Fender Stratocaster Aerodyne Special Details

NOTE: This text is from the ad I created to sell the guitar.

Don't confuse this with the similar-looking Aerodyne Strat being exported by Fender Japan.

This Japan-market model has a two-piece center-joined alder body with a curly maple cap, NOT a basswood body as found on the export version.

Its pickups are US-made DiMarzio Heavy Drive DCS-2's, NOT the generic Japanese pickups used on the exports. It has a lacquer topcoat, NOT polyurethane as found on the export version.

This is not an average Strat. This is a collector's item that begs to be played.

For the Player

The most apparent feature of the guitar is its unique finish. As you can see by the pictures, it's absolutely stunning and draws raves from everyone who sees it. This is not the bowling ball polyurethane finish that's 3 feet deep. That junk decreases the resonance of the body (aka sustain) -- take it from a former PRS owner. This is a lacquer finish which protects the wood without hiding the sound.

My favorite feature is the neck. It's the best I've ever played, period. The matte finish, the comfortable radius, the low action and the meaty frets give you that easy, fluid feel that guitarists long for. Even the fret dots are works of art, as you'll see in the photos.

The other thing you'll notice is the weight. It's much lighter than a standard Stratocaster and that's a very good thing. Firstly, the correlation between weight/density and sustain is a myth, pure and simple. Sustain is about the conservation of energy -- the energy that the string creates when vibrating. The less the instrument (and you) soak up while playing, the better the sustain. The chambered body both makes the instrument lighter and increases sustain. You don't need to trust my physics; just play it without it being plugged in and listen to it ring.

Cool factor: it's an attention getter from those in the know, especially. This is a real coup for the Strat collector. Firstly, the Aerodynes are already pretty rare -- this one even more so. In this baby, they took the best of the modern hardware and legendary Japanese craftsmanship and attention to detail and then went over the top. These are collectors items and status symbols in Japan for the upper classes. As a result, they weren't played much, they get snapped up pretty quickly and very, very rarely are they available outside Japan.

This is no closet/cabinet queen. It begs to be played and rewards you with amazing sustain and those DiMarzios really add a singing sweetness that standard Fender pups can't touch. It's comfortable as an old t-shirt and ready to rock right this very minute. And don't worry, there's plenty of 'quack' in all the right spots. There's absolutely no motion of the neck in the pocket and everything is nice and tight, straight and true. As I said, these guys really went over the top.

I bought this from GuitarGai who is a well-known and well-respected dealer of high quality instruments from Japan. Feel free to contact him on your own. He knows a great deal about these excellent instruments.

Numbers

• Make: Fender Stratocaster Aerodyne "Special"
• Manufactured: Japan
• Year: 2005/2006
• Fretboard Radius: 9.85" (250mm)
• Neck Material: Maple
• Neck Finish: Matte
• Nut: 42mm (1.65")
• Body Material: 2 piece, center-joined Alder. I believe that this body is chambered, but I'm not certain
• Frets: 22 medium jumbo (in great shape)
• Tremolo: String thru body diecast block S5D AST Vintage bridge
• Pickups: 3 DiMarzio Heavy Drive DCS-2's (these are very rare and hard to find information on)
• Case: Comes with very plush and protective gig bag (see pictures)
• Serial #: S056284
• From the Guitar Dater Project: "Your guitar was made at the Fuji-gen Plant (for Fender Japan), Japan in the Year(s): 2005 - 2006"

Flaws

• Tiny flaws on front finish (nearly invisible). Full details in pictures. I believe that with the right tools these could be buffed out, but I leave that to you. To my knowledge, they do not go through the finish to the wood.
• Small mark on headstock (very minor). Full details in pictures
• Small cracks in screw holes for back tremolo cover. Full details in pictures
• There is a scratch on the heel cover plate but it did not show up in the pictures. Since it's a solid peice with no markings on it, you may be able to buff it out, or worst case, have it re-chromed.

Visually this guitar is easily a 9 of 10. If you're very conservative, an 8.5. I took the pictures on these pages myself on 3/19/2012 and the only touch up I did was to crop and try and color correct the pictures of the case. No other modifications have been done and the bright lights on my workbench don't lie.

Modifications

Neither of these issues are visible looking at the guitar and do not affect its tone or performance. Both of these issues as well as the flaws mentioned above are reflected in the pricing of the instrument.

1. I attempted to install a Kinman pickup harness in the guitar to change to even hotter pickups. This required reaming out the holes for the volume and tone knobs. The holes in the Japanese models are smaller than US models. A replacement pick guard is around $30.00 and available on eBay.
2. While attempting to install the Kinman harness I needed to deepen the control cavity under the pickguard where the 5 position switch is. This was done carefully and are no deeper than the deepest part of the channel created for the 5 position switch. In other words, I widened the cavity where the 5 position switch was. Turns out you can't install the harness in this guitar due to the fact that it's too thin (though I have the harness and there are adapters available, if you're interested).

