Shelton SkyFlite IV Ash Body w/ Roasted Maple & Porter PUs – 3-Tone Sunburst

Information

Brand New w/ Warranty. We are an authorized Shelton Dealer.

Like what you see? All photos are of the actual instrument you will receive.

The Shelton SkyFlite IV brings a classic into a new age. Without losing the soul of its traditional brethren, this guitar packs some extra heat with twenty-one voicing options from its souped-up HSS configuration. Incredible tones in a variety of flavors. Still not the exact Shelton you’re looking for? Contact us and we can help you spec out a custom order to your exact liking!

What Does Josh Think?

This guitar is a beautiful sum of its parts. And it’s a lot of parts when you take this unique Porter pickup set and all its wiring options into consideration. You’ve got a 1950’s voicing in the neck for those big bell-like tones with a clear midrange. Then a 1960’s in the middle for a more focused midrange and that glassy Hendrix vibe. The in-between position of neck and middle is spanky and just a touch quacky, but not overly so.

Then there’s the humbucker. It is a combination of a Porter S90 on the outer coil and Vintage Custom on the inside. These coils can be individually turned off via push/pull pots to give you access to one or the other, either the more traditional voicing of the Vintage Custom or the thicker, hot-rodded snarl of the S90. All three voicings of the bridge pickup are equally agreeable, and each nails a different tone. I happen to really enjoy soloing the S90 coil for a punchy rhythm tone with just the right amount of cut.

Another highlight is a wiring modification hiding in plain sight in the 2^nd “tone” knob. Roll it back to bring in the middle pickup in series with the neck or bridge position (positions 1 or 5 on the switch). This gives you fatter in-between tones than the standard pickups-in-parallel arrangement available on the 5-way switch. The neck & middle in series is fat but vocal. The middle & bridge has as tinge of compression and screams “Cliffs of Dover” without any pedal trickery required.

Lastly, the neck position can be added to any other pickup combination via the push/pull volume knob. Combining neck and bridge à la a Telecaster gives you some wonderful snap and snarl that you can’t usually access on a Strat, further accentuated by the various split options on the humbucker. Putting all three pickups together gives you colossal funk tones, making the guitar even more Strat-y, if that’s possible. And that’s really what this guitar is all about… it takes a standard S-Style and gives you more, without taking anything away.

You’ll notice this guitar doesn’t sport the standard fare in tremolo either. The Vega trem is a superb unit, melding the best of a Strat tremolo, Bigsby and Floyd Rose into one. While it feels quite traditional, it doesn’t pull out of tune as much as a standard Strat bridge. It bounces back to zero smoothly and immediately, and to exactly the same place every time. And like a Floyd, it allows for both dive bombs and up-whammies if you get the urge.

How Does It Play?

We have this beauty set up right where we like a Strat to play; just under 5/64” on the low E at the 12^th fret and 4/64” on the high E. Just right to dig in and get under the strings when you bend, and low enough to play quick passages effortlessly. We love the feel of the 60’s-flavored Medium Oval neck profile (think a 60’s C with a little extra removed off the back). We also love that silky smooth satin finish on the back.

Weight: 7lb 7.9oz

The Custom Shelton G&G Hard Case is included!

Specifications

Body

Body Wood: Ash

Body Finish: 3-Tone Sunburst Gloss

Neck

Neck Wood: Roasted Maple

Neck Finish: 3-Tone Sunburst Swoosh w/ Natural Satin Back

Neck Shape: Medium Oval C

Scale Length: 25.5”

Fingerboard Material: Bound Rosewood w/ Pearloid Block Inlays

Fingerboard Radius: 9.5”

Number of Frets: 21

Fret Size: JESCAR FW47095

Nut Material: Tusq XL

Nut Width: 1.687”

Shape Dimensions: Med C 1^st FRET = .845” / 12^th FRET .925”

Electronics

Bridge Pickup: Porter S90/Vintage Custom

Middle Pickup: Porter 1960’s S

Neck Pickup: Porter 1950’s S

Controls:

Volume (Push/Pull activates neck pickup),

Master Tone, (Push/Pull splits humbucker to S90 single coil only)

Series Pot (Push/Pull splits humbucker to vintage custom single coil only)

Note: Series mode runs bridge and middle pickups or middle and neck pickups in series.

Switching: 5-Position Blade:

Position 1: Bridge VC90 Humbucker (S90 and vintage custom in series)

Position 2: Bridge & Middle Pickups

Position 3: Middle Pickup

Position 4: Middle & Neck Pickups

Position 5: Neck Pickup

Pots: (3) CTS Push/Pull Potentiometers

Switch: (1) Oak Grisby 5-Way Switch

Jack: Switchcraft ¼” Mono

Capacitor: (1) Sprague Orange Drop

Hardware

Bridge: Vega VT-1 Ultra Trem

Tuning Machines: Gotoh SD91 Staggered w/ Amber Buttons

Pickguard: Laminated Tort

Knobs: White Witch Hat

Finish: Brushed, Nickel

Other

Strings: 10-46

Case: G&G Hardshell Deluxe Case

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