clapton and the likes in more of the same interviews and articles that grace some well known magazines. But then my sister came home with one of his records. And I was impressed that a guy that was being promoted as a girly songwriter was in fact this blues-man in disguise. I loved what I heard and I still have Continuum and Battle Studies in Heavy rotation. And I don´t feel guilty about it. 

Not sure if this clarifies what I meant.


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## JoshuaVonFlash (Oct 15, 2014)

Vhyle said:


> He got an endorsement deal with BC Rich.


You'd like a Warbeast with singlecoils, for some folk black metal jams wouldn't you?


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## Grand Moff Tim (Oct 15, 2014)

Nah, you used it right. You enjoy a thing it's not cool amongst your peers to enjoy. That's textbook guilty pleasure.

EDIT: @neurosis


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## MemphisHawk (Oct 15, 2014)

Look who magically showed up on the PRS Artist List

PRS Guitars | Artists


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Oct 15, 2014)

MemphisHawk said:


> Look who magically showed up on the PRS Artist List
> 
> PRS Guitars | Artists



Hmmm...







...Nah, wishful thinking.  I think they have the 305 and some other Strat-esque shapes.


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## HurrDurr (Oct 15, 2014)

Wishful thinking or not, I thought I was going to be able to afford a John Mayer strat someday, and I probably will if Fender liquidates them after this, but for sure I'll never even get close to owning a John Mayer PRS.


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## SeditiousDissent (Oct 15, 2014)

Ooh, that's intriguing. If PRS decide to develop a John Mayer sig, they should go the Tremonti and Santana route by releasing both an SE and USA model. They would be able to cut into the FMIC competition on 2 levels. In most cases, I'd rather play a Korean PRS than a Mexican Fender.


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Oct 15, 2014)

He's gonna play a Brian May guitar...


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## neurosis (Oct 15, 2014)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Nah, you used it right. You enjoy a thing it's not cool amongst your peers to enjoy. That's textbook guilty pleasure.
> 
> EDIT: @neurosis



Hehe. Thanks!


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## Drew (Oct 15, 2014)

neurosis said:


> And I was impressed that a guy that was being promoted as a girly songwriter was in fact this blues-man in disguise. I loved what I heard and I still have Continuum and Battle Studies in Heavy rotation. And I don´t feel guilty about it.



I got in on the secret early - I caught him in a small nightclub in Northampton, MA back in... um, 2000, I think? I went with my brother, a friend of his, and a girl they knew because they had an extra ticket and the girl was cute, but with pretty low expectations for the show. Mayer was playing unaccompanied electric that night on a fanned fret Novax, which I'd never seen before, as this was well before his first album was released. All I'd heard from him before that were some of the original recordings of things like "Your Body is a Wonderland" without the obnoxiously poppy bass and drums (it was a better song without, IMO), and I thought the music was ok. 

Messing around between songs, it was immediately clear that he'd spent quite some time studying jazz. And then, out of the blue, he broke into what's still the best cover of SRV's "Lenny" I've ever heard between two of his own tunes. I think I was the only person in the place who recognized it, but it was _awesome_. 

Then his album came out, it was completely candy-coated, and he got sold as this heartthrob type. I was kind of bummed, but it always cracked me up that deep down inside the guy could play his ass off. I should probably check out some of his blues trio stuff. I hear here's a titanic douchebag in person, though.


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## Opion (Oct 15, 2014)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Hmmm...
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Whoa hold on , what the HELL is that? 


Relevance: Did he have any particular reason for leaving Fender? Like, did the deal just become sour or was it not all that it was cracked up to be for him?


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## Mordacain (Oct 15, 2014)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Hmmm...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Those SE EGs were MONSTER fekkin axes. Always wanted one in that particular white with the tortoise-guard.

Needs a maple board though.


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## Forrest_H (Oct 15, 2014)

From the comments:



> *sophia &#8207;*@knuckIetattoo Oct 13
> @JohnMayer dad
> 
> *sophia &#8207;*@knuckIetattoo Oct 13
> @JohnMayer I love you dad



What the f-ck 

On topic, I wonder where he's going to end up now...


