Fender Really did this for the 70th Anniversary of the Stratocaster.. 

I also just turned 70. Damn. Happier for the Strat!

The only thing wrong with your videos, is that we have to wait too long between them!! Nice to see you again, young man! Play those guitars!!

The unique and priceless thing about Leo Fender's original design (apart from body and neck shape) was the three pickup, single coil configuration and exactly where (harmonically) and at what angle they were positioned. I recently purchased a second hand Squier Strat for £60 and after some hours filing and smoothing fret ends, adjusting nut, truss rod, intonation etc she has at least 90% of the very best of the very best Fender sound. Plays beautifully and stays perfectly in tune after using extensive trem ♥ Never owned a Strat of any kind before but they're amazing!

Rhett Shull said head over here for a review by Matt Scott who does a good job and really knows what he's talking about. Thank you Matthew! I am 70 and have been guitar in hand for 66 years. Great review. I will start looking!

I graduated in ‘96, which was Fender’s 50th anniversary. I used some scholarship money I received from the local Masons to buy myself a brand new American Standard 3-tone sunburst Strat with a rosewood fretboard. Still have it. Hadn’t played it in a few years because the frets were shot. Intonation was out of the question. Watched some RU-vid videos to gain some tips and successfully refretted it myself. Now it’s back in playing order and in the fold. Thank you RU-vid. I wish you were around when I was a kid. I’d probably be doing something in the music industry instead of testing switchgear.

The Fender 60th anniversary '54 Strat is actually more period correct (including the single-seam, center pocket case and pickups); and the bodies are noticeably lighter (mine only weighs a hair over 6.5 lbs-2 piece swamp ash...)!

The Stratocaster body design simply cannot be beaten in my humble opinion. I finally managed to buy a new sunburst USA Highway One in the mid-2000s, and I’m never going to part with it. Yes, I am currently having an affair with a low-cost pretender, more precisely, with its streamlined heel joint which suits my ageing digits, but in the end, it’s the Fender that will stay with me forever. Thank you so much Mr Leo Fender for creating this iconic instrument.

the custom shop should relase a 140th anniversary strat NOW !! thats how ahead of his time leo was back then, what a guy 😇thanks matthew, superb 👍👌

Thank you!! I’ve been listening to your album almost daily since it came out. Awesome stuff.

I'm an old guy that's been playing guitar since surf music was popular back in the sixties. I've owned two fifty four Stratocasters I paid less than a thousand dollars for each of them. To be perfectly honest I really didn't like the way they played. The best stratecaster I ever owned was a nineteen sixty three with the b neck. Absolutely fantastic. Really should have held on to that one. Oh well.😢

Beautiful playing Matt, the incredibly crisp snap of the new strings on new frets give it away as just off the line, regardless of the 'vintage' tag. Really highlights your love of well played instruments and their unique character. I'd bet in a head to head, same guitar/different (modern) amp it would not sound 'special'. Appreciate you taking the time and effort/equipment for us to evaluate.

Wonderful playing as usual. Always a pleasure to hear you play!

I could just sit and listen to jam sessions all day! Thanks for putting out the videos. 🤙🏼

Great video - loved how you verbally covered the bases before playing. Nice and unique.

Matthew, You should give me this Guitar, I was Born in 1954, And I turn 70 this Month, Thank YOU , Cousin Figel

Beautiful guitar! Congrats. Dude… your videos are SO GOOD!

Hey Mr. Matthew Scott, congratulations on having your very own 1954 Fender Stratocaster! I saw you did a video about it years ago despite it wasn't yours, but I'm happy to see you finally have your dream guitar from Fender. Happy 70th Anniversary, Fender Stratocaster. From Vietnam with love. P.S. I also have that same guitar as well, but it's Vietnamese made based on the original design.

Matt, you sound so good playing your 59 thru a Super Reverb or your Bassman. You have your own unique sound. When you play through something else or you play a different guitar, you sound like anybody else.

