Tripblue
1999 Cunetto Relic Yamano Mastergrade 63 Stratocaster
This verifies that this guitar was made during the Cunetto Era. 3-8-99. Also, given that the neck is stamped Yamano Mastergrade makes this an even more rare Custom Shop Stratocaster.
Cunetto describes the role he and his shop played in the production of the Relics from 1995 through May of 1999:
"Our work involved complete prep, finishing and cosmetic distressing of necks and bodies. We also aged and distressed all hardware, pickguards and metal parts. We got it down to a 20 piece per week schedule, and every Friday we'd lay out the week's guitars on a large, 24-foot padded table. Every single part on the guitar was then matched for visual consistency and appearance. We'd match necks to bodies, wear on guards to wear patterns on necks, hardware to body wear and on and on. Each part of each guitar was then labeled so that they'd be sure to be assembled as a unit after being packed and sent to Corona for final assembly.
Relic order numbers continued to grow, as did the number of custom and one-off orders. In May of '96, we moved the company to a larger, better-equipped facility and continued production. As efficiency and employee training improved, so did our shipping numbers. We also upped the number of customs and one-offs produced.
Production continued in the new facility. Over the course of '97, as orders for the regular Relics began to stabilize and taper, we began work on a new idea for the Relics, which we dubbed "The Relic Classic". The concept was simple: a nicely "aged" guitar in good shape. We'd had requests for pieces like this in custom orders and had done a few prototypes for [the] Custom Shop, which were well received. In late '97, the "Relic Classic" became the "Closet Classic", but Fender decided that it was a little late to get it ready for January '98 NAMM. Plans had already been made to re-tool and change the specs of the "Time Machine" Custom Shop guitars over the course of '98, and the new Relic model would be put off until later.
By the latter part of '98, [the] Custom Shop had seen a lot of changes. John Page had left to run the Fender Museum. Because of new Custom Shop management and corporate policies, it was decided that the Closet Classics would be done in-house at Custom Shop. We continued to do the majority of the "standard" Relics during '98, although there were a few done "in-house" as Custom Shop honed their "relicing" chops.
By early '99, things at Custom Shop had changed quite a bit, and I had a pretty strong feeling that they'd changed enough that using an outside vendor didn't make sense for Custom Shop. In March of this year [1999], I got a call from Mike Eldred, the new Custom Shop manager, informing me that they intended to do all Relics in-house after we finished the then-current back order. That was it, and we shipped the last "Cunetto Relics" in May of 1999.
1999 Cunetto Relic Yamano Mastergrade 63 Stratocaster
This verifies that this guitar was made during the Cunetto Era. 3-8-99. Also, given that the neck is stamped Yamano Mastergrade makes this an even more rare Custom Shop Stratocaster.
Cunetto describes the role he and his shop played in the production of the Relics from 1995 through May of 1999:
"Our work involved complete prep, finishing and cosmetic distressing of necks and bodies. We also aged and distressed all hardware, pickguards and metal parts. We got it down to a 20 piece per week schedule, and every Friday we'd lay out the week's guitars on a large, 24-foot padded table. Every single part on the guitar was then matched for visual consistency and appearance. We'd match necks to bodies, wear on guards to wear patterns on necks, hardware to body wear and on and on. Each part of each guitar was then labeled so that they'd be sure to be assembled as a unit after being packed and sent to Corona for final assembly.
Relic order numbers continued to grow, as did the number of custom and one-off orders. In May of '96, we moved the company to a larger, better-equipped facility and continued production. As efficiency and employee training improved, so did our shipping numbers. We also upped the number of customs and one-offs produced.
Production continued in the new facility. Over the course of '97, as orders for the regular Relics began to stabilize and taper, we began work on a new idea for the Relics, which we dubbed "The Relic Classic". The concept was simple: a nicely "aged" guitar in good shape. We'd had requests for pieces like this in custom orders and had done a few prototypes for [the] Custom Shop, which were well received. In late '97, the "Relic Classic" became the "Closet Classic", but Fender decided that it was a little late to get it ready for January '98 NAMM. Plans had already been made to re-tool and change the specs of the "Time Machine" Custom Shop guitars over the course of '98, and the new Relic model would be put off until later.
By the latter part of '98, [the] Custom Shop had seen a lot of changes. John Page had left to run the Fender Museum. Because of new Custom Shop management and corporate policies, it was decided that the Closet Classics would be done in-house at Custom Shop. We continued to do the majority of the "standard" Relics during '98, although there were a few done "in-house" as Custom Shop honed their "relicing" chops.
By early '99, things at Custom Shop had changed quite a bit, and I had a pretty strong feeling that they'd changed enough that using an outside vendor didn't make sense for Custom Shop. In March of this year [1999], I got a call from Mike Eldred, the new Custom Shop manager, informing me that they intended to do all Relics in-house after we finished the then-current back order. That was it, and we shipped the last "Cunetto Relics" in May of 1999.