The original Strat had three single coil pickups, so it was able to produce sounds that no other guitar could deliver, particularly once players discovered they could lodge the three-position blade switch in those "in-between" positions to access neck / middle and bridge / middle pickup combinations. These were often erroneously referred to as the "out-of-phase" settings. The Jeff Beck Strat comes standard with a modern five-way blade switch, making it easy to access all the pickup combinations. Three dual-coil ceramic Noiseless pickups deliver a searing Strat sound, but otherwise there are no special tone circuits since Jeff's fingers produce the outrageously diverse range of timbres, from crystal clear to smoking hot. And remember, Jeff believes that "guitar picks are for sissies." It's certainly hard to argue when you hear him play.
Leo Fender wasn't afraid to "think outside the box" when it came to guitar designs - after all, he was an engineer, not a guitar player. In the 1950s and well into the 1970s, the blond natural maple neck became almost synonymous with Fender guitars. The Jeff Beck Stratocaster comes with a one-piece maple neck and a slightly warmer-sounding rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and Jeff's personal favorite "C" shape, allowing you to really dig into the strings. In keeping with contemporary player preferences, the fast playing neck is finished in a smooth satin polyurethane.