Fender Custom Shop Time Machine 1956 Stratocaster Journeyman Relic Aged Sherwood Green Metallic

The Fender Custom Shop 1956 Stratocaster Journeyman Relic blends the character of a mid-1950s Strat with a build that intentionally focuses on historical details and convincing aging within the Time Machine Collection. This particular instrument is based on a two-piece ash body with an Off-Center Seam and pairs that with a one-piece maple neck. The guitar closely follows the construction of those early Stratocaster years while avoiding a purely museum-style reproduction. The Journeyman Relic finish with Flash Coat and pronounced checking gives the instrument a played-in, years-developed aesthetic without pushing the extreme wear of heavier relic treatments to the foreground.

A Neck With Its Own Character

Most distinctive is the maple neck with the 1954 Soft-V profile. Its robust contour directly references early Fender neck shapes and gives this '56 Stratocaster a clearly vintage orientation. At the same time Fender uses a compound radius from 7.25" to 9.5", bringing historical traits together with a slightly more modern fretboard geometry. Black Micarta dots, the small Stratocaster headstock, vintage-style tuners with Fender logo, and the traditional four-bolt neck plate consistently carry the concept forward. The bone nut also fits naturally into this historically oriented setup.

Hand-Wound '55 Strat Pickups

Electrically this instrument relies on three Fender Custom Shop Hand-Wound '55 Strat single coils. The middle pickup is RWRP, purposely differing from the neck and bridge pickups. Together with the vintage Strat wiring and the 5-way switch, this pickup configuration stays true to the classic Stratocaster concept. The hardware follows the same approach: a Fender Custom Shop Vintage Strat tremolo bridge, vintage-style tuners, a parchment pickguard, and aged hardware details create a cohesive overall picture where modern deviations are intentionally kept to a minimum.

Fender Custom Shop and the Idea Behind This '56

Within the Fender Custom Shop the Time Machine Collection stands for instruments that pick up specific eras of Fender history through construction, equipment and aging aesthetics. The appeal of this 1956 Stratocaster comes precisely from the combination of period-typical details: ash body, maple neck, Soft-V profile, '55 Strat pickups and vintage hardware clearly nod to the early Stratocaster era. The Journeyman Relic is not meant to be a flawless replica of a brand-new instrument, but an interpretation of a well-preserved, long-played Stratocaster with visible history.