50th Anniversary · Limited Edition · Artist Signature Series
Monterey Stratocaster
Fender × Jimi Hendrix · 1967–2017
On June 18, 1967, Jimi Hendrix hand-painted a Stratocaster, walked onstage at the Monterey Pop Festival, and changed everything. Fifty years later, Fender brought that guitar back — exactly as Jimi left it, before the flames took it.
The Artwork
Painted in Nail Polish,
Born in the Afternoon
The story of the Monterey Strat’s artwork is as spontaneous as Hendrix himself. On the afternoon of June 18, 1967, hours before taking the stage at the Monterey International Pop Festival, Jimi hand-painted his Stratocaster using nail polish — layering swirling flowers, hearts, and abstract designs over a freshly applied white base coat, transforming a formerly red instrument into something entirely his own.
It wasn’t a commissioned piece or a carefully planned design session — it was Jimi’s instinct, his pre-show ritual, his way of marking the guitar as an offering. When he stepped out later that evening and announced he was going to “sacrifice something he loved,” the artwork was already an integral part of the ceremony.
Fender’s 50th Anniversary tribute reproduces this artwork in extraordinary detail, developed through meticulous examination of photographs and film footage from the performance. The flowing patterns — curling tendrils, celestial forms, and expressive brushwork — wrap across the body and pickguard in a hand-applied finish that mirrors the spirit of the original.
“We had our beautiful rock-blues-country-funky-freaky sound and I felt like we were turning the whole world on to this new thing — the best, most lovely new thing. So I decided to destroy my guitar at the end of a song as a sacrifice.”
— Jimi Hendrix, on the Monterey Pop Festival, June 18, 1967
The Instrument
Period-Correct
Down to Every Detail
Fender spec’d the Monterey Stratocaster with painstaking period-accuracy — not just in its visual tribute, but in the way it plays and feels. Released in 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of Hendrix’s Monterey performance, every appointment on this guitar references the era and the instrument that made it legendary.
The vintage-style 7.25″ radius neck and 21 vintage-sized frets recreate the feel of early-’60s Stratocasters — the kind of neck Jimi naturally gravitated to. Three vintage-style single-coil pickups deliver that bell-like, singing clarity, with a neck pickup that reviewers have described as unusually fat and open, and a bridge pickup that cuts with real authority.
The Legend
James Marshall
Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up largely self-taught on guitar, absorbing the blues, R&B, and rock of the American South before moving to New York in the early 1960s to work as a session and sideman musician. It was in London in 1966 — after being discovered by Chas Chandler of The Animals — that The Jimi Hendrix Experience was formed, and Jimi’s career ignited.
“After that show, the name Jimi Hendrix became synonymous with Fender Stratocaster. And one Strat became a legend of its own.”
By June 1967, the Experience had conquered the UK with “Hey Joe,” “Purple Haze,” and “The Wind Cries Mary,” but Hendrix had yet to break America. Monterey changed that in one set. His managers arranged a slot at what was billed as the music event of the year — and Jimi delivered a performance that remains one of the most extraordinary in rock history, capping it with the ritualistic burning of his hand-painted Stratocaster.
The guitar that survived that night — in photographs, in film footage, and in the memories of those who witnessed it — became one of the most iconic instruments in history. Hendrix went on to redefine what the electric guitar could do, with his revolutionary use of feedback, the whammy bar, studio effects, and pure visceral expression. He remains, more than five decades after his death, the standard against which all rock guitarists are measured.
The Monterey Strat was released by Fender in August 2017, exactly 50 years after the performance, in collaboration with Experience Hendrix LLC and Authentic Hendrix. Janie Hendrix, CEO of both organizations, called it an honour to celebrate “such an iconic musical moment.”
A Timeline of Fire
From Stage to Legend
The story of the Monterey Strat spans more than half a century — from a red Fender off the rack to one of the most iconic moments in 20th-century culture.
A Fender Stratocaster is manufactured with a small headstock and spaghetti-style logo — standard for the era. It spends years unnoticed before finding its way into Hendrix’s hands with a fiesta red finish and rosewood fingerboard.
Hours before his Monterey set, Jimi hand-paints the guitar over a white base using nail polish — flowers, swirls, and personal symbols — transforming it into a ritual offering. That evening he announces he’ll “sacrifice something I love.”
After a blistering performance of “Wild Thing,” Hendrix kneels before his painted Strat, douses it in lighter fluid, and sets it ablaze — one of the most electrifying moments in rock history, witnessed live and on film by a generation.
Fender’s Custom Shop releases a limited run of hand-painted Monterey tribute Stratocasters — each one individually painted by artist Pamelina H., numbered and signed, available only through Diamond Dealers. Street price exceeds triple the 2017 model.
Fender releases the Limited Edition Jimi Hendrix Monterey Stratocaster at Summer NAMM 2017 in Nashville — available for the remainder of that year only. Developed through study of Monterey footage and in cooperation with Experience Hendrix LLC and Authentic Hendrix.
The 2017 Monterey Strat is now out of production and increasingly sought by collectors. It remains one of the most faithful, accessible tributes to one of rock’s defining moments — a playable artifact of the Summer of Love.
Full Specifications
Built to Play
Body & Finish
- ShapeStratocaster Double Cutaway
- MaterialSolid Alder
- ColorOlympic White
- FinishGloss Polyurethane
- ArtworkCustom Monterey Pop Hand-Applied
- PickguardMatching Custom Artwork
Neck & Fretboard
- NeckMaple · “C” Shape
- Neck FinishGloss Polyurethane
- JointBolt-On · 4-Screw
- Scale25.5″
- FingerboardPau Ferro · 7.25″ Radius
- Frets21 · Vintage Style
- Nut Width1.650″ (42mm) Synthetic Bone
- HeadstockSmall · Spaghetti Logo
Electronics & Hardware
- Pickups3× Vintage-Style Single-Coil
- ConfigSSS · Passive
- ControlsVol · Tone 1 · Tone 2
- Switching5-Way Blade
- Bridge6-Saddle Vintage Sync Tremolo
- TunersVintage-Style Die-Cast
- Neck PlateEtched Jimi Hendrix Signature
- Back HeadstockHendrix Signature Decal
Own a Piece of History
The Guitar That
Changed Everything
Limited 2017 Production Run · Collector Market Price Will Vary
The Fender Jimi Hendrix Monterey Stratocaster is a limited-edition instrument now out of regular production — sought by collectors and players worldwide as one of rock’s most meaningful tributes.