Enjoyable as always. Love your Toys. Good to see & hear you again. Best Regards Always.

That bridge pick up though 🔥🔥🔥

That’s just like the one I just bought! I LOVE IT! I did a complete setup, and it’s now amazing both to play as well as look at!

8 lbs? What a tank!! My 50th Anniversary 54 was 6lb 14 oz. I regret selling it now.

Great !! Rocking Out !!

Looks gorgeous! Also sounds fantastic in Matthew’s hands! 🎸🔥🎸🔥🎸

Nice playing!

It sounds crisp like my old 74 ash strat. Great demo.

Yeah, eff that, I am definitely not of the belief that heavier guitars sound better. Light guitars all the way! They definitely feel better. I love light guitars. Shame this Strat is over 8lbs.

Awesome video. I always dreamed of owning a Les Paul as a kid. They're all I dreamed about. As I became a gigging musician years ago, despite my best efforts at resistance, I fell in love with Fender. My #1 is a 1959 Custom Shop relic Strat. To say I love that guitar would be an understatement. I have a Mexican Stratocaster that I bought new when I was 16 (I'm 44 now) and that thing has traveled with me all across the US and EU during the late 90s and early 2000s. Our band was playing festivals and opening for larger acts, and the scars and memories that thing holds are priceless. I know that once I'm dead and gone it will just be a beat up junk Mexican Strat for someone to throw away, but there is no amount of money I could be offered to part with it. I don't believe Mexican Strats are junk, but lets face it, unless it is American made, a beat up Strat has no collector or "vintage" value outside of its sentimental worth to me.

Excellent! Thanks for sharing.

That is a sweet guitar & case combo.

thank you for your video on the 70th anniversary i like that Antigua Finish , it appears to be the only large headstock limited 70th i have seen so far .

Nicely done,got some great tones out of that Strat.

can’t wait to come back and watch this one after work. always inspired when you upload matt.

FANTASTIC Video. Thank You VERY Much. Subscribed for life.

Here's my little PSA to you all: If Fender has done the same thing with this reissue as they did with the 60th, remove the knobs immediately if you'd like to play it regularly. The knobs will inevitably crack if they are using the period correct bakelite knobs. I had one crack on mine and when I listed it for sale, I got TONS of inquiries of people asking if I'd be willing to sell the knobs, (even the cracked one). Great playing as always Matthew.

Great review !

Great video, thank you

Sounds terrific by the way!

Sounds incredible to me!! I could listen to you play all day long. Great vid!!

It does not matter which guitar you play, everything you play sounds warm and nice! And most of the time no effects! ❤

Dude, I could listen to you play for hours

i listen to your albuns everyday bro. Love your stuff

ALWAYS love your videos and your MUSICAL ABILITY. A EXCELLENT guitarist!!!

I would agree. Best guitar, period. And the early '54s had the serial numbers in the top of the springs plate. Mine was 0517. This thing sure sounds good!!

What a great guitar, you really show cased this one well brother 👌🤙

Luvit Matthew! And I hav to say, Fender seem to've tried a LOT harder with this than my one... I bought the 25th Anniversary Strat as a youngster, (God I can'tbeleive they're on 70 years already! 😱). It was ridiculously heavy, (and quite possibly damaged my left shoulder over time...). Also, some bad-mouthers said that Fender made the '25th' from 'Old Unused Parts' swept up at the factory!... Not sure that's true, but can definitely say this '54/70th sounds wonderful in your capable hands mate... Lovely stuff, thanks!... Bobby 🙏

I looked it up on Sweetwater & these 70th Anniversary Stratocasters are all over the ma as far as weight goes, ranging on the low side from 7lb 8oz up to 8lb 12oz (whoa!)

Beautiful...From Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ✌

Nice tone

fabulous guitar!

Hi Matthew, new sub here, love the exploring old guitar videos!! Watched giging videos and the studio stuff ...pretty cool!! Have a great day!!

