This Might Be the Coolest New Strat | 2020 Fender Kenny Wayne Shepherd Signature Stratocaster Review

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🐕 Episode Guide:
0:00 - Intro - Check Links in the Description
0:13 - Kenny Wayne Shepard Intro
1:01 - First Impressions
4:06 - Inside Look / Specs
10:55 - Tone Demo
17:26 - Final Thoughts
📚 Description: Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Fender produced quite the cool signature stratocaster. It is blue... made of ash... has a cool neck with block and split parallelogram inlays... and is chambered!
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How do You CHAMBER a Strat?!? | 2020 Fender Kenny Wayne Shepherd Signature Stratocaster Review Demo
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[@Trog]

I love the look of this guitar but the tones weren't quite there for me. I'd recommend it though because you have options to mod it! 📚My Demo Unit is For Sale on My Website: troglysguitarshow.com/shop-2/ 🔴Shop for KWS on Reverb: reverb.com/item/38989450?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly 🔵Find one on eBay: ebay.us/RC24hs

[@hkguitar1984]

IMO the KWS Signature guitars really do reflect his tastes. One of the coolest signatures I've seen is the KWS Martin JC-16, it has a blue top with silver and blue azure tear drop inlays on the Ebony fingerboard to reference his song Black and Blue. It is no surprise this newest signature of his is a great looking guitar. Great review, the chambering is pretty cool for an Ash body Stratocaster. I agree with you, the 12th fret inlays are great looking.

[@DeathSong]

Stuff it with toilet paper and let us know if it sounds any different!! LOL

[@jamesrasmussen1235]

Guitar's are like Harleys they must be modded

[@jamesrasmussen1235]

Saw Kenny open for Ted Nugent and ZZTop 2003 he was on Fire , much better than Ted [who I gave up on after the scream dream album. ZzTop always a good time.

[@davidhaolai]

whod mod a 2k usd guitar?

[@Cerberus4982]

Fender doesn’t do enough finishes that are translucent. Beautiful

[@johnalbasini5875]

Saw KWS a few years ago on a Hendrix tribute tour. Eric Johnson, Zakk Wylde and a host of great players on the bill. KWS was the most effortless guitar player I have ever seen. Music just flows out of that guy. And the tone....

[@duanewelsh5611]

Yes when I saw experience Hendrix show KWS killed it. Was my fav among a lot of great players!

[@feliperamirez4308]

One nice feature you missed is that you got one tone knob for the neck pickup and another for the bridge, which I always thought would be a better layout.

[@AndyDion]

The way they all should be imo

[@Djarra]

Best way to wire them is to have have the neck and bridge on one tine and the middle on the other so you can contrast the tone for the out of phase settings.

[@roentgen571]

Dude, that sonic blue matching headstock, plus the blocks and binding? Holy poop, I will be on the lookout for one of these.

[@kirabarsmith9353]

I don't know Kenny's music, but he certainly knows how to design a Strat, that's one of the coolest I've seen.

[@elijacub99]

You know Kenny’s music but you don’t know Kenny. Blue on black

[@elijacub99]

Just realized Austin said that in the video sorry scroll along.........

[@theburn966]

Dude Kenny Wayne shepherd is an amazing guitarists

[@kirabarsmith9353]

@@theburn966 I'll check his music out, thanks!

[@jamesbutterson5218]

Check out his earlier stuff a lot of SRV in there ☝️💚☕👌💨

[@randallabracadabra]

Just a heads up, you shouldn't bend the capacitor leads like that, because if done more than once, it starts to ruin the structural integrity of the metal.

[@ScottHz]

Yeah, I cringed when I saw that ;)

[@Forest_Fifer]

@@ScottHz me too. Was waiting for it to fall off.

[@matthewthurmond1991]

Hef****** knows what he's doing dude f*** off

[@matthewthurmond1991]

Jk (;

[@imender9219]

@@matthewthurmond1991 Why did you censor yourself lmao

[@hammer5475]

I opened for KWS on the blue on black tour, he had the long blond hair back then. I was really blown away, he was at the top of his game and his tone was killer.

