Fender Custom Shop Austin MacNutt Masterbuilt Jerry Garcia Alligator Strat Relic 1-Piece Rift Sawn Maple Neck Aged Natural 7.80 LBS

Fender Custom Shop Austin MacNutt Masterbuilt Jerry Garcia Alligator Strat Relic 1-Piece Rift Sawn Maple Neck Aged Natural 7.80 LBS

Model #: 9216811942

AUSTIN MACNUTT

Canadian born in a family of performing musicians, some of Austin’s earliest memories contain acoustic and electric guitars, including his father’s 1963 Custom Color Black Fender Jaguar with matching headstock that is still in the family. Following in his parent’s footsteps, he took up guitar playing at the age of 10 and soon found himself tinkering on it to improve playability and tone. Throughout his teens, Austin developed his building and repair skills and became the local go-to repair tech for many of the bands passing through.

After graduating high school in Saskatoon – Austin saved up and enrolled himself at the Guitar Craft Academy in Hollywood to further his skills and passion for guitar building. Recognizing his talents, immediately after completing the course the school offered him a position as one of their teachers. During these 5 years of teaching guitar building, he met Ron Thorn during an inlay seminar, and shortly after was offered a position at Thorn Guitars. For 11 years Austin crafted boutique electric guitars under the Thorn brand. From raw lumber selection, millwork, CNC operation, fretwork, final assembly – Austin did it all and once again is working shoulder to shoulder with his old friend, now crafting Fender’s finest.

When Austin is not building guitars, he enjoys spending his time with his girlfriend playing music and going camping whenever and wherever he can.

MORE ABOUT JERRY GARCIA ALLIGATOR STRAT® RELIC®, 1-PIECE RIFT SAWN MAPLE NECK, AGED NATURAL

When famed U.K. singer-songwriter-musician Graham Nash released his solo debut album Songs for Beginners in May 1971, he was so pleased with Jerry Garcia’s contributions to the sessions that he presented Garcia with a special gift - a 1955 Stratocaster® Nash had bought the year before in a Phoenix, Ariz., pawn shop for $250.

Garcia immediately adopted it as his main instrument for the next two years, during which it became his first dramatically modified guitar. Although Garcia and the Dead became well known for heavily altering their equipment through the band’s own offshoot gear company, Alembic, it was this Strat that first received the extensive workbench surgery that served as a Grateful Dead hallmark. Garcia’s new Strat became a favorite known and loved by the guitarist and his fans as the “Alligator” - so nicknamed for the grinning cartoon alligator sticker Garcia affixed to the pickguard in 1972.

Now, the Fender Custom Shop is proud to introduce the Jerry Garcia Alligator Stratocaster - a faithful recreation of one of Garcia’s most famous instruments. Every detail is meticulously recreated, from the carefully measured contours and radii of the one-piece ash body to the hammered brass control plate, replica pickguard and body stickers, and custom replica “Blaster” clean-boost output jack assembly. Master built in the Custom Shop by Austin MacNutt, the Jerry Garcia Alligator Stratocaster is limited to 100 built-to-order instruments.

All three pickups are Josefina hand-wound ‘55-style single-coil Stratocaster pickups replicated from the Alligator itself, along with five-way switching, standard vintage Stratocaster wiring and replica “hat” control knobs on a three-ply parchment pickguard. Premium features also include a Relic® lacquer finish, one-piece rift-sawn maple neck with a profile scanned and replicated directly from the original guitar, 7.25” fingerboard radius and 1.625” brass nut width, 21 Medium Vintage frets, custom brass bridge and tailpiece with rosewood base plate, Schaller® M6 tuners, disc string tree with custom retainer bar, and custom birdseye maple back plate. Custom hardshell case included.

Blaster is a trademark of Alembic, Inc.