H.E.R. has blazed a glittering trail through the current R&B landscape with her dynamic voice, smooth rhythms and slow-burning guitar solos. Her signature Strat – finished in a brilliant Chrome Glow with an anodized aluminum pickguard and Vintage Noiseless™ pickups – burns with style and classic Strat tone.
Over the past few years, singer/songwriter/guitarist H.E.R. has blazed a singular trail across the R&B landscape with a fresh, powerful sound that melds influences ranging from Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Jimi Hendrix to Eddie Van Halen, Santana and B.B. King. She emerged on the scene in 2016 with a series of well-received EPs that highlighted her soulful vocals and dynamic, slow-burning guitar solos. But it was her run at the 61st Grammy Awards – where she picked up trophies for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance, and played an electrifying version of her ballad “Hard Place” on a show-stopping see-through acrylic Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster – that made it clear we were witnessing an incredible artist with one-of-a-kind style (and impeccable taste in guitars).
UNPARALLELED FENDER FLAIR
That awe-inspiring acrylic Fender, conceived by H.E.R. and brought to life (amazingly) in under a week by Custom Shop Master Builder Scott Buehl, is just one of the artist’s striking Strats.
She’s also been spotted playing a Custom Shop model finished entirely in black — we mean everything from the body, fretboard and headstock to the back of the neck, the hardware and even the iconic Fender logo.
To state the obvious: H.E.R. is not your typical R&B artist. And when it comes to writing and performing her music, she needs a guitar that’s likewise unique in sound and style. The new H.E.R. Stratocaster, finished in a stunning Chrome Glow and accented by an anodized aluminum pickguard, is that guitar.
DISTINCTIVE AND DAZZLING
The H.E.R. Stratocaster plays as great as it looks, thanks to a traditional tonewood combination – an alder body paired with a one-piece maple neck and fingerboard. The neck is carved into a mid-’60s C-shape for maximum comfort and sports a 9.5-inch fingerboard radius for effortless bending. Other features include 21 Vintage Tall frets, a six-saddle vintage-style synchronized tremolo, vintage-style tuners and nickel/chrome hardware.
Sonically, the guitar conjures classic Fender tones (minus the hum!) via a trio of Vintage Noiseless™ Strat single-coil pickups controlled by a master volume, two tone knobs and a five-position blade switch. And while it might be hard to pull your eyes away from the guitar’s gorgeous metallic finish, H.E.R. and Fender also threw in some more subtle aesthetic touches, including a matching headstock, multi-hued synthetic abalone dot fingerboard inlays and a custom neck plate engraved with original H.E.R. artwork.
It all adds up to a model that merges classic Fender design with singular modern dazzle – an instrument fit for an artist who sits boldly at the forefront of a new generation of players.
MSRP: $1,299.99