[@duanewelsh5611]

You are right 1st time I saw him I think he was about 19 and he killed it. Seen him 3 other times since but the 1st was best.

[@dirkvanstralen2]

Right on! It’s cool you opened for him! Years ago my band and I almost got to open for him but our singer wasn’t available. Bummer! Anyhow, ya Kenny is a killer guitarist and this guitar rocks for sure!

[@matthewf1979]

That capacitor read 104 1KV, which is a ceramic 1000v 0.1uf . The finish usually sticks to the pickguard and trem plate at the screws, which is what was going on on the back. I wish Fender would just leave the trem cover off on nitro finished guitars. Nobody leaves those things on.

[@hkguitar1984]

As for the finish around the screw holes, yeah, common with modern lacquer finished Fenders.

[@visje1996]

I have always put my back cavity cover on after I have had it off

[@Bovineicide]

Man, I wanna see some of these features trickle down to Mexican guitars

[@DanDjurdjevicplus]

It’s a great guitar but I can’t help but feel it has a “Liberace meets funeral parlor” vibe in terms of its appearance...

[@neilpatrickhairless]

NICE

[@David-vd7lv]

Thank you, I'm on board for fender Friday. A sustain test, and unplugged would be nice!

[@porforyticbasalt]

what do you think of the spellcaster bass that one company is making?

[@clarkbabin9799]

Kenny Wayne Sheppard has a bluesy rock style that works well with his guitar. He's had other great songs but Blue on Black was just one that caught the airwaves on fire.

[@ericlewis9638]

How do you adjust that truss rod without tearing into the guitar that looks like a huge Phillips head with only three of the slots available

[@jimmyjames2022]

Had to go listen to some KWS (Voodoo Child Live, Blue on Black Live) and wow, an awesome blues guitarist! Deserves a Signature Strat!

[@keithrevst692]

Trogly are you going to do a 75 anniversary strat and tele mim? I ordered both from sweetwater but they wont be in till July

[@hatuliko2009]

Hi there! Have you had the Eric Johnson thinline strat? I guess it's the same kind of chambering.. Interesting! Thanks for the vid!

[@nizodizo9549]

Do you like Stratocaster guitars? Then boy do I have one for You.

[@jeffleecust]

That neck and fretboard is so beautiful

[@clarkbabin9799]

To me that stuff around the screw holes looks like dust that didn't get cleaned from drilling before putting the plates on. I forget what it cost you to get your custom strat. If you can please tell me.

[@junes2k]

Love Kenny Wayne! I've seen him so many times. His version of Voo Doo Chile is unreal. This guitar sounds great!

[@opensourceq]

whats with the pearloid on the bridge where the trem bar attaches

[@lueymeteora1410]

Can you hear the difference with the chambering? As good as it looks, this is the most important thing : is the chambering good or bad?

[@dayvel2954]

you did'nt use the trem arm it came with,was there even a slot for it?

[@alexh3153]

I wonder if those body’s are made the same as the EJ semi hollows without an f hole

[@WattchomanBrandySavage]

I really dig the dressed up strat with bindings, block inlays + matching headstock.

[@iz2nyz]

I may be wrong but the trem bar socket looks like it's been plugged, why that?

[@AFopMostFoul]

Fender should start a production run with this chambered body called the HOLLOWCASTER ;p

[@Madchris8828]

Meanwhile my strat is almost 9 pounds 😆

[@jjulch]

Kenny started playing a Gibson Les Paul Custom in recent years, which inspired this guitar.

[@frankpaparo1097]

Really nice guitar all the right features, it 2100.00$ that’s crazy, there’s a ton of really top contenders in the Strat line that are a hell of a lot cheaper.

[@andresilva8444]

Strats don’t usually have neck dive issues because the strap button is in line with the 12th fret, i.e, bang in the middle of the guitar.

[@lawrencehamilton3786]

Wish you'd have shown more sounds with tonal variations in #'s 1, 2and 3 pickups

[@ryanmetzger2995]

I had a loaded Eric johnson pick guard that had that capacitor in it. It at least looked the same not sure if it was the same reading.