I debated on whether to take the guitar apart again to show #2, but I decided that I would give you the choice. Every time you take the neck out of the pocket it gets a little less tight and if it's not an issue for you, why take the risk. If it is an issue for you, I'd be happy to take it apart and send pictures. Just ask.

Quotes

From Telecasters.com

"June 16th, 2009, 06:09 PM Hi folks, This is what I know about the Fender Japan Aerodynes. Fender Japan produced a garden variety Aerodyne, in both Strat and Tele configurations, in solid colors. They have basswood bodies and vintage necks, meaning 185mm (7.25") radius and vintage (narrower) fretwire. I believe these guitars were marketed in N. America, and they're usually what you find used. I may have seen a short scale version of this guitar on the racks in Yokohama, but not sure. Fender Japan also produced (still produce) another version of the Aerodyne stratocaster called the Aerodyne Special. This is a gorgeous guitar produced and sold for domestic consumption in Japan. It has a bound body of 2-piece alder body capped with AAA curly maple top in 4 colors. The pickups are DiMarzio Heavy Drive DCS-2 (not listed in the US DiMarzio catalog). The neck is capped with rosewood, is much wider at the nut, and has a 250mm (9.84") radius with medium jumbo frets. The bridge is a diecast S5D. The Aerodyne Special was produced for about 1 year (2007?) in a SSS configuration. It was not available new last year. This year (2009) Fender Japan reissued it with similar specs except burst colors and a SSH configuration. I bought an Aerodyne Special Stratocaster in Japan 2 years ago (amber), and it is without a doubt one of the most resonant and delightful guitars I own and have ever played. BTW... I'm in Calgary too. I had a tremsetter installed a month ago and it is even more incredible now that it stays more in tune on deep bends. Anyway, hope that sheds some (hopefully correct) light on the Aerodynes from Fender Japan. BTW, a price for a new Aerodyne Special in the store in Japan ranges from about 92,000 to 105,000 yen depending on the store, plus 5% tax."

From Harmony Central

Features: Fender Japan's AERODYNE STRATOCASTER SPECIAL model is produced and sold for domestic consumption in Japan starting 2007. Differing from the Standard Aerodyne, the Aerodyne Special's body is radiused in 2-piece ALDER (not basswood) and is very resonant. It's capped with a n attractive CURLY MAPLE top in one of 4 transparent colours: Flame RED, Flame BLUE, Flame SHADOW (brown), or Flame AMBER, all with matching headstock. LACQUER finish. Cream top binding matches the knobs. String thru body diecast block S5D AST Vintage bridge. DI'MARZIO HEAVY DRIVE DCS-2 are newly designed single-coil high-gain pickups. THE NECK IS OUTSTANDING - WIDE 42mm(1.65")NUT with medium jumbo frets, a 250mm(9.85 inch)radius instead of the typical Fender vintage 185mm(7.25") radius on other standard Aerodynes, and 22 frets. I think it's a standard C profile. The 4-screw mounting plate is cut-away for easier access to higher frets. Standard Stratocaster controls and knobs with 5-switch. Excellent DELUXE Gig Bag is included, and the guitar comes wrapped gently in a massive flannel bag. This is an extremely exciting guitar to play, hear, and look at. Action, Fit, & Finish: I played a number of Aerodyne Specials at both Shimamura Music and Ishibashi Music in Yokohama over a couple of weeks. Some Aerodyne Specials I played didn't feel as nicely set-up as this one. FIVE minutes was all it took to decide on this Flame AMBER model. Ishibashi had it set up beautifully, and as you might expect from Fender Japan it was flawless in fit and finish - with a beautiful 2-piece alder back, gorgeous flame maple cap & matching headstock, and a sparkling lacquer finish - everything as it should be. I'm not a fan of gig bags, and usually replace Fender Japan gig bags with a hard case immediately, EXCEPT in the case of this deluxe gig bag. It's thick, plush, strong, and excellent. Inside the gig bag, the guitar comes wrapped in a large flannel cotton 'bag'. Nobody's seen anything like it over here. Sound Quality: I had this guitar in Japan for a few weeks unamped. The alder body is very resonant with great sustain - I was amazed at how well it sounded unplugged. I play a mix of blues & rock & what have you, usually through a Fender Blues Jr. with medium hot tubes. Amped, the guitar sounds bloody amazing. The DiMarzio pickups are hot, with rich clear lows & mids, balanced with articulate highs. My amp has never sounded better! The wider fretboard, bigger frets, and flatter radius feels different than any of the many Fenders I own and was just what I've been looking for - It's pure magic to listen to. Reliability/Durability: It's definitely gigable... seems very SOLID with excellent hardware. Only problem is that it's so gorgeous it might grow legs....