Amazing Fender is killing it! I got my first strat 2 years ago the MiJ limited re-issue “HM” Stratocaster and currently using as my main gig and studio guitar 🤘🎸🤘

I was really hoping for the 54 headstock with the rounded edges. that would have been icing on the cake

The first few years of the Stratocasters were all over the map in terms of shapes and contours. I wonder if sourcing the lightweight ash is hard even for Fender. Nice playing as always! 👍

Great playing style. Very nice.

Sounds great Matthew. For a heavy guitar it has great tone.

Thank you!! Great video and beautiful sounds. One question, can we change the 3-way to 5-way? Or just put something to keep the switch position in-between, with 3-way switch. Thank you again I love your channel.

Sounds great!

I never wanted a '54 Strat before - but I do now.

Sounds incredible

hey nice post , you don't miss a note in guitar world, i like that about your RU-vid site / page ... something old, something new, something borrowed, something to play the blue...s and anything else i suppose keep rock-in' :)

Nice Work Matthew! WooF!

I have a 1994 anniversary strat i bought new back in the day. After pre agreeing on price i spent a few hours in a room full of strats being able to pick whatever one i wanted. While some had more expensive options the one i choose was basically a straight up American standard with the anniversary badges on it. I still use it everyday especially when recording because it just records better than any other guitar i own. After all these years its never needed to be set up or repaired, although well worn the frets dont buzz and the intonation is good. My old hands prefer my tele these days, but when i want to lay down something i always end up using my trusty old strat to avoid disappointment during playback.

While interesting, your videos of true vintage guitars are more exciting to me. It is always a pleasure to hear your playing.

I love to watch and hear your playing. I was curious about your take on playing a new guitar with the metal buttons on your shirt 😲⁉️🙂

What back in 54 that cost about $100....How much is it now?I love all strats.A heavier strat is better.Susutain.The 70's strats lighter.Neat guitar overall.

In your demos regular open chording will also show extra tones of the guitars rather than only ever single notes,

Cool video you're playing is incredible as usual...maybe do a sound comparison with your '59...

Great reviews! First thing I noticed that was NOT present was the body neck pocket corner angles are not the sharp 90*... they have the curve of later models.

Really thorough review

Great job guitar man.

Nice demonstration.

Im always interested in the trem set. Free movement up and down? Sounds beautiful.

Back in the days before the internet very few people cared about the weight of a guitar. In fact, at the local stores the heavier guitars were more likely to sell quicker than the lighter ones. Of course, we were in our teens and 20’s then. As we age or deal with health situations heavy has fallen out of favor. Interestingly enough the best sounding Strat I ever had was 9 LBs. A fantastic ‘69 Strat I wish I’d kept. Thanks for the demo and rundown. For what it’s worth, I think it sounds really good.

Looks good and sounds good, I guess that's what matters! I'd like to see more makers using maple necks!

Nice video as always. 0:08 what's the signal chain here? How did you get this thick sound?

Fender just casually sends you a 70th Anniversary Strat....that's wild!!!!

They did very good! I like this one!

I fell in love with Strats as soon as i saw one. They look like rock and roll to me. I'm on the cusp of 69. I have a late 90s MIM one and a much newer, bought in a garage sale, MIC Squire. Love them both and wouldn't sell them for the world. A real Fender is sadly out of my budget.

That is a sweet guitar. I would love to have it.

My one and only electric 6 is a 2010 Standard Strat, two piece ash body, one piece maple neck. Sunburst too. Looks remarkably like that one, but cost £500 and weighs a gnat's under 7lb. Maybe the extra thousands in that 70th's price is all down to that extra 1lb. Bar o' gold, maybe?

Looks pretty cool! The minute you said 2 piece ash I thought “This will be a Heavy one haha. Good thing Sweetwater shows the weight on each guitar

Matt- thanks for posting this. I had to think for a second.. 2024.. yikes, it is 70 years! Agreed on the weight. Also, neck seems to be a bit more orange than I'd like to see on an "NOS" guitar neck. Cool piece overall. Peace!