[@ericbgordon1575]

When does carving out semi-hollow cavities become chambering or the other way around? If they are interconnected, I can tell you that Fender has been doing this to one extent or another since 1969, even if they had never applied it to a Stratocaster.

[@bebop425]

Cool. Wish it didn't have his signature on the front, though. Seems a bit cheesy if you're playing shows...same goes for an SRV pick guard

[@thomasz4981]

You can see at 5:05 it's not a chambered guitar from the grain directions. Wonder why they didn't use kerfing.

[@jesseahnert793]

What's up with the tremolo? It came with a bar?

[@norm302]

Noticed the color marks on the backs of the pickups. Blue on the neck and red on the bridge (maybe silver in the middle). Reminds me of the Lace Sensor Blue, Silver Red pickup sets.

[@ScottHz]

11:05 - sounded like that tasty fill from Elvis Costello’s “Allison”! ;)

[@psp777]

I would love to see some Earnie Ball MM guitars reviewed. Like St Vincent HH - very unique. Fender and Gibson...yeah yeah...but some amazing instrument makers out there.

[@psp777]

@@mubodude very cool...the necks on those are something special!

[@SionynJones]

The capacitor is a class y capacitor you usually find them in power supplies to surprises EMI and RF emissions. They usually ceramic type and are specially designed that if they fail they fail safe open compared to other capacitors which short. This because they connected across the input lines of a power supply, and if the capacitor was to fail as a short a electrical shock likely would result.

[@duanewelsh5611]

Dang it still waiting on my KWS strat to come in. If you've never seen him live you should. He is a fantastic player.😎

[@KevinSmith-wb4ju]

Hey man, like that strat. Did see the wood grain when u had it on the bench,nice! I don't think u mentioned what the fretboard wood is, unless I missed it somehow?! Please do a '59 or '64 reissue of a es 355. With or w/out trem or varitone. Keep up the good work. Thanks!!!

[@TheGuitarGuy69]

This is my favorite YT channel hands down bro.

[@ryanlittleton5615]

I know they're not necessarily new models, but you think you could do an SRV Stratocaster and/or an Eric Clapton Stratocaster?

[@bongnp]

Not sure if it was mentioned in the 400 comments already but the blue marker on the neck pickup indicates alnico 2 magnets and the red marker on the bridge pickup indicates alnico 5.

[@Thejohnnylove69]

The chambering is almost the same as my Eric Johnson thinline strat minus the F-hole .

[@bluesrockguitaristmikesall2708]

Thanks Trogly, man did that Strat sound great with some distortion.But,please keep it away from Barney "The TyranaStratosauraus".

[@guitarz]

Why the signature on the front of the headstock??

[@josephdaniel911]

I think Fender and Squire are taking some bold steps in the last few years and it's actually pretty awesome to see one of the biggest names in the guitar world making some truly amazing products at all price points and simultaneously giving us all some of the most creative instruments in decades.

[@radicalgambino2959]

Could you review a boxer series telecaster please?

[@kennethholznagel3803]

Bought one as soon as they were released. My only wish is that it was 9.5”, or 12” radius fretboard like his previous model. I have all three of the color variations of MIM signature model with the 12” radius and they are much easier to play. Otherwise, an absolutely beautiful and perfect guitar.

[@jsauce311]

That's the only thing im hesitant about. Everything else with the specs and aesthetics is amazing

[@Dirge4july]

Nitro is a premium for fender? They used it on the usa highway 1 series. Which was a low priced usa model.

[@charlesbolton8471]

It is now. They don’t even use it on all of the US models anymore.

[@jsauce311]

Damn that neck position is way brighter than expected. Hopefully I can get my hand on one to play in person

[@knedy]

Looks like a fun guitar to mod! You could easily put a built-in pedal circuit in there to make it really freaky!

[@thedondeluxe6941]

Nice guitar! I think the Eric Johnson Strat had the same type of chambering, but with one f-hole.

