Kavanagh Customs

Up until 1960, Fender offered customers the option to have their new instrument (at the time these were: the Telecaster, the Precision Bass and the Stratocaster) finished in any colour of their choosing. In 1960 Fender introduced their very own selection of 'custom' paint options.

Sonic Blue was one of these colours - finished using Cadillac nitrocellulose colours, it was offered from 1960 to 1972. The sonic blue models also had a white undercoat which is generally missed in reissues of today. We've included this in the finishing process in order to stay faithful to the originals.

What we have here is our own faithful reproduction of those early-60s Stratocaster bodies: a hand-carved select alder body (with off-set centre joint) finished in sonic blue nitrocellulose with white undercoat - ideal for relicing - just as they did it originally (unlike the more modern processes used by a number of larger guitar manufacturers today).

For us, this body is rare (and not something you'll find anyone else making), with only very limited quantities currently available so be careful not to miss out. As with all our work, this has been totally hand-built, the wood used in our work is always carefully hand-selected for it's individual tonal properties and always comes from sustainable sources.

The template for our bodies is taken an original 1962 pre-CBS body ('The original contour body') and it's shape is almost exact in every way. The routing is the classic three single-coils, keeping as much wood as possible present to ensure the very best possible resonance.

This would be the ideal starting or ending point for that guitar project you've been promising yourself ever since last Christmas and with the white undercoat, it's also very suitable for an authentic relic, if you're that way inclined..!

We can also additionally provide a relicing service for this item if you aren't happy doing such things yourself yet still want a true used vintage appearance, just contact us to find out more!

Please note that this is not a Fender product, nor is it made in a sweatshop in the Far East by children getting paid 10p a day - it's much, much better than that. Like all our items, it has been carefully hand built to exacting standards and dimensions to ensure the highest possible quality, and the perfect fit for Fender, Squier and 98% of the Fender-copy market. We comply directly with Fender's own neck pocket dimensions (see the diagram on the left), although there may still be a small amount of work necessary to ensure a perfect fit.

If you have any doubt over whether any of our work is suitable or not for you, drop us a line, we're always happy to help.

This body has been left completely undrilled to ensure that it is suitable for anyone and everyone's needs - you can fit any type of scratchplate you like without having empty holes left under the scratchplate, you can fit a three or four-bolt neck, you can fit the tremolo system of your choice without the need to worry if the screw and string spacing is compatible with your body, or if the holes in your neck and body will line up. The advantages are endless and most importantly: it guarentees compatibility with the rest of your guitar. Please note that our Telecaster bodies do not come with the string holes pre-drills as standard - making them ideal for top-loading bridges, or else a very easy task to modify in your own home to accomodate a through-body stringing bridge.

Don't see exactly the part you're after?

We can build it for you to your exact specifications - nothing is too weird or whacky!

Contact us for a totally free quote and a chat about your requirements, and click here to see our price lists for custom-builds.

We can also supply all the parts you need to complete your guitar project, from fretwire and string trees to custom-wound pickups and polishing cloths! We will be expanding our shop in the near future so that you can conveniently purchase all these items at once but for the moment, contact us and tell us what it is you're after and we will happily arrange or source the parts you need for you.