H.E.R. made a surprise appearance during Usher’s Super Bowl LVIII halftime show last night with a new Deep Chrome Red variant of her signature Fender Stratocaster, and I want it. The Deep Chrome Red one looks to have all the same appointments as the retail version – including a trio of Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups – but it’s not super clear.
“Sometimes we get asked do things last minute,” said Fender‘s Brian Thrasher on Instagram about the guitar. Our team pulled it off with another Super Bowl guitar. H.E.R. Custom Chrome Red finish Stratocaster.”
Of course the comments then go on to talk about how H.E.R. “wasn’t really playing,” which no shit – nobody ever plays these televised events live. But the audio was recorded live during a recent rehearsal, and anyone that doesn’t think H.E.R. can shred everything she mimed during the show needs to have their brain checked.
The usual retail version of the H.E.R. Stratocaster offers an Alder body in either a Chrome Glow or Blue Marlin finish, matching headstock, and a 1-piece Maple neck with mid-’60s “C” shape, 9.5″ Radius, 21 vintage-tall frets. You can get those here for $1,349.99 each. You can also watch the Halftime show here, which the NFL has so kindly not allowed to be embedded and streamed anywhere else.