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## TheStig1214 (Oct 15, 2014)

Interesting developments indeed. I'll have to follow this new lead in the story


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## 3074326 (Oct 15, 2014)

JD27 said:


> I wonder how well any of the Fender Signature models sell? The JR models all seem to sell pretty well, but I don't see much else.



They sell well. Better than many expect. The Strat ones do anyways. The Jags and whatnot aren't nearly as popular.


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## Malkav (Oct 15, 2014)

I used to work at the distributor of Fender in South Africa and in my time there I noticed that the most consistently ordered signature was Clapton's, followed then by Johnson's oddly enough (I think most people recognise that it's a very well thought out sig) and then things like the Becks and Gilmours, and often during the introduction period of things like the Costello you'd see reasonable amounts of orders of them.

In fact in the 4 or 5 years I worked there I never actually saw anyone order a Mayer, or Kenny Wayne Sheperds sig for that matter.

This is of course only in relation to my country, which is a tiny blip on the radar in regards to the total market, just sharing my experiences


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## BucketheadRules (Oct 15, 2014)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Nah, you used it right. You enjoy a thing it's not cool amongst your peers to enjoy. That's textbook guilty pleasure.
> 
> EDIT: @neurosis



I don't think guilty pleasures should be a thing really. You enjoy what you enjoy, why should you feel ashamed?

Well, as long as it's within the confines of the law I guess, but let's end this tangent right here.


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## TheStig1214 (Oct 15, 2014)

BucketheadRules said:


> I don't think guilty pleasures should be a thing really. You enjoy what you enjoy, why should you feel ashamed?
> 
> Well, as long as it's within the confines of the law I guess, but let's end this tangent right here.



Most of the time it's less shame you feel than shaming you get. I get it all the time for liking ska.


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## Radio (Oct 15, 2014)

Yeah I wonder what the reason for him leaving was! Probably something like what you guys guessed. If he went to PRS that would be sweet, I love PRS guitars haha. But I would love to play one of his sig strats one day, looks like it's gonna be a lot harder to find one now!


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Oct 15, 2014)

Radio said:


> Yeah I wonder what the reason for him leaving was!!


He said he wasn't happy how the Fender "of new" was compared to the Fender "of old" when he first signed his endorsement. My guess is that his contract was up and he was probably getting the short end of the stick on a new contract, or his signature most likely wasn't renewed for next year and PRS offered him one.

I'm probably off-base, but I'd be surprised if it's related to the quality of their guitars or some custom shop related stuff. They seem to be on the top of their game with that stuff. But my guess (and possibly wrong one) is that he was getting less of what he wanted somewheres.


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## Bryceybhoy (Oct 16, 2014)

SeditiousDissent said:


> Ooh, that's intriguing. If PRS decide to develop a John Mayer sig, they should go the Tremonti and Santana route by releasing both an SE and USA model. They would be able to cut into the FMIC competition on 2 levels. In most cases, I'd rather play a Korean PRS than a Mexican Fender.



First post here. Had to register to make a point! I have a PRS Tremonti SE and it is, hands down, the worst guitar I own. And I own a few. Terrible build. Shocking fretboard. NEVER stays in tune, and just stinks of cheap shit. I didn't play it for the first few weeks, so would have taken it back if I'd known....but I was too late. I was really disappointed. 

The cheaper signatures now are a direct result of the economy...but they are much better built than ever before. The Ibanez Jem SFG and FRM250MF are excellent guitars for under £1,000. They would not have been available five years ago.

Never played a Fender Mayer sig.....is it worth picking one up?


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## TheStig1214 (Oct 16, 2014)

Bryceybhoy said:


> First post here. Had to register to make a point! I have a PRS Tremonti SE and it is, hands down, the worst guitar I own. And I own a few. Terrible build. Shocking fretboard. NEVER stays in tune, and just stinks of cheap shit. I didn't play it for the first few weeks, so would have taken it back if I'd known....but I was too late. I was really disappointed.
> 
> The cheaper signatures now are a direct result of the economy...but they are much better built than ever before. The Ibanez Jem SFG and FRM250MF are excellent guitars for under £1,000. They would not have been available five years ago.
> 
> Never played a Fender Mayer sig.....is it worth picking one up?



