Monterey Pop Festival, 1967. And so the legend begins! At the end of Jimi Hendrix’s last song –Wild Thing- he pulls out a lighter fluid can and sets his beautiful guitar on fire. He then bangs it seven times against the ground and scatters the pieces around the audience. Hendrix, who wasn’t too popular at the time, became an instant superstar after this... but what do we know about the guitar he set on fire?

It was a 1965 “Transition” Fiesta Red Stratocaster, with about half of the top painted white and richly decorate with floral motifs hand drawn with nail polish by Jimi himself. That’s it. The guitar was destroyed, and only one little piece has survived today (which can be seen in the EMP Museum in Seattle).


As John Ballon described this historic moment:


“Hardly anyone in the States had ever heard of Jimi Hendrix before he played at Monterey. When he triumphantly made his grand exit from the stage, he left behind far more than the smashed bits of his smoldering guitar. He violently carved an immortal legend of himself across the face of Rock. The vision of Jimi that still remains is one of an eternally young god, kneeling before the inferno of his sacrificial guitar, beckoning the flames higher with his magic fingers.


From that moment on, music irrevocably moved forward, pushing electric guitar into the fore, transforming it into a raw instrument of unlimited power.”


And that’s what we have here, folks, a beautiful tribute of this eternally young god’s guitar. We sold one of these not long ago, but we've been lucky to add yet another one to our catalogue, a true privilege! In 1997, 30 years after the “Summer of Love” and the Monterey Pop Festival, the Custom Shop created this amazing guitar, painted by world-renown artist Pamelina Hovnatanian, with her own sense of style applied to every stroke. The intention wasn't making an exact copy, but a tribute to that legendary guitar.


This Limited Edition of 210 guitars is beautifully presented with a load of details, which includes a flight case, a plush-lined white suede leather gig bag with beads and tassels reminiscent of the era, a guitar strap styled like the suede gig bag, a period-correct bridge cover, a laminated “backstage pass” like the one on the body of the instrument with the addition of the guitar’s limited edition number, a package checklist signed by John Page, and a metal and leather folder containing the Custom Shop COA and an 8″x10″ photograph of Hendrix playing the original instrument. Did we mention the gorgeous rosewood fretboard on this one?


A truly great find!


The guitar is in amazing NOS condition, ready to become the gem of your collection.


You all know how rare it is to see these pop up, especially in this condition. Now is your time to own probably the most collectable Custom Shop Strat there is.



Details:

Part Number: 010-4406-(850)
Body: Alder
Neck: Maple
Machine Heads: Vintage Style
Fretboard: Rosewood
Frets: 21
Pickups: 3
Controls: Master Volume, Tone (Neck), Tone (Mid)
Bridge: Vintage Tremolo
Pickup Switch: 3-Position Blade
Scale Length: 25.5″ (648 mm)
Neck Width at Nut: 1.650″ (42 mm)
Hardware: Chrome
Colors: (840) Fiesta Red /White swath/ Custom hand painted re-creation of Hendrix’s guitar
PickGuard: 3-Ply White with Custom hand painted re-creation of Hendrix’s original guitar
Strings: Fender Super 250L’s (.009 to .042) Nickel Plated Steel pn# 073-0250-003