Fender Cory Wong Stratocaster RW Sapphire Blue Transparent

Recognized for his incredible funk chops and inventive lead work, guitarist, producer, and arranger Cory Wong’s soulful playing with Vulfpeck, as well as his Grammy-nominated solo work have earned him a loyal following and led to sold-out arena performances. The Cory Wong Stratocaster® is a tribute to Cory’s favorite Fender, thoughtfully modified to meet the funk master’s needs.

The Sapphire Blue Transparent satin lacquer finish recreates the look and feel of Cory’s beloved original Strat®, while the scaled-down alder body – slightly smaller than a typical Stratocaster – combined with American Ultra™ Modern “D” neck and sculpted body contours deliver a sublimely comfortable playing experience. A set of Seymour Duncan® Cory Wong Clean Machine™ pickups provides classic Strat quack and chime, fine-tuned to achieve his distinctive tone.

Other features include a maple neck with subtly modified headstock shape, rosewood fingerboard with rolled edges and a compound 10-14” radius, vintage-style 6-screw synchronized Tremolo, deluxe locking tuners that provide improved tuning stability and easy string changes, and a push/push pot on Tone 2 that bypasses the 5-way switch and defaults to "Position 4". Also included are a Cory Wong hair tie (for muting the tremolo springs to achieve Cory’s rhythm tone), rubber straplock washer set and custom neck plate.

FEATURES

• Sapphire Blue Transparent satin lacquer finish
• Seymour Duncan® Cory Wong Clean Machine™ pickups
• American Ultra Modern “D” Neck profile and body contours
• Modified Strat® body and headstock
• Vintage-style 6-screw tremolo and deluxe locking tuners

SAPPHIRE BLUE TRANSPARENT SATIN LACQUER FINISH - Recreating Cory’s beloved original Strat, the Sapphire Blue Transparent satin lacquer finish allows the wood to breathe and age beautifully.

MODIFIED STRAT® BODY AND HEADSTOCK - Built to Cory’s specifications, the slightly smaller body and larger headstock creates a subtle but unique profile that makes this Strat unmistakable.

SEYMOUR DUNCAN® CORY WONG CLEAN MACHINE™ PICKUPS - This signature Seymour Duncan set – featuring two single-coils and a stack bridge pickup – delivers classic Strat chime and singing lead sounds.

FINDING HIS OWN VOICE

For a player like Cory Wong, creating a signature guitar requires more than just slapping his name on the headstock. 

Known around the world for his inventive style as a solo artist, contributor to modern funk-masters Vulfpeck, member of The Fearless Flyers or through his numerous collaborations, the GRAMMY® Award-nominated Wong conjures sounds that simply demand more from an instrument. But, just as Wong is truly a unique artist, so too is his new signature Stratocaster. 

Growing up in Minnesota, Wong began his musical journey by picking up the bass when he was 12 years old, initially drawn to punk rock. When a friend in his childhood band also wanted to play bass, Wong conceded and saved up enough money shoveling snow off neighbors’ driveways to purchase a guitar.

As his skills progressed, Wong had to make another concession … or perhaps more of a realization. Nevertheless, the light bulb that went off greatly shaped the rest of his career.

“There were a lot of years where I just wanted to be a ripping lead player,” said Wong. “Then I realized, that’s not what people love about me. What people loved about me was the rhythm, and as soon as I recognized that was the most magnetic thing about me and my voice on the instrument, all these things fell into place. 

“I had to confront my own ego as a guitar player.”

LEANING INTO THE RHYTHM

In the many years since then, Wong has revolutionized the way people think about the rhythm guitar, pushing this key part of any group to the forefront. His mastery of timing and texture keeps people dancing, with a full understanding of funk and how those infectious riffs can fit into rock, pop and other genres. 

For Wong, the smiles he regularly sees in the audience and the responses on social media to the grooves emanating from his Strat are affirmations that he’s on the right path.

“There’s something about music that can spark an emotional feeling, whether it be joy, whether it be comfort, or sometimes just a feeling of angst, which some of us needed to express as teenagers in a way that's healthy,” he said. “For me, that was music.

“A lot of my music expresses joy, and I’ve thought that it's just a wonderful tool to help shape someone’s mood in a different way for that day, week, month. The more that I do it, it sparks that in me, as well.”

Now, Wong has his own signature Strat that will ensure he can keep spreading that joy, and he hopes it inspires others to do the same. 

“No matter what instrument you play, you’re going to sound like yourself if you have a strong enough voice in what you do,” said Wong. “But there are certain instruments that just draw that thing out of you — certain instruments that feel like home, and for me, that’s a Stratocaster.”

SPECIFICATIONS

General
SERIES: Artist
ORIENTATION: Right-Hand
COLOR: Sapphire Blue Transparent
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US

Neck
NECK MATERIAL: Maple
NECK FINISH: Satin Urethane
NECK SHAPE: Modern "D"
FINGERBOARD RADIUS: 10" to 14" Compound Radius (254 mm to 355.6 mm)
FINGERBOARD MATERIAL: Rosewood
POSITION INLAYS: White Dot
SIDE DOTS: White
NUMBER OF FRETS: 22
STRING NUT: Bone
NUT WIDTH: 1.6875" (42.86 mm)
NUT MATERIAL: Bone

Body
BODY: Alder
BODY FINISH: Satin Lacquer
BODY SHAPE: Stratocaster®
BODY MATERIAL: Alder

Hardware
BRIDGE: 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Synchronized Tremolo
PICKGUARD: 4-Ply White Pearloid
PICKUP COVERS: White
CONTROL KNOBS: White Plastic
SWITCH TIP: White
HARDWARE FINISH: Nickel/Chrome
TUNING MACHINES: Deluxe Cast/Sealed Locking (all short posts)
STRINGS: Fender® USA 250R Nickel Plated Steel (.010-.046 Gauges), PN 0730250406
NECK PLATE: 4-Bolt
STRAP BUTTONS: Vintage-Style

Electronics
BRIDGE PICKUP: Seymour Duncan® Cory Wong Clean Machine Custom Stack Plus™
MIDDLE PICKUP: Seymour Duncan® Cory Wong Clean Machine™ Single Coil
NECK PICKUP: Seymour Duncan® Cory Wong Clean Machine™ Single Coil
PICKUP CONFIGURATION: SSS
CONTROLS: Master Volume with Treble-Bleed, Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Bridge Pickup)
SWITCHING: 5-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup, Position 3. Middle Pickup, Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup, Position 5. Neck Pickup
AUXILIARY SWITCHING: Push/Push on Tone 2 Bypasses 5-Way Switch and Defaults to Position 4

Measurements
FRET SIZE: Medium Jumbo
SCALE LENGTH: 25.5" (64.77 cm)

Accessories
RECOMMENED GIG BAG: FE1225 Electric Guitar Gig Bag, P/N 0991612406 (Not Included)