“Available for the first time ever”: Fender launches the Tom DeLonge ‘Padre’ Strat – reviving a super-rare prototype that predates the original TD signature Stratocaster

Fender has officially announced a new ‘Padre’ version of Tom DeLonge’s sought-after signature Strat years after the elusive original was first built.

It continues Fender’s current theme of blink-182 revival electric guitars, having brought back DeLonge’s ultra-minimalist signature Strat last summer.

Now the collaborative partnership has gone one step further to bring back the Padre, which predates the OG TD Strat. As the story goes, Fender’s Custom Shop had built the pop-punk icon several prototypes before his signature guitar proper, and among them was an especially eye-catching brown and orange model.

Now, that elusive Padre variant, arguably the most iconic of those prototypes, is getting a limited-edition run “for the first time ever”. Only 300 will be made exclusively for DeLonge’s To The Stars enterprise.

Yours for $1,749.99 – if you’re quick enough – it features a ’69 Strat neck with a modern C-profile for a nifty blend of old and new.

Its 9.5” radius rosewood fingerboard has 21 medium jumbo frets, with other appointments coming in the form of Fender deluxe locking tuners and locking strap buttons to keep guitar straps secure.

The guitar pairs a black Seymour Duncan JB humbucker in the bridge with a single volume control for no-nonsense electronics and “all the tones you need”.

Each of the 300 guitars boasts stamped and serialized neck plates. They all come with a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity, and a hardshell guitar case inspired by the orange-clad beauty that carries DeLonge’s six-string from show to show.

DeLonge’s signature Strat got a (nearly) all-black makeover late last year, while the Indonesian-made version of his Starcaster, which broke cover in April, represents one of 2024’s most anticipated releases.

The bar has been set high for the Padre, after DeLonge’s standard Strat was described as a “powerful, straightforward tool for pounding away on heavily distorted power chords” in GW’s comprehensive review of the axe.

The Fender TSS Padre Stratocaster is available to pre-order now and costs $1,749.99.