If you're in the market for a new Strat-style guitar that manages to capture the vibe of a great vintage Strat while simultaneously improving upon the design, look no further.

Why We Love This

The inspiration for this gorgeous Incal Silver NOS Retro came from an early 60's Strat we'd sold last year that was previously owned by John Mayer, and used by Alex Lifeson on a few Rush gigs. Yep, that'll leave an impression, so naturally we thought - why not ask Don Grosh and crew to recreate that guitar for us?

The resulting NOS Retro feels an awful lot like an early 60s Stratocaster - the flamed maple neck carve is very similar though the 10" radius and 1 11/16" nut width provides a slightly more modern playing experience. As always, the fretwork is some of the best, if not the best, in the business.

Played acoustically, this Ash-bodied guitar has a loud and snappy voice with tons of sustain and punch. Plugged in, it proves itself to be much more versatile than the classic Strat thanks in large part to the clever blend control and Don's own Fat 60s pickups (the bridge pickup sporting a base plate a la a Telecaster for fatter bridge position tones).

As we've said before, this could easily be the only Strat you need in your collection.