Shelton SkyFlite IV Swamp Ash & Baked Flame Maple w/ Porter PUs – Aged Olympic White

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?

As the owner here, this is the first guitar in about three years that I have very seriously considered keeping to myself. This business only works if I sell, not keep! But this one was a very serious temptation. In the end, business won over but it took ten weeks for me to come to my “right mind” and let you all know that this Swamp Ash beauty is available.

I’m not always all about a baked maple fretboard. Sometimes it comes across too “focused” for me, siphoning warmth from the lows and luster from the upper register. But this guitar is both lively and lush, trumpeting a broad and balanced tonal spectrum. The Porter 1960’s pickups in the neck and middle deliver a tight punch on the bottom, a nice glassy midrange and a vibrant upper register. Beautiful tones each on their own and wonderful spank from the in-between position.

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.

One of the things that made me over-the-moon for this guitar? You can have your rig set to get a rich, grinding breakup out of the humbucker and quickly flip the 5-way blade to the neck position for a big chimey tone that cleans up and responds beautifully to pick dynamics. And while it’s really nice having that extra “oomph” of the full humbucker on tap, it is equally nice to solo the S90 coil at times for a crisper rhythm tone with a little more 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. 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 has a wonderful bite and a thick, juicy vowel that plays with the amp’s feedback and makes long single notes really sing. The middle & bridge screams “Cliffs of Dover” without any pedal trickery required.

Lastly, the neck position can be added to any pickup position 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 giving you anything less.

This guitar also features really beautiful finish checking in the Aged Olympic White nitro finish. It may be difficult to catch in photos but it’s a nice touch. Then there’s the cleanly-appointed gold plexi pickguard and spectacular 5A Flame Maple neck (roasted). This guitar is no slouch in the visual department!

How Does It Play?

We have this beauty set up right where we like a Strat to play; 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 Medium Oval neck profile (think a 60’s C with a little extra removed off the back).

Weight: 7lb 14.8oz

The Custom Shelton G&G Hard Case is included!

Specifications

Body

Body Wood: Swamp Ash

Body Finish: Light Aged Olympic White Nitro Lacquer

Neck

Neck Wood: Master Grade Flame Tempered Maple

Neck Finish: Clear Lacquer w/ Matching Headstock

Neck Shape: Early 60s Medium Oval

Scale Length: 25.5”

Fingerboard Material: Master Grade Flame Tempered Maple with Dot 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 1960’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) 0.047uf Emerson Paper in Oil Capacitor

Hardware

Bridge: Gotoh Vintage

Tuning Machines: Gotoh Staggered Vintage

Pickguard: Gold Lucite

Knobs: Witch Hat

Finish: Nickel

Other

Strings: 10-46

Case: G&G Hardshell Deluxe Case

Serial Number: HFWW2460

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