[@maon7565]

Small capacitors are marked in picofarads ( 10^-12) the shorthand 104 actually means 10 with 4 zeros or 100,000 picofarads or 0.1 microfarads (10^-6). Kinda stupid, but small parts are tough to mark legibly. The other text means 1000v cap.

[@McShooty_]

Besides historical accuracy, is there any point to the truss rods that require you to take the neck off? I've seen that on a lot of signature models and don't get the appeal.

[@BryanSim]

One side (probably unintentional) benefit is that if the truss rod adjustment nut gets stripped, it's much easier to replace when it's at the heel end than the headstock end. At the heel, it's a matter of just extracting the stripped nut and replacing it with a new one. When it's at the headstock, because the truss rod is installed before the fretboard, you have to carve out a hole large enough to pull the truss rod nut out.

[@McShooty_]

I never thought about it this way. I always assumed if you had a stripped truss rod nut, you'd just get a new neck because Fenders are almost always bolt on. Thanks for the answer.

[@Trog]

Also for cosmetics making the headstock look cleaner

[@BryanSim]

@@McShooty_ It's certainly very rare! The only reason I know this is because I was considering getting a neck off of eBay that had a stripped truss rod, and found a video of someone repairing the same issue, and it was a huge PITA.

[@McShooty_]

That's also a very valid point. Personally when I think of the Stratocaster I think of CBS Strats from the 70s. I'm just used to seeing the truss rod cavity at the headstock vs the heel.

[@davegallagher7428]

Great review and demo! There’s nothing I don’t like about this guitar. I would imagine the pick ups would push a tube amp very nicely. Kudos on your playing Trogly!

[@andresilva8444]

What’s that thing soldered to the volume pot? Also, aren’t the saddles graphtech?

[@hkguitar1984]

Most likely a tone-bleed circuit.

[@andresilva8444]

@@hkguitar1984 that’s the only thing I can think it is but doesn’t look like it. Unless they over complicated it.

[@johncarpenter440]

Interesting guitar. I didn't like it when I first saw promotional pictures, but I think my mind is slowly changing. KWS plays (or at least did) through two Dumbles, disguised as Fenders, so I would imagine his clean tone is still absolutely massive even with pickups that seem on the thin side. He also has an array of stomp boxes like the KoT and the Klon, and that guitar seemed to really like the overdriven tones. Also, wonder if he lowers the middle pickup by quite a bit to get it out of the way of his playing style. Would explain why it is hotter than the other two pickups. It seems like a clever idea if that is what it is for. Perhaps less compromise on the 2 and 4 position. Maybe your buddy Robert Baker could try the same thing? Maybe this would be a good backup to his 60's Strat.

[@kc0lif]

i like it how they use inlays instead of dots.

[@romainr4275]

I actually seen him in concert like 2 years ago. Awesome Blues Rock session.

[@fatboysgarage7984]

I'm not a fan of single coil pickups, but when I seen the humbucker routing, I fell in love. Throw on some Hipshot tuners and I'd be drooling.

[@gregolson5089]

I have an HSS 50th anniversary strat....... love it, love it, love it....

[@SIXX2772]

A higher output middle pup is how to get that good tone in 2 and 4 position

[@wooferdevlin3571]

hello. for me, 2 and 4 position make it. my LP -ES had glossy, sticky neck, had it sanded and it plays great. he used 0000 steel wool. Ü ♫

[@DeesNerds]

One note is the saddles are Graphtech. Kenny has them on all of his guitars.

[@emptypromises2962]

I thought it sounded really nice. Guitars should be bright. 🙂👍🏻 I love everything about this one, except the small trem block. A full size trem block made of steel is essential for a strat, in my opinion.

[@kitoyobeni1]

I agree, but I dislike the truss rod adjustment location even more. I hate taking the neck off for an adjustment.

[@ChristopherDowning]

@@kitoyobeni1 Take the pickguard off, not the neck. Once set up it's not like it's a regular adjustment.

[@kitoyobeni1]

@@ChristopherDowning Not sure that works for all models? I'll have to check my Warmoth strat...

