USA Stratocasters of GFSA

Arno-West

Don't know if a thread like this already exists, if it does, my apologies.
I tried this a while ago on FB, but that turned out to be a waste of keystrokes. So I've decided to try again....

I am intrigued to see how many Strats there are floating about in SA, who's got the oldest one and so forth.
Post a pic of your Strats, give short description and let's see how many we can get and how far back we can go.

There are a few rules:
1. ONLY AMERICAN STRATS
2. Include serial number and year (if you want to date the stick, go to Fender.com, they have an instrument dating facility)
3. Where or who you bought it from and for how much.
4. Any technical mods.
5. Any interesting history behind your guitar.

BANANACASTERS built from USA parts are also allowed.....but you must specify parts.

I'll be the first. Here's mine....

1973 Fender Stratocaster (USA)
Serial number: 519746.
Bought it in 1995 from Music Connection for the royal sum of R2500-00.
Previous owner was Paul Hughes (from 80's hair band, The Helicopters)

PuP's: Neck: Some Hotrod Blues thing, given to me as a birthday present by a buddy
Middle: Fender Lace Sensor
Bridge: Seymour Duncan PAF Humbucker

It has a coil tap/phase switch installed for the Humbucker.
Graphtech saddle, nut and string-guides installed in 1999, haven't broken a string since then.

This Strat has an unusually thin neck, I have never come across another Strat, vintage or new, that has a neck like this one. I don't know what the reason for this is.

I recently saw on the Fender website that they now do a 70's Re-Issue Strat and it looks exactly like the one I have.
Guess what is at the top of my shopping list now.....here's a pic of the Re-Issue.

Mmmmmm.......nice.

Arno-West

Gearhead wrote: Yours does not look like it is Ash body like the pic of the reissue.
Do Strats made with some US parts count? Otherwise I'm butting out of this thread...

I guess you could, specify parts though. We'll let the masses decide if your axe is "American" enough... ?

Arno-West

Gearhead wrote: If you want details, see here
It still is a bit bright, but it has mellowed some since its first notes. I also put a Kinman Woodstock in the bridge, maybe that helped ?

Nice....you can do a Buddy Holly tribute with that....any recent shots? I'd like to see how the colour changed?

DonovanB

Arno West wrote: I am intrigued to see how many Strats there are floating about in SA,

Novel idea

There are a few rules:
1. ONLY AMERICAN STRATS

but you lost it right there. in caps nogal... There are many people who absolutely love their Mexican or Japanese Strats.

AlanRatcliffe

To be honest you lost me with the US only requirement too. For me, the best Strats aren't even necessarily Fenders, let alone US models (and I've owned quite a few over the years).

Gearhead

Arno-West

Donovan Banks wrote:
Arno West wrote: I am intrigued to see how many Strats there are floating about in SA,
Novel idea

There are a few rules:
1. ONLY AMERICAN STRATS
but you lost it right there. in caps nogal... There are many people who absolutely love their Mexican or Japanese Strats.

I have a Japanese Squier you'll never know about... sad...

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: To be honest you lost me with the US only requirement too. For me, the best Strats aren't even necessarily Fenders, let alone US models (and I've owned quite a few over the years).

evolucian wrote: Mine is full on asian... bummer... jap with toneriders (nice that my guitar isn't at war with any of its parts)

Sorry if I offended anybody, but I am for the time being only interested in the USA guitars. The USA axes have been around a lot longer than the others and my main aim is to maybe find the oldest Strat around and find out the history behind it. I also own Mexican and Jap guitars, but I will always have a soft spot for the USA models. It was not intended to start a debate about the USA/or not-issue or which are the best Fenders, just wanted to satisfy some curiosity....

makepeace

Maybe then you should change the name of the topic. It is slightly misleading as I too would have liked to have participated.

Arno-West

makepeace wrote: Maybe then you should change the name of the topic. It is slightly misleading as I too would have liked to have participated.

Ok, it's done.

makepeace

Cool ? hope you get what you're after.

MIKA-the-better-one

does this count? ?

[/img]

AlanRatcliffe

OK - you know where this went wrong? We have a few "____'s of GFSA" threads already and they are all pretty wide ranging, which allows everyone to participate - "Les Pauls of GFSA includes a pretty wide range of different brands, not just Gibsons, etc. So when you originally named the thread "Stratocasters of GFSA", people entered here with certain expectations (I know I did) which were disappointed. We expressed that disappointment - please don't take that personally, because that's not how it is intended.

You've explained why you want to keep it USA only and changed the topic title and I'm OK with that. Can we all just get on with it now?

A large percentage of the forum only post during the working week, so you will likely get more positive results now. Give it a chance...

BTW - I'm also going to go back and clean up some of the more borderline remarks and quotes from those remarks that might discourage others from posting.

DonovanB

yes let's get on with it... 8)

I don't own an MIA strat, but I feel the need to comment on this.

Arno West wrote:
I recently saw on the Fender website that they now do a 70's Re-Issue Strat and it looks exactly like the one I have.
Guess what is at the top of my shopping list now.....here's a pic of the Re-Issue.

Mmmmmm.......nice.

It's not finished? where's the paint. ?

I prefer the slight burst on that,

but if you REALLY want American...

I wonder if they make this one in Mexico as well?

I once played on a Strat that was from the early 50's. It had a random dragon painted on it and was mostly bare. I must try trace that chap down, I'm sure he's still in Durban. I was too green then to know any difference between guitars so I ave no more info on it...

aubs1

? ? Wow....... so 2012 starts with a bang!!! A Strat-bang ?? ? ?

Wizard

I don't like the ~~70's~~ large strat headstock.
Despite my first guitar being a Fender made strat ... with that headstock.
To me a strat has to have the smaller, original headstock.

Bob-Dubery

Donovan Banks wrote: yes let's get on with it... 8)

I don't own an MIA strat, but I feel the need to comment on this.

Arno West wrote:
I recently saw on the Fender website that they now do a 70's Re-Issue Strat and it looks exactly like the one I have.
Guess what is at the top of my shopping list now.....here's a pic of the Re-Issue.

Mmmmmm.......nice.

It's not finished? where's the paint. ?

That natural finish (varnished, but that's all) was quite common on 70s strats, so it looks like a bang-on 70s replica to me.

evolucian

I must have dreamed it all, lol.

Anyway, I love natural finishes... so nice guitar.

Bob-Dubery

Wizard wrote: I don't like the 70's strat headstock.
Despite my first guitar being a Fender made strat ... with that headstock.
To me a strat has to have the smaller, original headstock.

That big headstock came in to use in the 60s already - possibly before CBS started running the show.

Some folks like it as, they say, it gives the neck some extra resonance.

Squonk

X-rated Bob wrote:
Wizard wrote: I don't like the 70's strat headstock.
Despite my first guitar being a Fender made strat ... with that headstock.
To me a strat has to have the smaller, original headstock.
That big headstock came in to use in the 60s already - possibly before CBS started running the show.

Some folks like it as, they say, it gives the neck some extra resonance.

I prefer the big headstock, sorry Wizard ? The natural finish very similar to my Peavey T-60.

AlanRatcliffe

Donovan Banks wrote: It's not finished? where's the paint. ?

Heathen! I love clear finish Strats, especially once the finish has yellowed a bit. Unfortunately the new finishes don't age anywhere near as much though.

@ Arno - from your pic it looks like your Strat is a refinished alder body though, so not quite the same as the newer one you showed, which is ash.