Fender HM Stratocaster Rosewood Fingerboard Limited-Edition Electric Guitar Ice Blue

The Fender Limited-Edition HM Strat has returned to Guitar Center, decades after the original first made it to America. Originally released in 1988 by Fender Japan, the new HM Strat shares the same body style, headstock and Day-Glo colors but adds updated, high-gain pickups and a Floyd Rose tremolo. The distinctive headstock logo is also a blast-from-the-past. This double-cutaway solidbody is ideal for technical players who want a high-performance, HSS-configured Strat with a bold look that can’t be ignored.

HM Strat Main Features

Basswood body finished in gloss urethane
25.1" scale maple neck with thin C-shape profile, 17" radius rosewood fretboard
Custom HM humbucker (bridge) and 2 custom HM single-coils (neck and middle), 5-position switch, coil-split
Floyd Rose Special double-locking tremolo system, Gotoh cast/sealed tuners

HM Strat Tonewoods, Fit and Finish

Fender chose basswood for the body, a wood that is readily available in Japan, where the new HM Strat is made. Basswood is warm, resonant and lightweight with a balanced tone. Finished in gloss urethane, the Fender HM Strat looks like it came straight off the assembly line in 1988.

HM Strat Neck Construction

The maple neck has a thin C-shape with a satin finish for speed. The rosewood fretboard has a 17" radius—flatter than most Strats—which makes it easy to maintain a lower playing action. The HM Stat sports a unique 25.1" scale length—this shorter scale equals less tension, so it will take less effort to fret and bend strings over the jumbo frets. Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of the HM is the single-word "Strat" logo on the black headstock. Like it or love it—there's no in between for players who wield this guitar.

HM Strat Electronics

Fender put in the time to make sure the HM pickups matched up to the originals. The HM has an HSS pickup configuration, with a high-gain humbucker in the bridge and two single-coils in the middle and neck positions. The humbucker has a coil-split for tonal variation. The single coils maintain the classic Stratocaster sound, but are overwound for a louder, more in-your-face output.

HM Strat Hardware

The HM ditches the standard 6-screw Strat tremolo bridge for a Floyd Rose Special. With the Floyd Rose, the strings lock at the nut and the bridge for rock-solid tuning, even for the wildest whammy bar enthusiast. The Deluxe Gotoh cast/sealed tuners are black, matching the rest of the HM’s hardware.

The Fender Limited-Edition HM Strat comes with a deluxe gig bag.