[@dumptodreamhome2630]

While being on stage with a half a dozen Other Greats I bet it helps him and his sound stand out.

[@mo8755]

Not much surprise, Warmoth did it a decade ago🤔

[@ajaycuadrado8081]

Gorgeous guitar! I know it’s a sig model, but damn over 2 grand with no locking tuners and only 21 frets. I hope they put those inlay option in their mod shop to make your own for around the same price or even a little less.

[@ashleyjohansson230]

This is the best strat ever, ive always wanted to see a strat that looks as beautiful as a gibson or a prs.

[@bacongl]

This is one of the only Strats I have liked. Love that trans white. Those inlays are killer. Also dig the binding. Sounds like it could be a good funk machine with all that twang.

[@johnhenfrey5936]

You love your signature guitars Austin thats for sure, having said that it is a lovely guitar. Seen Kenny Wayne Shepherd play live he is very good.

[@blackdog8822]

TROG , Why don't you play with the tone knobs on MOST of the guitars you demo? What a difference it makes when it comes to the "TONE" of the axe .

[@BarryPoogy]

It's awesome. $2200 at Sweetwater . I love the inlays and the binding. There is not much wood left inside. MOTS pickguard. Big frets . Nice bridge. I almost pulled the trigger on this before I finished your video. I honestly don't know what KWS sounds like . I will certainly check out some videos

[@BarryPoogy]

Just checked him out online- Live in Germany-- Holy Crap- that man can play!!!!

[@jiphoetmer6520]

Eric johnson has a cool run of hollowbody strats, amazing guitars

[@stonerjoe21]

I just discovered the Gibson Les Paul CS Long Scale. Trogly! Have you reviewed one of them yet???

[@Trog]

Not yet. They are cool though!

[@Soulsilver75]

Trogly, your playing has really been improving lately man! Great work!

[@honeyblunt5150]

I have always had a thing for Fenders with matching headstocks and block inlays. Especially the pastel type colors like surf green and daphne blue.

[@kirkwilson6229]

There are some pretty sweet Jazzmasters with that kind of fit and finish. It really does add something.

[@honeyblunt5150]

@@kirkwilson6229 That Black/Gold Telecaster Deluxe with 3 humbuckers and Bigsby tremolo was an awesome tribute to the Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty" I think it was the $2500 price tag that deterred a lot of people from buying one.

[@kirkwilson6229]

@@honeyblunt5150 That thing was filthy. Most guitars sporting that much gold don't pull it off like that. That new Kirk Douglas SG is another one of them.

[@onhallowedgrnd]

@@kirkwilson6229 really, really wish they'd offer more jazzmasters with blocks, binding, and a matching headstock, those limited edition anniversary ones are basc my dream guitar (that i got to make a reality)

[@ChristopherDowning]

Interesting you say 'it has some great lead tones' - I guess that's what Kenny designed it for - after all he's not a backing player in the band. So just the job for a band lead player? Very light wound bridge like a Tele sound, heavy middle, and glassy light wound neck - if you beef up the bridge then, of course, you mess up the 2nd position; the bridge + middle - so it's probably the right combination through experimenting. I suspect these are rather niche, so look out for some discounts if stores buy 3 or 4 of them then find sales slow.

[@ziggylayneable]

I always freak out when I see binding on the strat neck that looks beautiful

[@famachris]

My 97 Thinline has a thin back glued on after they hollow it all out. Maybe they did that here. Thus is an appealing model, though I'm not a fan of guitars with celebrity signatures on them. Would be far more desirable without it, or put it on the neck plate. I wonder if they can't put the truss rod at the top with glued on fret boards. It's an incredible pain to adjust them that old school way with trial and error.

[@sshole1]

Are these made in the USA?

[@rob_in_stowmarket_uk]

The cap appears to me to say ‘1kV’, but I’m no electronics expert. Sound produced seems very thin, although Nile Rodgers might find it appropriate. But, TBH, I’ve heard Strats at a quarter of the price with tones I much prefer, as well as one of mine loaded with ‘57 pickups.

