The Ultimate Convergence of Craft: The Fender Custom Shop Violinmaster

Fender Custom Shop guitars are considered the holy grail of high-end instruments, largely due to their rarity and the unique inspiration behind each build. A major part of their appeal comes from the involvement of world-renowned master builders who craft these exceptional projects.

But why are they in such high demand, and why are people willing to pay a premium for these musical gems?

The answer lies in the fine detailing, the premium materials, and the exclusive concept behind each piece. Because these guitars are produced in very limited quantities, they remain incredibly rare. The meticulous craftsmanship required to bring these perfect beauties to life takes an immense amount of time. Consequently, buying one is no simple task, and enthusiasts often wait in line for years just to get their hands on one.

Today, we will dive into a special master build that guitarists and collectors are going mad about:

The Fender Custom Shop Violinmaster Telecaster Relic

The Violinmaster is brought to life by Fender Custom Shop Principal Master Builder Yuriy Shishkov. The inspiration behind this incredible instrument was master violinist Joshua Bell and his 1713 'Gibson ex-Huberman' Stradivarius violin. Bell is a phenomenal musician who has performed with every major orchestra across six continents, and has served as the Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields since 2011.

The historic Huberman Stradivarius is far more than just a violin. It represents over 300 years of history. Crafted by Antonio Stradivarius in Cremona, Italy, in 1713, this masterpiece was once owned by the English violinist George Alfred Gibson. It eventually found its way to the child virtuoso Bronislaw Huberman, a prominent Jewish-Polish musician, before finally coming into Bell's possession in London in 2001.

The High Stakes of Ownership

With these instruments commanding multi-million-dollar price tags at auctions, they have naturally become targets for daring, high-profile thefts. This intense obsession has driven people to extreme measures, leaving a few dark stains on the timeline of musical history.

• The Gibson Stradivarius: This legendary instrument was actually stolen twice. The second incident occurred in 1936, when it disappeared from virtuoso Bronislaw Huberman's dressing room at Carnegie Hall. The culprit, a journeyman musician named Julian Altman, kept and performed on the violin for five decades, only revealing the truth to his wife on his deathbed in 1985.

Recreating a Masterpiece

Following deep research into the history and design of the Huberman Stradivarius, Shishkov dedicated himself to recreating this highly coveted instrument as a guitar. To achieve this, he used the exact same rare Italian "Stradivari" spruce that has given these legendary violins their world-famous reputation for centuries.

Craftsmanship

This enduring fascination boils down to pure craftsmanship. Stradivari revolutionized violin geometry by lengthening the body and flattening the arch, creating a more powerful, projecting voice capable of filling massive concert halls. Utilizing aged spruce and maple wood, along with a secretive, proprietary varnish, his instruments unlocked a flawless balance of resonance and clarity that remains the gold standard for global performers.

Out of the Storm: The Fiemme Valley Timber

The journey behind this limited-edition tribute series actually started miles away from the Fender Custom Shop, set in motion by a fierce natural disaster. In November 2018, a devastating storm swept through the Northern Italian Alps, downing thousands of ancient spruce trees in the Fiemme Valley - a place celebrated as the "Stradivarius Forest" because of its historically resonant timber.

Through a remarkable stroke of luck, a portion of this strictly regulated, precious wood was acquired by Fender. The chance to craft guitars from the exact alpine spruce Stradivari used for his own masterpieces gave the entire project a powerful sense of destiny.

Touching History

The project arrived at its most emotional milestone in 2020, when the Master Builder received rare, personal access to Joshua Bell to study the Huberman Stradivarius in person. Getting to inspect the iconic instrument up close proved to be a life-changing experience - a moment where decades of building expertise, historical knowledge, and deep artistic passion came together.

The encounter presented an incredible creative challenge alongside a heavy responsibility: delivering a modern tribute guitar that could truly honor the monumental legacy of Antonio Stradivari.

Anatomy of the Violinmaster: Where Guitar Meets Violin

To truly capture the soul of the 1713 Stradivarius, Yuriy Shishkov completely broke away from traditional solidbody guitar construction. The Violinmaster is built with a hollow flame maple body, utilizing a hollow-carved archtop and back construction. Shishkov intricately incorporated proportionally scaled copies of the Huberman Stradivarius violin "F" holes, traditional violin purfling, and even an internal soundpost - an acoustic element essential to a violin's resonance but practically unheard of in electric guitars.

The neck is sculpted from premium Bosnian flame maple and features an oval 'C'-shaped profile. It includes a headstock truss rod adjustment with no skunk stripe, and a newly designed round-laminated ebony fingerboard boasting a 9.5-radius and 22 medium jumbo frets. Both the body and neck are treated with a hand-polished European violin varnish finish, allowing the premium tonewoods to breathe and resonate naturally.

A Masterclass in Hybrid Electronics

Sonically, the Violinmaster bridges the gap between traditional electric bite and pure acoustic air. It is armed with a pair of TV Jones Thunder'Blade humbuckers alongside a trio of passive piezo pickups, offering an incredibly wide range of tonal options.

The control layout is intuitive yet versatile, featuring a trio of knobs and a three-way blade switch. The dual volume controls allow independent blending of the humbuckers and the piezos, which are paired alongside a master tone knob.

Exquisite Appointments

The attention to detail extends to the hardware choices. The guitar features a Fender patent-pending floating bridge that comes with four interchangeable saddles carved from diverse materials: bronze, ocean coral, buffalo horn, and ebony. Each material subtly shifts the instrument's attack and frequency response.

Fender showcases this hardware with brilliant showmanship: these interchangeable saddles are presented in a miniature, custom-made "violin case" crafted from leftover pieces of the guitar body's core flame maple.

The guitar is rounded out with a custom ebony and brass tailpiece, sleek black tuning machines with ebony buttons, and a graphite nut fitted with a disc string tree. The result is an instrument that doesn't just play well, it stands as a piece of museum-grade living history.

To learn more about our custom collection of rare guitars, please call +971 (4) 2693359 or email us at info@thomsun.ae.

Ranen is a Thomsun Music writer and multi-instrumentalist with over 20 years in the industry. Currently playing with the band Radicchio, he holds DipLCM and ALCM diplomas in performance. He blends two decades of recording and stage experience to give gear reviews the technical depth they require.