Over three years in development and design by partners Gered Mankowitz and David Costa, the `Hear My Message' Portrait Edition guitar is a customised '69 Stratocaster NOS in Vintage White, painstakingly overprinted with a hand silk-screened, cobalt blue and black two-colour image, oversprayed and refinished to the most exacting of standards as would be expected of such a high-quality instrument. The screened image extends over the edges of the guitar, is repeated to match on the pickguard and the whole is secured by an expertly applied overspray of tough polyester. In Hendrix's own handwriting the words `Hear my message' appear above the pickguard on the upper bout, bass side. The reverse of the instrument features a chromed backplate, engraved with a repeated image of Hendrix and numbered individually.

The guitar is presented in a numbered edition necessarily limited to only 375 instruments world wide.

Designed with the full co-operation of Authentic Hendrix, each instrument is presented with a certificate of authenticity in appropriate plush-lined hardshell case as supplied by Fender. Our selection of the '69 NOS Strat as the most desirable carrier for this unique treatment reflects our concern for integrity. As a collector's piece this is a highly regarded instrument in its own right; nevertheless it's still essentially a player's guitar and very much intended to be so. The '69 Stratocaster NOS (New Old Stock) is generally referred to as the `Woodstock' model, and is one of the great family of reproductions turned out by The Fender Custom Shop in Corona, California. These are constructed to the highest standards and exacting specifications to match the originals - in this case the '69 Strat, with its distinctive larger headstock, has a finest grade maple fingerboard on a maple neck, with original spec pickups and optional 5-way switching. Alongside its intrinsic value as a unique collector's edition featuring one of the most coveted images from the Gered Mankowitz Archive, the `Hear My Message' Portrait Edition Stratocaster is a guitar to be played hard and enjoyed.

The "Hear My Message" guitar is available now in limited quantities directly from IconGuitars. Visit them online today at http://www.icon-guitars.co.uk.

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