[@TheBemontsOfficial]

Doesn't that Eric Johnson f-holed strat count as a chambered strat?

[@bazzer124]

Block inlays on a Strat look kinda goofy to me. Personally would have preferred dot inlays with that split p'gram on the 12th. Cheers...

[@Agar4Life]

That's a 100nF ceramic capacitor. Pretty big for a tone cap, it must roll off a lot. Funnily enough it's so big because it's rated for 1000 volts. Not sure why they use such massive caps, but it sure looks fun.

[@Somenite]

I really like the look of this guitar but there was no reason to chamber it and the pickups could sound better. Seeing this though makes me want a strat with neck binding and block inlays.

[@DSTheEngineer86]

6:18 it's a ceramic cap, first two digits are a value in picoFarads, last digit is exponent to the base of 10. Example: 104 = 10 x 10^4 pF = 100,000 pF = 100 nF = 0.1 uF. Pretty nostalgic cap value for a strat, very "dark" sounding when tone pot is rolled off...

[@DSTheEngineer86]

@@primeDecomposition Thanks, good to know! :)

[@waynecribb4922]

Beautiful guitar. Very bright. Would a humbucker make it better .. hmm? A bit pricey. It sounded the best distorted.

[@thorstenthorben196]

Regarding the capacitor readings: 104 means its 10 picoFarad with 4 zeros added so its 100.000 pF or 100 nanofarad or 0.1 microfarad. (Works for pretty much every cap.) Which is very high for my understanding, which means this tone pot is gonna cut the highs very agressively. (usual values are 22 or 47(50) nanofarad, which already is too high imo) 1kV obviously means its rated vor 1 kilovolt which is a: more than enough for a guitar and b: the reason why its so big. Also from the shape we can tell that this is a ceramic disc capacitor. Not entirely necessary but for an intricate review like you do, you could include these things. So right here we have something that looks rather special, but actually probably the cheapest cap they could find with an insane value.

[@yamahargxtt]

Lean manufacturing man.. Run outta parts and get some crap from the nearest radioshack

[@TheOKEFENOKI]

Many pre CBS Strats have 0,1 microfarad Capacitors. It's the vintage correct value.

[@khund03]

Very Cool Demo, due to budget cutbacks I don't keep track of new signature instruments anymore.... I would have thought KWS would have a signature model years ago.... \M/

[@charlesbolton8471]

He did have one several years ago that was in production for a few years.

[@sorrybusywinning]

Man my local retailer doesn't have any of these coming in until July otherwise I would own one already!

[@sagenessjosh7567]

pretty nice; i just got a les paul custom pellhem blue

[@markesquivelarvizu6942]

Those middle positions are sweet!

[@johngonzales8224]

I remember the picture of Kenny sitting on Stevie Ray Vaughn's Amp. Eric Johnson strat is semi hollow but with an F hole.

[@timwhite5562]

I really dig this guitar. I'd prefer it to not have the signature on the front and it was available in different colors. I'm not really into playing guitars that are obviously someone else's guitar. Don't get my wrong, my main Strat is an 08 Eric Johnson, but that just looks like an upgraded 57. I like the idea of chambering. I've repaired guitars for 20 years and have had just about everything on my bench or in my hands, including vintage Les Pauls and Strats. I've always felt that if you wanted something that could get you closer in tone and feel of a vintage LP, you're going have a better chance of getting there with a modern Standard than with a CS reissue. With vintage LPs there's a lively bounce to them that you're going to be able to get closer to with a chambered body. You want to keep in mind that chambered LPs tend to be a bit brighter than solid bodies, and the lighter the weight the brighter the tone. I'm not 100% as to why but if I had to venture a guess I'd say that with so much of the mahogany's mass being removed the maple top is playing a larger role in the sound. I always deck my tremolos which causes the body to make a much larger contribution to the tone than if you float it. Floating I don't think you'd notice as much difference with the chambered body. I find the really hot middle pickup to be an…interesting choice. I almost wonder if it was a mistake.

[@visje1996]

The block inlays and binding is something a lot more strats should have