Innovatiion or simpley transformation?

See you in Nashville.

With summer on us in the US we are just a month out from Summer NAMM 17. If you don't know, NAMM is new guitar time. Twice a year (Summer and Winter) the National Association of Music Merchants present trade shows for music related manufactures to present their new wares. So perusing a hobby of mine, flicking around the online guitar sellers, I see many new guitars released to co-inside with Summer NAMM.
Unfortunately, there's nothing particularly innovative from the major manufactures like Gibson and Fender. The innovative guys only seem to be the smaller producers trying to capture a small market for someone wanting to be different. I don't believe we still see this in this day and age. We only have Strat's and Les Paul's.. get it? And of course I see many many 'new' Strat's and Les Paul's from both Fender and Gibson. Hey! Let's throw in some TV Jones pickups and load an extra thousand bucks on the price. Or we could paint a coat of blue on this sunburst Strat, relic it a little to show a bit of the burst and wack a couple of grand on it. Lots of similar inspirations but very little innovation.
A 'new' item that I've been reading about for a while now has finally made it to the surface, that's the Robbie Robertson Stratocaster out of the Fender Custom Shop. This is a replica of the guitar Robbie (of The Band) played at their famous final farewell concert (and film).. The Last Waltz. If you haven't seen it then 'do yourself a favour', to borrow a term.

The Robbie Robertson Stratocaster

Apart from the copper dipped body this instrument was crammed full of innovation which Fender can't claim as theirs. Even Robbie can't claim innovation as for him, his modification were strictly convenience. Usually a Tele player, Robbie found the middle pickup of the Strat getting caught up in his picking technique so had decided to move it towards the back a bit. So was this the innovation? Well not in my book. I think the innovation was in the sound produced from the new positioning of the pickup. There was no fancy wiring involved, just a simple repositioning. For the middle pickup to be butted against the bridge pickup the middle pickup had to be reversed. Depending on what the original pickups were this may have upset the stagger somewhat. For this reissue I believe Fender CS have used a left handed pickup for the reversed pickup. As much as we love (or hate) the sound of the middle pickup Robbie accidently gave the guitar a completely new and original voice. First, the middle pickup will now produce a raunchier lead tone, perhaps similar to a Gretsch in that the pickup may now be in the bridge position but it is still forward of the actual bridge pickup. With the middle and bridge pickups together and considering the wider magnetic field this (not that I've heard it) should have the fatness of a humbucker. Could there be a crossover concept here? I recall the first artist model Jeff Beck Strat had dually Lace Sensor pickups in the bridge position. Even with a three way switch this pickup layout would make for an interesting guitar completely different from the standard three puppy Strat layout. With a five-way the combinations would be quite unique.
Dunno about you but I'm on the lookout for a left handed middle Strat pickup. After all, who's going to be lashing out fourteen and a half grand US for a replica? Even if it is from the Fender Custom Shop. Besides you, how many others will have one?