A nice piece of Fender history at a price you'll love! Item in good condition (small marks or scratches) The Fender HM Strat was produced between 1988 and 1992, and marked a bold evolution from the classic Stratocaster design, aimed squarely at heavy metal players in response to the rise of "superstrats" from brands like Ibanez and Jackson. The "HM" stands for "Heavy Metal," underscoring Fender’s target market for this model. Its distinctively enhanced pickups—were tailored for high-gain, aggressive playing styles, making it popular among virtuoso players of the era including Greg Howe. One standout feature was the custom bridge pickup developed through a collaboration with DiMarzio. Fender approached DiMarzio to design a pickup with increased mids and softened treble, resulting in a version of their Super Distortion pickup specially modified for the HM Strat. This pickup, initially known as the DiMarzio H1 or H2 (“H” for “Made Exclusively for Fender”), was eventually released for public sale as the DiMarzio Super 3 after the model’s discontinuation. The guitar has been fully set up by our in-house technician and does not incldue a gig bag or hard case.