John first appeared with this guitar sometime after the release of the Heavier Things album, circa late 2003. The guitar was likely a Fender Custom Shop master-built and served the purpose of a backup guitar for the tour.
If you happen to come across an interview where John mentioned these early Strats with stripe design, please be sure to get in touch. While the specs on the post-2004 models are relatively known, since they were based on John’s Artist series, these early guitars are pretty much still a mystery.
Here is shown in the comedy videos with Dave Chappelle
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rREd2GkNSO0
With backplate?! how weird is that hmm?
This was a Custom Shop Masterbuilt by Dennis Galuszka. John had built this as a prototype for the limited edition Strat line (100 made) that came out in 2004/2005.