A SOLID-BODY ELECTRIC GUITAR, STRATOCASTER, ARTIST'S PROTOTYPE, NILE RODGERS HITMAKER

Originally purchased at a Miami Beach pawn shop, Rodgers' most famous guitar was quickly dubbed "The Hitmaker". The unique features of a modified 1960 Fender Stratocaster helped him to develop his signature sound, and the technique known now as "chucking". This technique involves muting certain chords and was previously only used on mandolins. For years, Rodgers worked with Fender to create a line that could capture the magic of The Hitmaker. It took many iterations before the original's owner felt that the sound was right. A big part of the difference is the wafer-thin finish on the surface of the guitar: "They just couldn’t bring it to themselves to make it that thin, I don’t know why." he said. Previous iterations of this protoype also feature in our sale, but this one was part of the initial release with the improved finish. Fender’s Custom Shop Nile Rodgers Hitmaker was limited to a production run of only 100 instruments.

Songs recorded with the original Hitmaker include We Are Family by Sister Sledge [released in 1979], I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross [released in 1980], Like a Virgin by Madonna [released in 1984], and Notorious by Duran Duran [released in 1986]. But like Nile Rodgers, the Hitmaker has stood the test of time and is just as resiliant as ever, most recently being featured on Daft Punk's Get Lucky [released in 2013] and Avicii's Lay Me Down [released in 2013].