I'd like to buy a new Stratocaster but I'm a little picky
I'd like to get one with maple neck where then neck is a little darker then regular and has a lot of wood pattern in it
It's difficult to pick one in a local dealers shop because they have only a few in stock and not much to chose from
and online retailer don't offer such an option

the best option would be to go to corona and pick one from the assembly line
I don't think that this is possible

can anyone suggest a good place to shop around

thx

Hmm....not sure if going to Corona is an option but one thing you might consider is buying an aftermarket neck from Warmoth. Even if you could, I'm not sure you'd find what you're looking for. With Warmoth, you'd have the option of getting a vintage tint neck, flame or birdseye maple, in addition to being able to choose neck shape, fret size, etc. I've had great luck with their products and the is top notch.

You could then scour eBay for a "loaded strat body" if you wanted an all Fender body, pickups, and hardware or just build the rest from spare parts if you wanted to go that route.

I know it bothers a lot of people not to have a headstock decal but there are options for that (albeit it means you'd have to buy a counterfeit one). I'm not advocating it by any means but quality waterslide decals can be found on-line with some poking around.

Check Sweetwater's online site. They have multiple photos of each guitar they have in stock, by serial number. That's one way to pick out a specific guitar even if you're buying online...

A while back someone posted a recipe of a formula that was specifically for darkening the neck,I think it involved shoe polish and some other readily available materials but there was a certain method used to apply it. You may find it by looking through older posts,it was within the past 2 or 3 months.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

The following link may have some info but seems more geared towards a relic job rather than just a darkening... anyhow, there's some other cool info and pics as well. Enjoy.

http://www.relicdeluxe.com/neck_maple_rosewood_frets.asp

Thanks for all your posts
I have a 2008 and the neck is so unique that I have not seen one like that
It's a little darker then the other 2008s and I can see the wood grain and patterns

I'd like to get one just like that but candy cola
so far no luck