Its for a United Way auction. Te custom work was done in Mexico so I'm assuming its a MIM Strat. But I noticed theres no jack input in the front. Dont all Strats have the input up front? Was it moved for artistic purposes?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Stratocaster ... 240%3A1318[/img][/url]

Hi jmr986, welcome to the Forum.

That's an interesting guitar. Nice to see something unusual coming out of the Mexican plant.

I don't know the charity in question. If you do and know them to be reputable then I presume that speaks for the authenticity of the instrument.

It is not unusual for Strats to have no pickguard and only two knobs. Check out the FMT and QMT American Deluxe Strats on this page, for example:

http://www.fender.com/products//search. ... icandeluxe

It is also not unknown for the output jack to be moved to the edge; as you say, for cosmetic reasons. However, right at this moment I am struggling to think of a Fender Strat done that way. Can't find one in the current catalog...

Anyway: perhaps you can pick up a genuinely unique Strat for a very reasonable price - if you get lucky and the charity gets unlucky...

Cheers - C

What catch my eye is the one tone one volume hmm.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Its an auction for the United Way. I was interested in bidding on it to possibly get a unique Strat at a great price. If its going for more than it retails for then I'd just as soon hold out for a strat to play.

I saw nothing in the new catalog that had the jack on the side.

It could e a tastefully done mod. Its certainly a visualy interesting piece. If it appealed to me i'd bid. The silver fender logo seems to fit the ethos of the guitar too.

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No no and no

Ok they sent me the serial number; MZ8279535. They confirmed it was a MIM. So judging from the serial number it was made in 2008. but they couldn't tell me which model it was. And it appears to have one extra digit.

FWIW this Strat was sold for $485 at auction. Sounds like a decent price for a "custom" MIM Strat. I wonder what it sounds like with that scarf laminated on it?

There are plenty of fabric finishes, used over time. the fabric is by no means soft in any way after being decoupaged, and coated in clear lacquer or poly. total effect on sound should be close to nothing.

The classic fender paisley finishes are actually done with wallpaper.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

But wouldn't an additional layer of fabric impact the sound somewhat? Maybe I'm just bumming 'cuz it may have been worth more than $485 and I let it go. It only got 14 bids, with 10 coming within the last hour.

Because of the raving debate of Nitro Finish VS. Poly. People really really overestimate the impact finish has on your overall tone.

Pickups are probably like 80-90%
Type of wood, and hardware(saddles, trem block etc, probably account for another 10-15%(or more)
and finish in the neighborhood of 1 or 2%

Notice these %'s may or may not add to 100% because there is margin for error. just saying, I think how your guitar is painted is probably one of the smaller factors in how it sounds. it has an effect, but it is probably dwarfed by a myriad of other factors.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.