Nile Rodgers Unveils Signature Fender 'Hitmaker' Stratocaster

Nile Rodgers is celebrating his extraordinary career in music by making his iconic guitar available to musicians everywhere.

Nile's original 'Hitmaker' guitar is one of the most-heard instruments in the history of recorded music, having been used to shape chart-topping albums and platinum-selling singles in five separate decades.

On Tuesday, Fender unveiled the Nile Rodgers Signature Hitmaker Stratocaster, a reproduction of the 1960s Stratocaster that Nile made famous on records like Chic's "Good Times," Diana Ross' "Upside Down," David Bowie's "Let's Dance," Madonna's "Like a Virgin" and many others. Nile also used the guitar on hits by Duran Duran, INXS, The B-52's, Michael Jackson, P. Diddy, Daft Punk and Daddy Yankee.

A jazz guitarist at heart, Nile says The Hitmaker was the first solid-body electric guitar he ever owned. Speaking to Q104.3 New York's QN'A in 2020, he recalled trading in one of his hollow-body jazz guitars for his first Fender at the urging of Luther Vandross. Nile got his Strat, plus an extra $300. At the time he thought it was a great deal, and the guitar never stopped getting him paid.

"I couldn’t believe it," Nile recalled. "I was like, ‘Whoa, a Strat and $300?! Are you kidding me? This is awesome!’"

The guitar has proved itself to be a righteous partner. Nile's record label estimates that The Hitmaker has helped bring in around $2 billion in recorded music revenue since the late-'70s.

Fender's Hitmaker reproduction features the original Stratocaster's uniquely thin alder body and the Olympic White lacquer finish which Nile applied himself. The pickups are voiced to accurately replicate the quack, chime and clarity of Nile's personal guitar.

"The new Hitmakers are awesome," Rodgers told Q104.3. "They play great. I’ve played them on records; people can’t tell [it's not the original]."

Go here for more details on the guitar.

Watch the guitar get put through its paces in the demo video above!