Fender Custom Shop Flametop Stratocaster Masterbuilt by Kyle McMillin - Stained Blue Burst

Modernized, Masterbuilt, and Complete with a Chilling Finish

The Fender Custom Shop’s Masterbuilt program equips the company’s most experienced and adventurous luthiers with the knowledge base and tools to realize their wildest 6-string inspirations, with each instrument crafted from start to finish by a single Master Builder. Kyle McMillin’s Masterbuilt Flametop Stratocaster epitomizes that philosophy, brandishing a positively glacial Stained Blue Burst finish across its flame maple top and traditional alder foundation. The oil-finished neck proves just as adventurous with a roasted flame maple shaft in a Modern C profile, a comfortably contoured heel, 22 jumbo stainless steel frets, and a compound 10–14-inch-radius African blackwood fingerboard — the latter spec is a favorite of Kyle’s for its tendency to strike right in the sweet spot between ebony and rosewood. Under the hood, you get a trio of Josefina hand-wound ’60s Strat pickups that can trace their legacy right back to Fender’s golden era, supplying you with chiming highs, round lows, and a signature sizzle. A high-class set of hardware seals the deal, including an RSV Stratocaster bridge to give you a bit of extra space and ultra-high-performance Gotoh SG381 tuning machines.

 

Hand-wound Josefina '60s pickups

Abigail Ybarra is widely regarded as the most accomplished pickup winder in Fender's illustrious history. Throughout the course of her impressive half-century-long tenure, she presided over many of the most iconic electric guitar tones in music. Before she retired from Fender, she taught everything she knew to her personal apprentice, Josefina Campos. The resulting alliance retains the incredible legacy of Fender’s golden-age tones in this Masterbuilt Flametop Stratocaster's Josefina hand-wound ’60s Stratocaster pickups. This trio of single-coils delivers a purely vintage tonal experience, capturing the same bell-like highs, round bottom end, and captivating clarity that you’d find on a genuine 1960s Stratocaster.

 

 

 

A masterful instrument

As much as we adore the Fender Custom Shop’s purely vintage recreations, it’s equally exciting when a more modernized instrument like this Masterbuilt Flametop Stratocaster comes through the Sweetwater Guitar Gallery. This instrument represents the pinnacle of 6-string performance, starting with the roasted flame maple neck’s Modern C profile — a longtime favorite shape of Kyle’s. Complete with a heel contour and finished with oil for a smoother, slicker feel on your hands, this slim profile affords effortless navigation of the African blackwood fingerboard’s 10–14-inch compound-radius. Furthermore, this Masterbuilt Flametop Stratocaster packs 22 stainless steel jumbo frets that ensure nearly friction-free bends anywhere on the fingerboard, along with a heavy-duty composition that’s far more resistant to wear than standard nickel-silver frets.

 

Meet the Master Builder: Fender Custom Shop’s Kyle McMillin

Master Builder Kyle McMillin brings more than two decades of instrument-building experience expertise to the Fender Custom Shop. Kyle’s journey with Fender began in 2003; he subsequently worked his way up from the standard production line as a sander, buffer, and assembler before entering the Custom Shop program a few short years later in 2007. Kyle then honed his craft by working on over 1,000 guitars with Yuriy Shishkov, the Fender Custom Shop's esteemed Principal Master Builder and one of the most skilled luthiers on the planet.

 

 

Fender Custom Shop Masterbuilt Flametop Stratocaster Features:

Built from start to finish by the Fender Custom Shop’s Master Builder Kyle McMillin, a 20-year Fender employee and a 6-year veteran of the Custom Shop’s Master Builder program

Traditional alder body complete with a flame maple top that’s highlighted by a dazzling Stained Blue Burst finish

Oil-finished roasted flame maple neck in a fast and slim Modern C profile, along with a comfortable contoured neck heel for superior upper-fret access

10–14-in. compound-radius African blackwood fingerboard combines the best bits of ebony and rosewood for an elegant appearance and a smooth feel on your fingers

Eye-catching abalone dot inlays matched with abalone side dot markers; charming 3-ply pearloid pickguard

22 jumbo stainless steel frets are highly resistant to wear and form a perfect foundation for wide, expressive bends

RSD Stratocaster bridge sports a narrower string spacing to give you more room for vibrato maneuvers

A trio of Josefina hand-wound '60s single-coils expertly replicates the chiming highs, round lows, and exceptional articulation of a true 1960s Stratocaster

Top-class Gotoh SG381 tuning machines offer supremely smooth action and rock-solid stability

Specification Detail

Model Masterbuilt Flametop Stratocaster

Number of Strings 6

Left-/Right-handed Right-handed

Body Type Solidbody

Body Shape Stratocaster

Body Material Alder

Top Material Flame Maple

Color Stained Blue Burst

Body Finish Gloss Urethane

Neck Material Roasted Flame Maple

Neck Shape Modern C

Neck Joint Bolt-on

Radius 10"-14" Compound

Fingerboard Material African Blackwood

Fingerboard Inlay Dots

Number of Frets 22

Fret Type Jumbo

Fret Material Stainless Steel

Scale Length 25.5"

Nut Width 1.650"

Nut Material Bone

Bridge/Tailpiece Vintage Tremolo

Tuners Gotoh SG381 tuners

Neck Pickup Fender Handwound Josefina Strat Single-coil

Middle Pickup Fender Handwound Josefina Strat Single-coil

Bridge Pickup Fender Handwound Josefina Strat Single-coil

Controls 1 x volume, 2 x tone

Switching 5-way toggle pickup switch

Strings .010-.046

Case/Gig Bag Hardshell Case