I know I’m going a bit off topic here with this one, but I truly do love Fender….What do the rest of you think of this one: The Fender “Splato” Statocastor Guitar.
This is the write up on it from Fender’s website:
This is the Fender “Splato” Stratocaster guitar. Pardon the slightly inelegant name, but you simply have to see this unbelievable instrument to believe it. Wrought in aluminum and colored fluid, it’s a work of art. And even that might be an understatement.The guitar was designed by—and will soon belong to—Jimmy Stout of Palmdale, Calif., who entered Guitar World magazine’s 2004 “Design Your Dream Guitar” contest. He submitted an idea he had several months earlier for a radically customized Stratocaster guitar design. He won, which meant that his guitar would actually be built in Fender’s famous Corona, Calif., Custom Shop.Revered 20-year Custom Shop veteran Scott Buehl, often referred to without hyperbole as a Fender “Uber Builder,” accepted the daunting task of building Stout’s guitar. He began in January 2005; the instrument was completed 18 months and a good portion of his sanity later.“I’ve done a lot of crazy stuff in my years here at Fender,” Buehl said affably. “But this is the most difficult guitar I’ve ever done.”Working solely from a “cartoon” that Stout had sent to him, Buehl spent long hours developing the fluid, fluid chambers and body long before he started actual construction.
“Uber” builder: Scott Buehl and his creation. Photo by Jane EspositoFor the psychedelically
swirling colored fluids that are the instrument’s most brilliantly distinctive feature, Buehl eventually arrived at a combination of paraffin oil, hydrophobic dye, distilled water, a biocide to ward off impurities, and plain-old grocery store food coloring. “It took me a long time to come up with that particular cocktail,” he said. “I’d say that was one of the hardest parts about building this guitar.”The fluid chambers are made of Lexan, a highly durable polycarbonate thermoplastic resin (wouldn’t you just know it)—a superhero version of Plexiglas used in bulletproof glass. And if you don’t think heating and forming it was a bear, think again.The body itself has a formed exterior—formed, that is, by Buehl beating a sheet of 5052 aluminum alloy with a hammer until he had a Stratocaster-shaped front and back he could weld together. The strutted interior is made of aircraft-
grade 6061 structural aluminum. “It even looks like the inside of an aircraft in there,” Buehl said.The maple neck has an ebony fingerboard with stainless steel inlays, topped by a large chrome-plated 5052 aluminum headstock. Throw on hardware including a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates bridge pickup and two Fender Noiseless Stratocaster pickups with modified lipstick covers, and the magnificent job was done.Buehl was amazed at the response there in the factory. One person backed away from it in awe. A couple others actually got a little misty-eyed. The good-natured Buehl, simply relieved to have finished such a demanding task, found it all a mite excessive and a tad amusing. “A few were so over the top it was funny,” he said. “I wish I had it all on video.”Stout is very eager to receive the finished work; he kept in frequent contact with Buehl throughout construction and can’t wait to see his guitar. “I had it in my head exactly how I wanted it,” he said. “Scott says it looks just like my original drawing.”
“Uber” builder: Scott Buehl and his creation. Photo by Jane EspositoFor the psychedelically
swirling colored fluids that are the instrument’s most brilliantly distinctive feature, Buehl eventually arrived at a combination of paraffin oil, hydrophobic dye, distilled water, a biocide to ward off impurities, and plain-old grocery store food coloring. “It took me a long time to come up with that particular cocktail,” he said. “I’d say that was one of the hardest parts about building this guitar.”The fluid chambers are made of Lexan, a highly durable polycarbonate thermoplastic resin (wouldn’t you just know it)—a superhero version of Plexiglas used in bulletproof glass. And if you don’t think heating and forming it was a bear, think again.The body itself has a formed exterior—formed, that is, by Buehl beating a sheet of 5052 aluminum alloy with a hammer until he had a Stratocaster-shaped front and back he could weld together. The strutted interior is made of aircraft-
grade 6061 structural aluminum. “It even looks like the inside of an aircraft in there,” Buehl said.The maple neck has an ebony fingerboard with stainless steel inlays, topped by a large chrome-plated 5052 aluminum headstock. Throw on hardware including a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates bridge pickup and two Fender Noiseless Stratocaster pickups with modified lipstick covers, and the magnificent job was done.Buehl was amazed at the response there in the factory. One person backed away from it in awe. A couple others actually got a little misty-eyed. The good-natured Buehl, simply relieved to have finished such a demanding task, found it all a mite excessive and a tad amusing. “A few were so over the top it was funny,” he said. “I wish I had it all on video.”Stout is very eager to receive the finished work; he kept in frequent contact with Buehl throughout construction and can’t wait to see his guitar. “I had it in my head exactly how I wanted it,” he said. “Scott says it looks just like my original drawing.”