Daphne she is unassuming guitar and showing some road wear. Where Royal is shiny and new looking with only some finish checking here and there – Daphne in her Daphne Blue finish has been aged by MJT. She shows wisdom and experience. That beauty that comes with age.

I decided to finish out the look with Daphne by adding a Mr G.508 Stratocaster Neck that I had removed the Fender sticker from.

For the internals I had a set of Fender Vintera '60s Vintage Stratocaster Pickups that I built out a modern wiring harness for.

In my opinion the Fender Vintera and Vintera II lines of pickups are the undiscovered country when it comes to value for what you pay. Basically, you can pick up any of the lines of the Vintera or Vintera II pickups new for less than $150 and they go for even less for used sets.

Daphne was an easy assembly right from the start (another colorful expression). Everything just went together without effort.


I followed the wiring diagram that came with the pickups from Fender. Yes, the instructions were the size of the comics you used to find inside a piece of bazooka bubble gum, but I was able to replicate them easy enough regardless.

She tuned up and was easy to intonate. It is a special moment for me the first time I hear a guitar play through the bench top amp I have in my shop. Sort of like hearing a baby cry the first time after birth.

When plugged into the amp Daphne is warm and inviting and when plugged into a distortion pedal has a bite that is nothing but rock and roll.

I enjoyed putting Royal and Daphne together very much and also being able to hear their first notes played through the amp.