"Is this not the collector's exquisite pleasure, that his desire should know no bounds, should reach out into the infinite, should never know full possession which disappoints by its very completeness. O what joy to be able to postpone the fulfillment of desire to infinity!"
― Georges Rodenbach
"This is true of all collecting. It extinguishes the moral instinct — the object finally possesses the possessor."
― John Fowles
Yes, so why have one when you can have two for twice the price?
Actually, they're a little different. Both guitars are part of Fender's 70th Anniversary collection and these are both '54 Stratocasters. On the left is the new Vintage II, and my previously purchased Custom Shop model on the right. Differences are subtle. I like the fact that the Vintage II has a 3-way switch, which is what the first Stratocasters had prior to the change 5-way. Though not easy to see from the photos, the Vintage II also has more rounded headstock edges. There was a split in 1954 — the first run had the rounded edges, but partway through the year they sharpened them a bit. Atheistically, I prefer the 2-tone wide sunburst on the Custom Shop model's finish. Having setup both guitars, I can't really tell if there's a difference in tone between them — both are very Straty sounding.
Fender's Robin Trower Artist Signature Stratocaster is available in Midnight Wine, Arctic White, and Black. I picked up this Satin Lake Placid Blue US-made Strat body to give it a new look. Trower actually has one in this color except it's gloss instead of satin. I really like the way the pearloid fret dots match the body color.
This is a super-sweet guitar that's ideal for capturing Trower's bluesy sound, known for his emotive bends and warm, rich overdrive.
And then this happened ...
Dirty Lemon Glow's body was infested with borer beetles! Back in early April I noticed the first hole and repaired it, but then two more showed up. That's when I knew it was an insect issue. Thankfully, Warmoth is covering a replacement under warranty, but I've requested the wood be changed to Black Korina instead of the original Swamp Ash. It's going be awhile before it's finished. So, DLG's Seymour Duncan pickups were stored, along with its neck and other hardware. Prior to the above Trower refresh, I bought a black Stratocaster replacement body. Since I didn't use it for that, over the weekend I decided to assemble this Black Stratocaster from DLG's components. The neck is an American Vintage II 1957 "V" and all the chrome hardware is Fender. It's super bad-ass, so I've decided to do something different with the replacement Warmoth body once I get it back.
All images © 2024 Mike McDowell