Up for sale, a 2020 Fender Stories Collection Eric Johnson 1954 “Virginia” Stratocaster in near-mint, 100% original condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original G&G tweed hardshell case, hangtags/CoA, and case candy. This Corona, CA-built Stories Collection Stratocaster pays tribute to Eric Johnson’s iconic 1954 “Virginia” Strat, which he used to record his Grammy award-winning album Ah Via Musicom (and Grammy-nominated Tones). Very faithful to Eric's instrument, features include a two-piece offset seam rift-sawn sassafras body, nitro lacquer finish, a one-piece quartersawn maple neck with a soft V profile carve, 12" radius and jumbo fretwire, and custom wiring.

This model is the only modern production Fender to feature sassafras as a tonewood. The pickup complement comprises two of Fender's custom-wound EJ black bobbin single coils in the neck and middle positions (both north polarity) and a DiMarzio HS-2 DP116 (south polarity) at the bridge. The DiMarzio HS-2 DP116 (a single coil-sized stacked humbucker) is wired so only the top coil is active, yielding a particularly punchy sparkle with good lower-midrange heft and cut. The unique array of tones on the five-way switch is as follows:

#1: bridge pickup
#2: bridge + middle pickup in parallel (in phase)
#3: middle pickup
#4: middle + neck pickup in parallel (out of phase)
#5: neck pickup

 This “Virginia” Strat weighs 8lbs 7oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and accurate intonation.

Neck Specs:

-Wood: Maple
-Shape: Substantial soft V, measuring .905” 1st fret, .995” 12th fret
-Fretboard: 12” radius
-Frets: Jumbo, no wear
-Scale Length: 25 1/2”
-Nut: 1 5/8”
-Tuners: Kluson-style
-Serialization: VA-prefix (on “EJ” engraved neck plate)

Body Specs:

-Wood: Rift-sawn sassafras, offset seam
-Pickups: EJ single coils (neck/middle), DiMarzio HS-2 DP116 (top coil only) bridge
-Harness: CTS 250k pots, Fender paper-in-oil tone cap
-Controls: Five-way pickup selector switch, Volume, Tone x2
-Hardware: Six-saddle bridge, Graph Tech String Saver High E saddle
-Plastics: One-ply pickguard, cream pickup covers/knobs

The gloss two-tone Sunburst nitro lacquer finish is extremely well-kept, with only very light buckle wear on the back. The ambered gloss on the neck profile is flawless.

The original G&G-brand tweed hardshell case is included, along with the factory hangtags, CoA, and case candy.