One famous Fender user, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, owns a 1961 “Fiesta Red” Stratocaster. The instrument is featured on many of his classic recordings (including, most famously, the 1978/79 hit “Sultans of Swing”).

Fender began to produce replicas of Knopfler’s guitar in 2003, whose woods and colors exactly replicate the 1960s original, but carries Mark Knopfler’s autograph on the headstock.

The model is part of Fender’s “Artist Signature Series”. Unlike the earlier models, the guitar has a 5-way pickup selector. The original pickup switch was a 3-way device that was replaced by the 5-way in 1977.