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Post subject: Identifying my strat
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 9:16 am
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Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2018 8:59 am
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Hi all.

I bought this quite cheap.
Please help me identify it.
Serial number H036419

It is either a 1988/89 $@! Strat (But no "Made in Japan" found)

or

a fake

or (if I'm lucky) this:

H(XXXXXX) A limited number of these "H", "I" and "K" series guitars were made in '89 and '90. They were made for the export market and have Made in USA stamped on the heel of the neck. Serial numbers are on the front of the headstock.

Here is a link to some pics:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0cl2z8v1vwme ... y9uTa?dl=0


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Post subject: Re: Identifying my strat
Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2018 2:29 am
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Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:53 am
Posts: 4241
Whoa, you've been quite a long time with no answers. Maybe NAMM, first poster delay policy and that "$@!" you have in your post cumulatively slowed things down...
Plus: many forum members don't even click outside links, so pics on the forum speed things up.
A comment to that: you have good pics there - except for the wide angle perspective in pic 12; the body looks almost like an offset one. :wink:

Anyways, here's something:
I'd forget the US/Odd serial numbers H-I-K/made for export option totally, that guitar almost screams 'made in Japan'.

Then it gets "a bit" complicated.
I don't remember ever seeing those saddles - they don't fit a Fender, Squier, Tokai, Fernandes, Greco, Kasuga or any Japanese company I know of.
The wiring bothers me a bit - looks good, clean, functional and FMIC-like, but somehow weird; like that gold (PIO?)cap.

And then the serial number... Usually, when it sits there (headstock front), there should be 'MADE IN JAPAN' under the 'STRATOCASTER' - but on this guitar, there isn't even enough space where a removed MIJ could have been. On the other hand, if the MIJ would have been in the heel, I'd expect to find the serial there, too. Odd, but considering the guitar in general, not alarming. (If i think positively and use a bit of imagination: maybe a neck refin by a guy who saved the serial but replaced the logo sticker.)


The H+digits serial stretches to the penciled "23 6 1990" date on the neck heel. With that, my first thought was a "62 Reissue"; model ST-62 (no skunk stripe, that headstock), but with those Gotoh tuners and the 8 hole pg I'm leaning towards a "Standard" model, made by FujiGen Gakki.
Another guess would be, it's a Partscaster - Standard neck on a ST-62 body.

So all in all, to me the origins remain somewhat blurry - a MIJ Fender can't be confirmed although it's "the best bet" option.
But even if it's not, a Japanese around-1990 Strat from any company can be expected to be a very nice instrument. So if the price was where it should be: play on, play LOUD.

All of the above IMHO, and YMMV, of course.


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Post subject: Re: Identifying my strat
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2018 8:29 pm
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Professional Musician
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Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:28 pm
Posts: 1594
Location: SoCal, US
I had (installed) a set of saddles like that on my '78.
They were aftermarket... Allparts or Mighty-Mite, I don't recall.

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