Hi dear Fender Friends,

i just bought a Richie Sambora Stratocaster MK1. I am really wondering why this guitar has its serial number on a small metal plate on its headstock.

can somebody provide any information why that is? I have never seen a serial number on a little metal plate on a strat headstock before.

sincerely from germany, Dennis

To me, too, that kind of metal plate serial number is absolutely unfamiliar - on any Fender, from any country, from any era.

I don't want to alarm you, since I'm no expert on early Sambora signatures.
But, as far as I know, the form (no letters, just seven digits) of the serial number is also wrong for a Sambora MK1 (MIA/nineties/signature).
Adding to that, there are numerous copies of Sambora Strats available, from cheap oriental copies to made-by-a-fan-tributes to boutique versions (and the latter two may have been built with high quality Fender parts).

So (and sorry that I have to ask) are you sure the guitar is legit?

Hi,

thanks for your reply!

I haven't recieved the guitar yet, but the seller is reputable. It's the store of Scorpions guitarist Matthias Jabs.
Telling from other photos it's a 1997 Sambora Strat in pretty good condition, i know These chinese knock Offs, and by telling from the Pictures, ist definitely not one of those.

I asked the store what is going on with this number plate and they stated the dont know for sure either. i think under the plate is a "classic" Serial number. i will tell when its arrived.

_________________


"I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it."
- E. Sitwell

I did as you and did a Google search. I found nothing that looked like the original picture.

On the plus side, it is so strange, one would assume a faker wouldn't add such diverse details.

What does the big chunk of metal do?

_________________
John

After all this time I should be better.

That's someone's ingenious idea of an allen key holder. Probably has some mystic tonal effects, too.

Hi guys,

it finally arrived! here are some pictures. BTW, the neck is dated 03. December 1996

Indeed very strange... only a plain "1997" under the plate ... i dont know why someone erase the serial number ... i hope it wasnt stolen or something

To my ignorant eyes, it looks legit; model 110-2702-830, Artist signature series Richie Sambora Stratocaster.

But the lacking legit serial number rings the same "hope it wasn't stolen" bells for me - and LOUD...

Certainly something is amiss as why else would you obliterate a legitimate serial number.

Could it be a MiJ purporting to be an MiA?

_________________
John

After all this time I should be better.

I thought of Japan, too, but the (only one example, from mid-nineties) MIJ Sambora I've played had a recessed back plate, and no active electronics - thus also no battery routing. But as I said before, I'm no expert on these.

hey guys,

another question regards the sambora.

This is my second Sambora i ever owned, the first one being a White one from 1995. I dont know if it is bad Memory, but somehow i think the midboost was stronger on the White one. does anybody got Information if they reduced the boost from 25db to 12db before the singlecoil sambora Version?

Hmm. Yep, the mid-boost was altered from 25dB to 12dB around 1999(?) - it was the same PCB, but with extra resistors doing the power drop.

But I've been under a vague assumption that the big stars versions had the 25dB booster…
Any pics from inside (wiring etc.)?

I will take the guitar apart in a few days and then i will post pictures.

cheers