It's different watching you play such a clean guitar.

That's a beautiful guitar. I'm guessing the right amp helps but sounds killer anyway. Awesome video. Thanks.

First I have heard of the 70th. I currently own a Custom Shop 2004/5 50th anniversary Strat built by Master Builder JT English. Found it at a little boutique online shop... it included the original 2 cases and all case candy... I'm a nut so I put together a little time capsule with the original Fender Frontline 2004 catalog with the add for the Custom Shop 50th Anniversary Stratocaster, a Fender Authorized 1995 reprint of the original folding Sales Catalog from 1954, a reprint of the Custom Shops JT English obituary found online on Fenders website in 2008, a 1954-2004 Custom Shop license plate, Tom Wheelers "The Stratocaster Chronicles" a history celebrating 50 years of the Stratocaster and a real 1954 Franklin Half Dollar (for posterity). I also own the 2004 American Deluxe Stratocaster 50th Anniversary Edition. At the age of 42 in the year 2000 I began a serious journey of learning to play guitar and the above equipment was all part of that journey. Today I am 65, have been playing for 23 years and have never regretted one moment of guitar collecting and playing. Thank you Matthew for your videos, I love seeing your journey of the older equipment finds you have made. Keep up in tune...! nwh

Dunno if it’s the guitar or you, but man it sounded good. Probably you. Dang I love strats. Every time I just start thinking a teeny bit about playing something else I am reminded why I love them so much.

Would have loved to hear your assessment of the guitar once you played it. I have had two of the 60th anniversary customer shop, and those are fantastic guitars. Only models that used a special version pickup. They also sold those pickups and I found a place that still have then new a couple of years ago, so I bought 6 sets, lol.

The Mirrors album has no filler songs. My man is out here putting his soul into these songs and making a true classic album from start to finish. I think Matthew has too much respect for the culture to give anything less. I don't wanna hear anyone cry about the state of music if they aren't out there buying this album 😉 seriously.

I would have to say I've picked up super light guitars that had awesome tone as well !

I never take the back plate off to change strings . Just push down the trem arm and the holes line up with the block 👍

That’s sweet. I’m gonna wait until the 75th. 😀👍

If you started out in the neck position, the guitar sounds extremely bright to me. -Nice looking. If it doesn't break the bank, it would be a nice addition to a player's arsenal.

i don't like vintage frets or the thinner smaller necks but i appreciate how you make them chime there are definitely people who make them sound magic the midrange sounded nice nØt overbearing or too anemic or thin

IMO I’m with you on the weight. Lighter body less finish more resonance.However; I believe that the thicker the neck the better the tone, and roasted necks are even better. IMO I did and A/B with a 54 reissue that had a smallish C and put a Mayer Sig USA neck on it and it was so much fuller, warmer and just more everything period. I do like what I’m seeing here, how big is the neck? Is it 59 John English big or maybe more Mayer US big if you’ve played one? Thank you for what you do. You’re doing what you love and doing it well.

Nice, the headstock just needed a bit of "rounding-off" the edges so it does'nt look so angular. Nice sound.

WOW. That Strat sounds amazing… I’m more of a telecaster guy. But if I had a Strat that sounded like that, I would play that.

Best page in youtube❤

I ordered a Strat through the MOD shop. I wanted a '57 looking Strat like (Buddy Holly) but with a modern compound radius neck. Mine came in at 7lbs 7ozs. alder body that looks like 1 piece, 2 tone burst. single ply pickguard etc. Fender far exceeded my dreams, it's incredible and I'm super picky. Even 8 lbs seems heavy now, close to 9 lbs would be tough to live with.

Maybe I should have paid more attention to what was said during that excellent video but I was just wondering if the neck had a 7.25" radius and a 3-way switch like the original models ?