I think you just got a dud. Most Tremonti's I have seen/played/heard of were excellent guitars and their owners thought they were great guitars for the price. 

The Mayer sig, as I stated before, is a surprisingly good guitar. Felt different than other strats to me. I'm just not a strat guy. The pickups (Big Dippers) in them are the best part.


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## Riffer (Oct 16, 2014)

John has a either a Hollowbody or a 12 string PRS I believe. I read that in an old Guitar World magazine a few years back in an interview with him. Just because his name is on the artist roster doesn't mean hes "with" PRS as a current artist. I think it just means he has or will play a PRS sometimes. That's just my take.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Oct 16, 2014)

I was also thinking about that. He used a Hollowbody on occasion. You can see pics of him using one. 

It does seem him being on the roster is a recent thing, though. Maybe PRS just added him because he left Fender recently. or maybe he'll start using them more often.


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## neurosis (Oct 16, 2014)

Drew said:


> I got in on the secret early - I caught him in a small nightclub in Northampton, MA back in... um, 2000, I think? I went with my brother, a friend of his, and a girl they knew because they had an extra ticket and the girl was cute, but with pretty low expectations for the show. Mayer was playing unaccompanied electric that night on a fanned fret Novax, which I'd never seen before, as this was well before his first album was released. All I'd heard from him before that were some of the original recordings of things like "Your Body is a Wonderland" without the obnoxiously poppy bass and drums (it was a better song without, IMO), and I thought the music was ok.
> 
> Messing around between songs, it was immediately clear that he'd spent quite some time studying jazz. And then, out of the blue, he broke into what's still the best cover of SRV's "Lenny" I've ever heard between two of his own tunes. I think I was the only person in the place who recognized it, but it was _awesome_.
> 
> Then his album came out, it was completely candy-coated, and he got sold as this heartthrob type. I was kind of bummed, but it always cracked me up that deep down inside the guy could play his ass off. I should probably check out some of his blues trio stuff. I hear here's a titanic douchebag in person, though.



Heartthrob and candy-coated pretty much nails the only thing I knew about him before I heard his music. No need (even though that must have been amazing) to see him live to hear there's something going on. Do you guys remember that section in the live DVD where he's sitting on top of a hill messing with that Line 6 Delay? I thought that was something, despite the overall quality of the DVD, especially the part wight he trio.

You're right. His reputation is rather rude. I think in Guitar World Clapton one time said something like he's the type of person that is introverted but also a bit of a saboteur with himself. He could be doomed and hate humanity for all we care. His playing is really compelling.


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## neurosis (Oct 16, 2014)

Riffer said:


> John has a either a Hollowbody or a 12 string PRS I believe. I read that in an old Guitar World magazine a few years back in an interview with him. Just because his name is on the artist roster doesn't mean hes "with" PRS as a current artist. I think it just means he has or will play a PRS sometimes. That's just my take.



Yes. He's got a hollow body. Or there was at least footage with one. Also played SGs and other Strats and Teles. 

I quiet honestly think he got the Strat sig because mostly he's been sporting that model on covers, promos and for a lot of his core sound live. But he's always played other guitars as well. 

I think if he left for that exclusivity clause that's alright. It might not mean he will stop playing the instruments, just that he isn't endorsed anymore. 

At first I was worried other people like john 5 might jump ship too. But then I realized he really just plays Fender exclusively. hahaha.


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## MFB (Oct 17, 2014)

neurosis said:


> You're right. His reputation is rather rude. I think in Guitar World Clapton one time said something like he's the type of person that is introverted but also a bit of a saboteur with himself. He could be doomed and hate humanity for all we care. His playing is really compelling.



He did an episode of VH1's Storytellers (which is what got me into him honestly) and on there he said that there's two parts of him, one that wants nothing more than to the dark, mysterious guy at the party; and the other who is the center of attention telling all the great stories at the party, which makes sense because he's either all over the place and into it, or really reserved and locked away.

