Fender Custom Flame Koa Strat MBKM

Fender Custom Flame Koa Strat MBKM review

The Fender Custom Flame Koa Strat MBKM is a U.S.-made Custom Shop Stratocaster, master-built by Kyle McMillin. Its listed price is 9,199. The supplied information identifies it as a limited run and gives October 2025 as its availability date. No customer reviews are available, so this assessment is based on the published specifications rather than owner feedback or independent play testing.

One important detail needs clarification before purchase: the specifications conflict about the top wood. The shorter specification list says koa, which also appears in the product name. The detailed build description instead lists an AAAA flamed maple top. Both entries cannot describe the same top. Buyers should ask Fender or the seller to confirm the actual wood on the instrument being offered rather than relying on the name alone.

Body, neck, and fingerboard

The body is listed as ash, with a natural finish. The detailed description calls the finish NOS, meaning New Old Stock, a Custom Shop finish designation. The neck is maple and uses a bolt-on construction. Its profile is described as a 1965 Stratocaster C shape, paired with an ebony fingerboard. Fender lists a 9.5-inch fingerboard radius, equivalent to about 241 mm, and 21 narrow-tall frets. A bone nut completes the stated neck specifications.

The scale length is 648 mm, or approximately 25.5 inches, a familiar full-length measurement for a Stratocaster. The available information does not provide neck thickness measurements, fret dimensions, total instrument weight, or setup details. Those omissions matter to anyone comparing neck feel or assessing the guitar in person, and they should not be inferred from the profile name alone.

Pickups and controls

This guitar has two single-coil pickups in an SS layout, with one pickup at the bridge and one at the neck. The bridge unit is a hand-wound Custom Shop Josefina Original Blackguard Tele pickup. At the neck is a hand-wound Custom Shop Josefina Twisted Tele pickup. That pairing differs from the conventional three-pickup Stratocaster arrangement, so the controls and pickup selection are configured around two pickup positions.

The control set comprises a master volume with a 500k potentiometer, one tone control with a 250k potentiometer, and a three-way switch. The specifications do not state the precise switch positions or provide measured output, frequency response, or noise performance. The pickup names and winding descriptions identify the components, but they do not establish how the guitar will sound through a particular amplifier or playing setup.

Bridge, hardware, and included items

The bridge is described as a Custom Shop Custom Classic Stratocaster bridge. The tremolo specification says "None," so the listing does not identify a functional tremolo system. Since the bridge name alone does not explain its exact installation or adjustment, confirm the bridge configuration with the seller if a fixed bridge is a purchase requirement. The tuners are vintage-style units with Fender logos, and the hardware is chrome.

A case is included, and the detailed listing also says the guitar comes with a certificate. A bag is not included. The natural color and listed New Old Stock finish are the only finish details provided; there is no additional information about gloss level, aging, or other cosmetic treatment.

What the specifications establish

The listed features define a U.S.-made, master-built Fender Custom Shop instrument with an ash body, maple bolt-on neck, ebony fingerboard, 21 frets, and a two-single-coil pickup arrangement. The hand-wound Josefina pickups, bone nut, chrome hardware, and included case are specific components or inclusions stated in the product information. No customer feedback or hands-on findings are available to support claims about sound, comfort, tuning stability, or workmanship beyond those specifications.

There are two points to resolve before committing to the 9,199 purchase: whether the top is koa or AAAA flamed maple, and exactly what bridge configuration is fitted despite the "None" tremolo entry. The product is identified as a limited run, but the supplied data does not give a production quantity. Confirming these details, along with the certificate and case, will help ensure the delivered instrument matches the listing.