The Fender Tom DeLonge Stratocaster is a regular Stratocaster body with one humbucking pickup, one volume knob and a 1970s large headstock. It had a white or black Seymour Duncan SH-8 Invader in the bridge position (depending on the color of the guitar). At first, the Stratocasters were fitted with an American 2-Point tremolo system which was later replaced by a hardtail bridge. Its neck consisted of solid maple with a rosewood fretboard, although there have been some early custom Stratocasters that were fitted with maple fretboards. The necks included a large 1970s CBS headstock. The Custom Shop models made for Tom DeLonge himself had Sperzel locking tuners, but the regular production model (Made in Mexico) had stock Kluson-style tuners made by Ping. There also was a cheaper Squier version of this guitar. Instead of having a Seymour Duncan Invader pickup, it featured a Duncan Designed Detonator which is a cheaper version of the Invader. The Squier version also featured a standard white pick-guard, as opposed to the pearloid pick-guard found on the Fender version. It is the predecessor of the Gibson Tom DeLonge Signature ES-333. It has been rumored that he might re-continue his signature stratocaster because of various 2010 photos of Tom in the studio and with a Stratocaster and same colors as his signatures, but this has been since proven false.
Information[]
- Manufacturer: Fender
- Period:1999 — 2004
Construction
- Body type: Solid
- Neck joint: Bolt-on
Woods
- Body: Alder
- Neck: Maple
- Fretboard: Rosewood Fingerboard
Hardware
- Pickup(s): Seymour Duncan Invader Humbucker
Colors[]
- Graffiti Yellow (One with a maple fretboard and another with a rosewood fretboard. The rosewood one was a Made in Mexico production model given to Tom. The maple one was a Fender Sub Sonic that was converted to having a single humbucker and volume pot. The maple one also had a standard Fender headstock instead of the large 1970s "CBS" headstocks found on later customs. - Both sold in the delegacy sale.)
- Custom Shop Green (An early prototype with a 2-point tremolo bridge, it also originally had a hole in the pickguard for a pickup selector, however this was later swapped out. Can be seen in the Pursuit of Tone documentary. - Note that this was a custom mixed color, it was neither Surf Green nor Seafoam Green.)
- Lake Placid Blue (had a Sub Sonic baritone neck, also featured a zebra colored humbucker that wasn't a Seymour Duncan Invader. - Repainted and sold in the delegacy sale.)
- Inca Silver (2-point tremolo bridge with chrome hardware and a Hurley sticker by the bridge. It was used mostly on songs that required a capo, such as Going Away To College. This one also had an "aged" pearloid pickguard instead of the standard white pearloid seen on his other models.)
- Teal Green Metallic (Same specs as the Inca Silver Stratocaster, except with black hardware and an Atticus Broken Heart Sticker by the bridge. - Sold in the delegacy sale.)
- Surf Green (Hardtail bridge with custom "punk guy" inlays on the fretboard.)
- Custom Shop Orange "Subcaster" (Mostly used when playing "Adam's Song" live and tuned down 1.5 steps to C# tuning. Also was used for the song "Obvious" when he didn't have his Fender Jazzmaster. The color was custom mixed and somewhere between Capri Orange and Fiesta Red. - Repainted and sold in the delegacy sale.)
- Dakota Red (Partscaster that was thrown together quickly for the Loserkids Tour. It featured a maple fretboard and a neck from a Bajo Sexto Telecaster with a 30" scale length. - Was retired after the Loserkids Tour once Tom got his Orange Subcaster & Yellow Sub Sonic, then eventually repainted and sold in the delegacy sale.)
- Daphne Blue (Only seen on the Made in Mexico production model. Though heavily debated, it is widely regarded that Tom never actually owned a Daphne Blue Stratocaster. In the pictures & videos where it looks Daphne Blue, it's usually either Surf Green or Teal Green Metallic in weird lighting.)
- Arctic White (With a white pickguard and custom triangle inlays on the fretboard.)
- Black (With a black pickguard and Atticus broken heart sticker by the bridge. It also had custom Masonic logo inlays on the fretboard. Destroyed at the MTV VMA's at the end of performing First Date due to a pickup malfunction or a bad wiring connection.)
- Black w/ White Racing Stripe (With a black pickguard and custom Masonic logo inlays on the fretboard. This is the guitar that Tom mainly used when playing with Box Car Racer.)
- Black w/ pearloid pickguard (Only seen in the music video for Box Car Racer - There Is.)
- Brown w/ Orange Racing Stripe (Similar to Black with White racing stripe, except it had a white pickguard and of course an orange other than white racing stripe.)
- Natural w/ Black Racing Stripe (2 of these guitars exist as seen in a guitar rack from a shot of a video showing blink-182 recording their self-titled album.
(Note: This is just a list of guitars that have been seen live and in music videos. There could be more that have not been seen thus far.)
Appearances[]
Tom used his Stratocaster from 1999 until 2004, while touring with Blink-182 and with Box Car Racer. Here are some appearances in music videos:
| Color | Music Videos | Band | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surf Green | "What's My Age Again?" | Blink-182 | 1999 |
| Surf Green | "All the Small Things" | Blink-182 | 1999 |
| Surf Green | "Adam's Song" | Blink-182 | 2000 |
| Inca Silver (used by Tom), Surf Green (used by dwarf) | "Man Overboard" | Blink-182 | 2000 |
| White | "The Rock Show" | Blink-182 | 2001 |
| Black | "First Date" | Blink-182 | 2001 |
| Black w/ White Racing Stripe | "I Feel So" | Box Car Racer | 2002 |
| Black w/ a White Pickguard | "There Is" | Box Car Racer | 2003 |