Ry Cooder’s original Coodercaster is now on sale for $150,000

Ry Cooder’s original Coodercaster is now available to purchase on Reverb for $150,000.

The ’67 Fender Stratocaster, which the slide-playing legend has owned, played and continually modified over several decades, helped birth an entire subculture of eclectic Coodercaster-style Strat builds and mods.

Cooder also famously played the guitar on The Rolling Stones’ Sister Morphine, during which he used the guitar to record one of the greatest electric slide performances of all time.

In its current condition, the Coodercaster is set up with an original Bigsby 8-string steel pickup in the bridge position and a Guyatone pickup at the neck. The pickups are routed to a four-way pickup selector and two Tele-style knobs.

Sat in the place of the original bridge and tremolo are a top-mounted Bigsby and solid Bigsby aluminium bridge saddle. The jack cup is reversed and the guitar’s tuners are “probably Gotoh-made Rotomatic style” ones, according to the listing.

In the guitar’s Reverb listing, Cooder himself details the guitar’s rich history. He explains that some of the earliest electronics modifications he had made to the ’67 Strat were driven by the pursuit of a “thicker sound”.

“P90s came and went,” he says. “I had the bright idea to install an Oahu lap steel bridge pickup. It was the thing to do to help the bottle neck sound relax and it stopped the headaches.”

He adds: “I still think the neck is one of the best I’ve ever played, and the Bigsby trailer brake really makes a sweet combination. That’s an original Bigsby pickup in there, and yes it’s somewhat microphonic like early Bigsbys are sometimes, and it takes a little getting used to, like when you put that ‘53 Cad motor in the Model A, but you can learn to handle it. Or try some idea of your own.”

Check out the ’67 Coodercaster at Reverb.com

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