by Jef | 5,0 / 5,0 | Approximate reading time: 1 Minute
Fender relaunches Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster (a slight return)

Fender relaunches Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster (a slight return)  ·  Source: Fender

Fender 2018 Ultra Violet Hendrix Stratocaster

Fender 2018 Ultra Violet Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster  ·  Source: Fender

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Back at Summer NAMM 2018, Fender announced yet another Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster. Now this latest homage to one of rock’s greatest guitarists is finally being released.

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Fender Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster

I’m not a fan of Hendrix cash-ins – but at least this one is a guitar, rather than a bottle of vodka or a set of plectrums in a tin. The 2018  Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster is a ’60s style Strat with a reverse headstock and bridge pickup, a signature on the headstock and a ‘Hendrix’ neck plate.

The pickups are Fender’s 65 American Vintage ‘65 single-coils, with a reverse-slanted bridge pickup that some players believe will get you closer to Jimi’s tone. Jimi, of course, strung a right-handed Strat upside down, so the bridge pickup was aligned to the strings this way.

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The new Hendrix Strat will be built in Mexico, and should be a decent Stratocaster with an alder body, a maple C-profile neck with a 9.5″ radius and loaded with medium jumbo frets.

Fender 2018 Ultra Violet Hendrix Stratocaster

Fender 2018 Ultra Violet Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster

UltraViolet

The Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster is available in three finishes: Sunburst, Olympic White and a 2018 limited-edition UltraViolet. Price-wise, they are reasonable and I have already seen dealers online discounting the standard RRP, so you may well shave a bit off of the list price. It isn’t as ridiculously overpriced as their Custom Shop version. That gives younger players a chance to pick one up for well under a grand.

If you like purple then the limited edition version in Ultra Violet may be the one for you. I quite like purple guitars, I just wish the shade used here would have been a bit deeper. But buying this guitar is no guarantee that you’ll sound or play like Jimi…

RRP – GBP 799 

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  • Fender 2018 Ultra Violet Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster: Fender
Fender relaunches Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster (a slight return)

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14 responses to “Fender relaunches the Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster (a slight return)”

    Joe says:
    -2

    Great headline. Bravo.

      Dave says:
      0

      You really don’t understand the jimi hendrix brand is separate from the fender brand.
      You want many guitars for the jimi hendrix brand customer.
      So expect to see 100 different JH brand guitars cause they’re for the jimi hendrix setups. They’re not for the fender setups.

    Dee Ess says:
    1

    Love it! Long live Jimi!

    Willy says:
    0

    Ok I have one of the original Hendrix trubute strats with the reverse body and neck, pretty cool, because its so different. This is what, the 3rd rehash of the same exact guitar? Wow another strat with the bridge pickup backwards and a reverse head !!! That’s so new and original. Oh wait you can get it in purple, sorry that makes it a totally new idea ! Oh and one more thing if you wanyrd to make it like Jimmis strat, Shouldn’t the logo be upside down? How about some new ideas, oh I don’t know, how about cutting a neck pocket in a strat body that is correct so you don’t need a micro tilt?

      Gman says:
      0

      I’m picking up on your sarcasm…… Obviously the Jimi tribute guitars are big sellers, more than any other signature or tribute Fender produces. So if you owned a guitar company and came across a line that was a huge seller, I guess you would run that first line and after you sold the last one, u would never revisit that particular line. WRONG….. As long as Fender doesn’t slack on the performance of the Hendrix line and they are the biggest sellers, it makes only logical sense to try and keep that line going. After all. $$ makes everything possible that we love as Fenders.
      Cmon man…..??

        Dave r says:
        0

        Wrong.
        Jimi hendrix brand is separate from fender.
        This brand should have 100 000 different guitars.
        Fender builds the guitar for this separate brand called jimi hendrix.

        Its not jimi hendrix himself.
        They’re not jimi’s actual guitars.
        This brand gets its inspiration from what jimi was doing.
        They can copy how fender does their guitars and they’re allowed to build futuristic jimi hendrix inspired products.

      Dave r says:
      0

      You’re childish.
      This JH brand product has 65 era pickups.
      Obviously this is the 1st time the 65 era pickups are installed.
      Its a Brand similar to fender itself.
      Fender has millions of guitars and now the jimi hendrix brand will soon have 100,000 guitars to offer their customers.
      Jimi’s actual guitars aren’t being touched so you don’t have to worry.

      You buy all the product from the 1 brand and you’re rewarded with jimi hendrix sounds from all the different eras jimi played and beyond.
      They’ve made a 2000 era jimi hendrix sounds and 1990’s era jimi hendrix sounds too.
      They’re not limited to making just the 1968 sounds.
      This 1965 era guitar can’t do the 1968 sounds for example.
      Maybe when you stop being childish you’ll start to order a relic JH 1965 purple strat. But as of right now you’re only able to buy a pristine 1965 purple strat.

    Tim says:
    0

    If it was a really deep purple though,
    It makes
    You sound like Richie Blackmore

    michael says:
    -1

    so it’s available left handed? or we buy it a flip it over? grrrr…

    Allan says:
    1

    How can this could happen without a left handed option ?

    RichEss says:
    0

    For me the shade of purple is perfect. There’s plenty of darker purple guitars. This reminds me of my first guitar, a Yamaha RGX 603s in violet. I loved the colour of it! And I miss it!

    dave r says:
    0

    The jimi hendrix brand has been making jimi hendrix inspired products for 30 years but the public are still struggling to realize this.
    This is a 1965 style jimi hendrix inspired product in pristine form.
    Obviously it works with the jimi hendrix brand full setups.
    With this guitar you can have a vintage style set of 1965 jimi hendrix sounds or a 1990’s era set of 1965 style sounds or a 2000’s era set of 1965 style sounds.

    Leo fender didn’t need to play any of his brand product and neither does jimi hendrix.

    There’s no reason why we can’t have the 2000 era sounds and the anniversary sounds etc.
    Now we get the 65 version of those new era sounds. Great work!

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