Fender Custom Shop Carlos Lopez Masterbuilt 1956 Ash Stratocaster Hand-Wound Pickups Relic Fiesta Red

Fender Custom Shop Carlos Lopez Masterbuilt 1956 Ash Stratocaster Hand-Wound Pickups Relic Fiesta Red

CARLOS LOPEZ

Carlos Lopez received his first electric guitar – an American Standard Stratocaster – as a teenager, and hasn’t looked back since. The East Los Angeles native graduated from the Musician’s Institute Guitar Craft program in 2006 and was hired by Fender mere months later as an assembly builder. Promoted to the Custom Shop in 2007, he spent the next eight years in the Team Built division, honing his Fender chops and assisting Master Builders on various projects.

Lopez became an Apprentice Master Builder under Todd Krause in 2017, assisting with guitars for Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Robbie Robertson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robin Trower and others. He has also helped craft an array of distinctive Fender creations, including a stunning ’69 Tele Relic in Green Tinted Ice Blue Metallic and, alongside Custom Shop Master Builder Scott Buehl, a transparent acrylic Stratocaster played by Grammy-winning artist Gabriella “H.E.R.” Wilson at the 2019 Grammy awards ceremony.

“I’ve learned from the best of the best, and I can’t put into words how special it is to be a part of such an iconic brand with some of the finest builders in the world,” Lopez said. “It truly is an honor.”