The SRV Signature Stratocaster

First offered in 1992, the SRV Signature Strat is Fender's tribute to SRV and is a reproduction of "Number One", his favorite axe. These are the guitar's vital stats:
Body: Alder
Neck: Maple ("oval" shape)
Fingerboard: Pao Ferro rosewood (12in/305mm radius)
Scale Length: 25.5in (648mm)
No. of Frets: 21 (Dunlop 6105 Jumbo Frets)
Width at the Nut: 1.650in (42mm)
Machine Heads: Gold Plated Fender/Gotoh Vintage Tuning Machines
Pickups: 3 Texas Special Single Coil
Pickup Switch: 5-position blade
Controls: Master Volume, Tone (Neck), Tone (Middle)
Pickguard: 3-Ply Black (B/W/B)
Bridge: Gold-plated Left-Handed "Original" Vintage Tremelo
Strings: Fender Super 250R Nickel-Plated Steel (.010 to .046)

The SRV Signature Strat features gold-plated hardware and a "SRV"-engraved pickguard. The Texas Special pickups were developed specifically for the SRV Signature Strat and are "hotter" (have higher output) than most current Fender pickups. The wood of the body and neck and the bridge unit are supposedly identical to those in Number One. Also, the neck is both larger and more curved than most Fender necks. Most guitar players agree that the SRV Signature Strat comes quite close to reproducing the feel and tone of Number One.

However, there are a few differences between Number One and the SRV Signature. The Pao Ferro wood of the fingerboard is not the type of wood that was used in Number One - Fender chose Pao Ferro because that was what was available when designing the guitar. The frets are also not as large as those on Number One - most people believe Number One carried Dunlop 6100 frets, not 6150s. And the SRV Strat is modeled after the "pre-CBS" Stratocasters, which have fewer screw holes in the pickguard than later models do. This may make finding a replacement pickguard difficult if one wishes to preserve the original with the "SRV" engraving. The strings that ship with the SRV Strat are rather small (.010's) when you consider that big strings were an essential ingredient of Stevie'sound. You may want to replace them with bigger strings, which may mean making adjustments to the nut.