In response to a post on my blog, my friend Dallas got in touch with some info about his Hello Kitty Fender. Read and enjoy!

—Lori

Ok, Lori - you were asking about this guitar on your blog recently, so here you go.

I admit to preordering the Hello Kitty Strat when it came out. Not because I’m a major fan of Hello Kitty, but because I’m a Japanophile - and as a Japanophile, when I saw it in the catalog my first thought was: “Oh, yes - it Will Be Mine!” Clearly this would be an amusing item to hang on the wall along with the Tiki curios and cane trees that make up the decor in my project studio, Rock Island.

Well, when the guitar finally came in I had to send it back because Musician’s Friend sent me the black model by mistake - and as every Sanrio fan knows, black is the exclusive domain of Bad Batz Maru (who appears on the Fender Sanrio bass.)

Although it only has one pickup and one knob, it’s got a surprisingly ballsy humbucker in the bridge position which you can hear on my nostalgic tribute to old-school metal http://www.dallashodgson.info/songs/DontTouchThatDial.wma. In all other respects though, it’s a Fender Strat - inexpensive, comfortable, and a hardtail exception to my collection of whammy-equipped Ibanez Sabres.

My other Strat, a white “Roland Ready” model is great for recording sparkly clean single-coil guitar parts. But, being a lover of simplicity and technology, I’m hoping that my new red Variax will prove to be an acceptable substitute for recording a wide range of guitar sounds and allow me to cut back on some of the axes lying around the studio!

As you might be able to tell from the second pic, my wife -is- a major Sanrio fan. Along with the back of the guitar, you can make out a couple of other Sanrio items including a genuine imported plush Hello Kitty, and a steaming mad customized “Hell Kitty” humidifier (which also doubles as a stage fogger for very small venues.)

-djh