ID This Neal Schon Fender Guitar

[OldStrummer]

I just watched the Santana IV video, recorded at the House of Blues in Las Vegas last year. It was a gas seeing and hearing the original band (Carlos, Greg Rolie, Michael Carabello, Michael Shrieve and Neal Schon!



(Sadly, this video is hampered by 75% of the frame junked up with stupid crap that does not enhance the scene at all.)

But I was struck by the guitar Neal Schon is playing (I'm sure everyone knows that Schon is also the lead guitar for Journey). Its headstock clearly reads "Fender," but it's black, like the fingerboard. I also note the odd layout of knobs and the quite obvious humbuckers. Knowing that Schon is heavily into customizing his guitars (the Bananas guitar shop in San Rafael, CA has one of his guitar in a glass case listed for $25,000), I have to believe this is a custom one-off made for him by Fender, or something else. Does anyone have any insight into this instrument?

[S. Cane]

As far as I could research, it's a custom 80's style superstrat that Fender made him, not a regularly produced model.

[OldStrummer]

As far as I could research, it's a custom 80's style superstrat that Fender made him, not a regularly produced model.

Thanks, Sérgio. That fits with my assumptions.

Quite a show. And Schon's no slouch guitar player, either.

[DonSimon]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I had been wondering about that guitar when I saw him perform with Journey last night! Was glad to find an answer after not having any luck searching elsewhere.

Thanks, Sérgio. That fits with my assumptions.

Quite a show. And Schon's no slouch guitar player, either.

[OldStrummer]

I wonder how many people know there's another side to Neal Schon?

(Back story: My late wife's favorite band was Journey, and we started dating in earnest when she learned that I attended a Journey concert in San Francisco).

Most people know Schon by his work as Santana's sideman (when he was all of 17 years of age) and as the guitarist for Journey. But he's had a wide and very successful career, and has released solo albums that cover a wide range of styles. I own a CD of his, "Beyond The Thunder," which was released on the Higher Octave label -- widely known as a new age label. If you didn't know it was Schon playing (co-produced by fellow Journey member Jonathan Cain), you'd just think, "Wow, that's some pretty sweet guitar playing!" This is "Call of the Wild" from the album. There are a number of different styles on the CD, but all of them reveal a different aspect of Schon's talent.

[Laker]

If you can get ahold of this 2016 issue of Guitar Player magazine there is an article that describes three Fender Custom Shop guitars that were built for him.