I got to see him play in 2011 and it was a phenomenal show. Dude came halfway out into the crowd and play half his songs out there just mic'ed up with an acoustic and it was awesome. I wish I could see him again doing his newer stuff since Paradise Valley is great but he probably wont be back for a year at minimum.

That Storytellers episode though, god damn does he kill it live on there


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## RevDrucifer (Oct 17, 2014)

My buddies got placed in Mayer's former room at Berklee their first year there, one of them was pretty tight with Mayer's former roommate who also said he was a dick. 

Great musician though.....some days you can't shut me up and I'm cracking jokes nonstop, other days I just don't have anything to say....sometimes people think I'm a dick when I'm like that, so I can see how it happens.


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## Jason2112 (Oct 17, 2014)

I just can't see him using a PRS in the JM Trio, but certainly for his solo stuff. I actually wish he could have gone to G&L, and I guess he still can since nothing's been announced about a new endorsement deal. Can you imagine a Mayer sig G&L Legacy? Take that Fender!


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## Thrashman (Oct 18, 2014)

Well, you know.. I might get a lot of hate for writing this, but Fender's QC has gone downhill by alot theese latest few years.. I played 5 different American Deluxes recently and neither gave me the "This one is REALLY good"-kinda vibe.. And I LOVE strats/teles/Fenders originally. Really hit or miss quality as some Squiers felt ace.

If that is any indication.. He's just fed up with the direction the company's taking..


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## Andromalia (Oct 18, 2014)

Thrashman said:


> Well, you know.. I might get a lot of hate for writing this, but Fender's QC has gone downhill by alot theese latest few years..



Doesn't really matter, the models sent to artists are usually fine-combed.


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## neurosis (Oct 18, 2014)

Thrashman said:


> Well, you know.. I might get a lot of hate for writing this, but Fender's QC has gone downhill by alot theese latest few years.. I played 5 different American Deluxes recently and neither gave me the "This one is REALLY good"-kinda vibe.. And I LOVE strats/teles/Fenders originally. Really hit or miss quality as some Squiers felt ace.
> 
> If that is any indication.. He's just fed up with the direction the company's taking..



I feel like in a lot of cases this is a problem with the guitars just being hardware that hangs out and is pushed around in shops for too long before someone decides to take it home. In that time, I feel in many cases not a lot attention is paid to maintaining the instruments and so players like you, who know what they are looking for get turned off by stuff that is just not presentable. That isn´t necessarily an issue with the actual brand (production or quality control issues). I have wondered about that in the case of Gibson for a long time. And mostly that stuff happened in your big name guitar shop. Things I have ordered from smaller retailers was always top notch. But for these larger stores if you don´t go in and spend time looking through you might think all you´re playing are lemons.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (May 29, 2015)

Not sure if this deserved another thread, but John recently got himself dis here new Custom 24. 

25.5'' scale, narrowfield pickups, possibly switches for splitting each individual pickup.


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## Zado (May 29, 2015)

He was trying to get a 10SwitchesTop PRS,I see


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## geekusa (Jun 9, 2015)

JD27 said:


> I wonder how well any of the Fender Signature models sell? The JR models all seem to sell pretty well, but I don't see much else.



The Clapton and EJ models are pretty popular as well. I say this as someone who works for a retailer.


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## themike (Jun 10, 2015)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> 25.5'' scale, narrowfield pickups, possibly switches for splitting each individual pickup.



3 pickup splits, a treble boost and a preamp switch. 

He also got a few completely custom NF3s which are ungodly and I think going to make some of his strat fans curious at least..


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## RevDrucifer (Jun 11, 2015)

Fender sells a good amount of sigs, the Clapton and Johnson models were mentioned but the Gilmour and Malmsteen models have been pretty popular as well.


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## MoshJosh (Jun 11, 2015)

and i assume the SVR Strat has to be pretty popular as well?


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## Esp Griffyn (Jun 11, 2015)

I know this is an old thread, but the Jim Root Teles were popular, especially when you could get the top of the line model for around £650 in the UK.


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