Fender 70th Anniversary Ultra Stratocaster HSS Limited Edition | Amethyst

Let's get the obvious out of the way. This finish is ridiculous.

Fender calls it Amethyst, but that barely scratches the surface. One second it's deep sapphire blue, the next it flashes violet, then hints of teal and silver start appearing as you move around it. I've photographed thousands of guitars, and every now and then one comes along that refuses to look the same twice. This is one of them. Honestly, it's one of the most unique finishes we've ever had through the shop.

Thankfully, this isn't a case of all show and no substance. Built to celebrate 70 years of the Stratocaster, Fender didn't just spray a special color and call it a day. The roasted maple Modern "D" neck is incredibly comfortable, the tapered heel makes the upper frets disappear beneath your hand, and the compound-radius fingerboard feels just as happy playing cowboy chords as it does bending notes way up the neck.

The HSS pickup configuration is every bit as versatile as you'd expect, but Fender took it a step further with the Ultra Quadra Tap humbucker, Ultra Noiseless single coils, coil splitting, hot voicing, and S-1 switching. It's one of those guitars that can cover just about any gig you throw at it without ever sounding like it's compromising to get there.

The best part? Fender only built these for the 70th Anniversary Stratocaster Collection. Once they're gone, they're gone. This one is essentially as new, still wearing the factory protective plastic on the pickguard, pickups, and back plate. If you're looking for a Strat that stands out from across the room but still delivers everything you'd expect from Fender's flagship American production line, I honestly can't think of a better way to celebrate seventy years of one of the most important guitars ever made.