Fender is rolling out Richie Kotzen’s classy signature Stratocaster to the masses after the success of its Japan-exclusive release.
Bearing an ash body with a flame maple top, custom DiMarzio single coil pickups, and a thick “C”-shaped neck, the American virtuoso has strayed away from the classic Strat recipe, ensuring his individualism is all over the signature guitar.
A “striking combination of upscale appointments and high-performance playability” ensures this isn’t another run-of-the-mill Strat – even though it retains much of the instrument’s charm, alongside more daring changes.
Crafted in Fender’s Corona, California facility, it’s a model he “loves dearly,” and continues his long-standing passion for Fender guitars.
“What inspired me to pick up my first Fender was the response,” he explains. “When I picked up the Fender, it immediately responded to what I was putting into it. I realized it was more than just the tone, because it dictates the sound and how the instrument responds. So I went out and bought a Telecaster and a Stratocaster on the same day.”
His signature Strat pays homage to that dynamic responsiveness, with the DiMarzio pickups, tailored for “sweet, punchy tones,” and maple fingerboard key contributors to that, while the neck dimension is a Goldilocks ‘just right’ blend of thickness, curvature, and dimensions.
“Believe it or not, I solo on that middle pickup a lot,” Kotzen adds. “That middle sound gives it a person’s voice if you play it a certain way.”
Specs-wise, it boasts a 22-fret fingerboard with abalone dot inlays, and its neck gets a satin urethane finish.
Hardware – including a six-saddle Vintage-Style Synchronized Tremolo with whammy bar and Gotoh tuners with pearl buttons – is finished in gold, while its nut is made from synthetic bone.
Available in Transparent Red Burst and White Burst colorways, each with gold trimmings, this is very much a guitar made in the former Mr. Big and Poison shredder’s image.
Though Kotzen – who has reprised his tandem with Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith – is often seen with a Telecaster in his hands, he asserts that the Strat still reigns supreme for its shape.
“I love the shape of a Strat because when you hold the guitar, it feels like you’re connected to it,” he details. “It feels like part of your body and an extension of you. If you’re expressing yourself when you play the instrument, you need to have that connection where, when you pick it up, you feel like you’re one piece.”
The Fender-Kotzen relationship started in 1995 with the release of his first Tele and Strat signatures. Three decades later, that relationship is still going strong.
The Fender Richie Kotzen Stratocaster is available now and is priced at $1,779.99.
Head to Fender for more.
