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Post subject: Hello all you Strat masters! I have a question on a 77'/78'
Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 4:13 pm
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First off, thanks for your time helping me on this issue.

I have an opportunity to buy a 77'/78' (S#S784195). Body seems darker than natural stain color. Rosewood fretboard, Black pickguard & pickups, white plastic tremolo cover. Brass nut and bridge guides (the assemblies used to set string height & intonation), brass nut is NOT true width to the fretboard, leads me to believe it's not stock.

All screws are no longer shiny chrome, it's missing the screws to the plate that covers the back of the tremolo.

The fretboard, frets , neck & tuning keys are <95%. The head stock has a few dings on the leading edge (not the face or back, the front's finish appears more yellow than the sides & back,(headstock only)). Appears to be factory finish (more on that later).?.. Case appears to be original 70s' fender in <70% condition, nothing broke...

Tremolo works as well as my PRS, it really does seem to be staying in tune very well. Pickups, 5 way switch & pods all appear to be factory.
Plays very well for a strat! Amazing it actually stays in tune (which is why I have never owned a strat).

It weighs in at 9.2LBS!!! Why so heavy?

Body, The grain is totally clear, never painted. Appears to be factory finish,,,, but,,, the body is MUCH darker (as in stained) compared to any natural Strat I have EVER seen. And, in the lower cut-out, there is a sag in the urithane/clear, the sag indicates the finish was applied with the guitar on its back during application (how did fender hang the bodies during finishing).
There appears to be a major wear mark where your forearm rests on the body and a few other wear marks that happens over years of playing, but yet the clear appears to be as perfect as the rest of the body (there are a few chips down to fresh wood on the back edges only, no sign of clear over them).

I happen to be an authority when it comes to wood finishing/refinishing/restoration (take my word on it). It seems to me, an american Fender would never have a sag in a factory finish. True? Or did CBS not have any quality control in the late 70s?

I examined the finish under perfect lighting with a 10x loop, I am unable to 100% verify the body has NOT been refinished. I can tell you, if it has been refinished, the finish has been color sanded & rubbed. No indications of overspray or compound in any nook. At the few chips that do exist on the back edges, the finish appears to be as thick as most guitars of that time period. Seems odd for a guitar like this to have a high quality refinish? And, the neck is also in a high gloss finish , no trace of wear. So how can the body have a wear spot down thru the clear & stain, and yet the neck is near 100% perfect? Or, is that wear mark part of the original finish??

The guy who owns it has had it for nearly 20 years (fact), no way he had it refinished, (he lacks $)!

He wants $400 for it. He's a close friend since before he bought the guitar, so if it's worth $400, I'll buy it just to help the guy out. Not really about the $, but I don't want any crap in my so-called collection.

Can't really call myself a collector of guitars, but I have a bunch of them, from the late 70s' thru present. This will be my first strat, if I decide to buy it. Sorry guys, never been a big Strat fan, Gibson guy here,,, well,,, I should say," back in the day a gibson fan, now it's PRS as my player"!!

I really don't want it as my everyday player. I would never dream of recording with it, even though for a strat, it's very quiet as far as line noise goes,,, but nothing like my PRS!

But I do need a guitar for Blues jam sessions with old friends. All my guitars have double humbucklers,,, I just can't get that clean (as in tone, not line noise) from my other axes!

Is this Strat worth owning? Did Fender allow sags in the finish back then? Did Fender ever stain bodies?,,t hen sand down a few edges prior to clearcoat?

Thanks for your time!!!!

Mike

PS. I live in BFE, no highspeed connection, photos are for the most part not available, and photo's would not show details to the degree I looked at the finish.


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Post subject: Check the neck joint for a tight fit(See Ed Roman's)
Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 9:24 am
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It's my humble opinion that a 70's strat with a tight neck joint would be worth $400, but I'm no expert. There are alot of "Vintage " guitar web-sites that might give clue to Fenders painting methods in the 70's. Google Vintage fender and check the different sites.

Martin


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 1:07 pm
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A 1978 strat for 400 bucks? BUY IT RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 1:13 pm
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Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:54 am
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Location: Texas
"Don't Buy it!!
It's not worth 400$!



Can you please email me the phone number of the seller though? :) I need a word with him!


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 1:17 pm
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Location: South Carolina
Buy it now and worry about the finish later


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 1:25 pm
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Location: Vacaville, CA USA
Buy it.

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:21 am
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I hope you bought it! If not do so very quickly. Well worth his asking price.


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 11:51 am
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My 72 is is original. I've had offers of close to 5 grand for it. But it's in incredible condition for a 35 year old guitar. The later 70's Fender guitars as well as Gibson guitars had a lot of quality control problems. It's quite possible to see sags get through as well as really sloppy neck pockets. If it sounds and plays well, and you like it, then it's worth 400 bucks. You sure it weighs 9 lbs?


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 1:27 pm
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The neck alone is worth more then 400 dollars.


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 2:28 pm
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It's funny a lot of guys dog all the 70's era Strats. Lots of them were really good guitars. Some weren't. Most people who say they were all garbage never even owned one. Everyone whose played my 72 are totally blown away by it. They always ask me what happened to the 5 way switch. They can't believe it never had one.


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Post subject: Heavy Strat
Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:03 am
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I owned two Strats in the 70's that were made from very heavy ash bodies. One of my Strats weighed more than my Gibson Les Paul Custom. There can be big variations in the weight of different batches of wood. Swamp ash is very very light in weight.
$400 for the guitar is very cheap so I would buy it for sure.


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 3:49 pm
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I'd also say buy it. At that price you can't go wrong. My two strats are both 79's and I love them!

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