How Prince's all-gold Fender Stratocaster came to be

 

 

 
What: One-of-a-kind Fender Stratocaster, fully gold-plated from the top of the headstock to the bottom of the electric guitar’s signature solid body

Who: Prince (the artist formerly known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince)

Where: He’ll introduce and play his gilt instrument during a string of shows in December in New York and New Jersey

When: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., and Sunday and Dec. 29 at Madison Square Garden in New York

Why: Prince told his friends at Fender that he’d had a dream in which he played a gold Stratocaster. For his upcoming “Welcome 2 America” performances — his first East Coast shows since 2004 — he wanted something special and asked if such a guitar could be made. Fender execs turned to their designers at the Fender Custom Shop in Corona, Calif., where master guitar builders specialize in delivering unique instruments, for superstar musicians as well as amateurs with the desire, and the money, for something out of the ordinary.

In this case, Fender execs gave the assignment to Yuriy Shishkov, a Russian-born guitar maker. Coincidentally, only about a week earlier during a tour of the Custom Shop, Fender execs stopped at Shishkov’s work station and asked about the gold-leafing process he was working with for another customer’s order. “I mentioned that I had never built a guitar that would be completely gold leaf. I was asked, ‘Why you never did it?’ I said, ‘Nobody ever asked for it.’” A week later, Fender’s entertainment marketing director, Del Breckenfeld, came to him and said, “I think you have a customer for your gold-leaf guitar.” Prince’s gold Strat will be auctioned off after his East Coast dates, with proceeds benefiting the Harlem Children’s Zone, a community organization that serves more than 17,000 children.

How: “Gold leafing is so thin, it doesn’t change much in the tone of the instrument,” said Shishkov. “It’s thinner than any other finish you would put on a guitar; even lacquer finish is thicker than gold leaf.” The challenge? Applying gold leafing to the wood neck, frets, fret board, body, pickup covers, tuning pegs and the other parts is entirely done by hand, and Shishkov said the trick comes in twisting and turning his hands and fingers to get each piece of leafing in the right place while the adhesive used to bond it to the guitar’s surface is still tacky, yet without getting it stuck all over his hands.
“There’s only so much rotation you can do with your arms,” he said. “It’s interesting how it all came together,” said Shishkov, who started his career building guitars for himself, in a small underground cinder block workshop in the Soviet Union, which frowned on its citizens making any product the Soviet government didn’t make and approve. “Now I can bring my dream guitar to life.”

-- Randy Lewis

Photos: Gold-leaf Stratocaster specially made for Prince at Fender Custom Shop in Corona. Credit: Fender Musical Instruments Corp.

Comments

[azarda]

Here's to raising a good amount of cash for his cause.

[LATice]

So then, this isn't a custom guitar ala Cloud Guitar, The Symbol Guitar and other REAL custom guitars that Prince had made for himself custom.

This was just coincidental that the guitar maker was just working on a what appears to be a pet project of making a gold leaf guitar.

Hmm. I think its great it will help charity, but Prince didn't actually request it custom but requested and it happened that there was one lying around!

Nice marketing venture, and again, cool that it will go to charity. Under who's name though? Prince's or Fender's?

Oh and for the record Fender had a fantastic special edition strat a few years ago in what if I recall correctly, they called Aztec Gold. Had a glazed maple fretboard, slightly sparkly, sort of lightly done, not too gaudy, just a beautiful guitar.

And Prince had a Gold Symbol guitar which was the first one he introduced years ago when he changed his name into that symbol.

So, its not that fresh the ideas in "custom" guitars.

[truth to power]

Nice guitar, too bad Prince is such a crappy guitarist!

[Tom]

Major points off for having the jack remain chrome while the rest of the guitar is gold.

LATice, read the story again. This *is* a custom guitar. The luthier was originally working on a guitar for a different customer.

[Phil Day]

Truth to power - you have no idea what you are talking about!!! Prince is one of the best guitarists of all time.. FACT just so under-rated

[King James]

Fender has made gold (painted body) strats since the '50s. This one is real gold leaf, almost in entirety. Regardless of whether Prince requested, ordered or simply bought a guitar in process by coincidence it's a pretty cool one off guitar and going to an even better cause. Prince also is a very underrated player.
Hats off to him!

[Tom]

"truth to power" - you seriously need to get your ears checked and/or broaden your horizons. He may not show off his chops on his studio albums, but when it comes to live performances, the man can play his ass off.

[Tom]

Tom.. (the other one)... If you click on the image, you get a larger view of the guitar, and it does appear that the instrument jack is gold as well.

[iMadrid]

The Fender Custom Shop brand found on music stores. Is mostly just marketing.
The only difference is the guy (luthier) who built that guitar is a renowned as a master builder. Unlike the unknown factory guys at the floor.

Its really hard to distinguish if that American Strat over there or this Custom Shop model is any different. Since both the Body and Neck are cut from the same CNC machines. The only difference might be is the Custom Shop guy picked the nicest wood from the bunch.

As for the Prince gold leaf plated guitar. Its a custom order since he wanted a custom finish.

[alexander]

i think i wasn't originaly ment for prince becouse it would have a H instead S pickup on the bridge position and without the midle pickup only S on neck position.

[PDirt]

iMadrid... too bad you dont really know. There is more than a significant difference in a production guitar and a custom shop guitar. A professional musician can tell the difference immediately. BTW... Gold leaf is not a new finish for Fender, just a new finish for Yuriy. (and it has never been easy)

[Osvaldo from Brazil]

Yes, good positive action from Prince . Gave the gold guitar for who needs...

[A Thompson]

Hmm, I seem to have seen two of these, Prince had one on a TV show in the states which had a humbucker and single coil which was supposed to be the gold one, now we have pictures of a normal 3 pickup gold one, so which is it guys ? anyone got a pic of the one on the TV show ?
While we are on the subject I much prefer my gold custom shop Strat which has a matching headstock !