anyone can tell me if it's possible to find exact information about the guitar if u have the # of the back of the head - i know u can find out year it was made -but is that it? - - i got one that does not have any engraving (blank) on the neck plate -which makes me little suspicious - is there a way to find if body is original Fender by opening the pickguard or removing neck -tnx

It could be a mexican or japanese body those dont have any marks on the neck plate, I am no expert on fender body identification or anything but my fender mexican bodies for example have a bar code sticker with a number inside the cavity which is laquered on the wood itself and and in the neck pocket there are different stamps with a date and some numbers and perhaps even a name .....

You can usually tell the model from the first letter in the serial number. Post a pic also and we'll try to identify.

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"You won't part with your's either"

Fender American Standard Stratocaster 2006

Fender Standard Telecaster 2007

Hi - new to the forum - have a '78 and mustang and am looking at a 2004 Strat - serial Z4010549 - all I can get from guitar dater project is that it's American and made in 2004 - can you tell anything more about it from the number? It has the HSS setup, wondering if that was original or not.

Thanks!

On further review - I think that one was a mexican strat - it had an american serial number, but a plain neckplate - I guess you have to be careful on ebay!

Standards have a blank neckplate dont they. I thought only Vintage RI, deluxes and CS guitars had neckplate markings. Its a lot more probable that the neckplate was off another guitar than the headstock was forged.

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No no and no

Since I just went thru this with a body that was reportedly American, let me share a few things here...

Ok, first let me say that the neck plate isn't really indicative of anything. As other have said, MIM Standards typically have a blank neck plate but the neck plate is a -very- easy thing to change...my '96 MIM Standard has a nice Am Std neckplate with Fender scrolled on the back! LOL!!! Even a serial number or Fender logo on the headstock doesn't guarantee any degree of authenticity....logos and serial numbers can be -very- easily faked.

The best way to tell is to take the neck off and look at both the heal of the neck and the neck pocket of the body. -If- it's genuine Fender and -if- these haven't been previously altered, then there should be date stamps and such indicating as to when these parts were made. Do note that because of the modular way Fender's are assembled, a neck may very well have a different manufacture date than the body. In other words, the body may be stamped "Feb XX 1996" but the neck could very well be stamped with an earlier (or later) date...that's just the way Fender builds 'em.

To give you an idea of what to look for, here's a couple of pics of my 1996 MIM Standard that I recently took for specific ID purposes...









In my case, both the body and neck were indeed made in February of 1996 but this isn't always typical of Fender. Either way, -if- the instrument hasn't been altered, these stamps (or something similar) should be present. Please note however that if the guitar was purchased used and has been refinished, that often these dates can be "lost" during the refinishing...chemical strippers for example will take these right off along with the original finish (as will sandpaper!). That said, typically speaking if these dates aren't present, there's also a good chance that the instrument...or parts of the instrument could also very well just be fake.

Next time you do a string change, take the neck off and take a look. If these stamps are there, then you can use the serial number on the headstock to determine what you have. If it's a newer instrument, start with the date and you can look at the specs here on Fender's website to get the rest of the info. For example I recently purchased a "Crafted in Indonesia" Squire Standard. From the serial number I was able to determine it was a 2004 so I looked at the Fender/Squire website and under specs they listed the time frame these models were produced...since mine was an '04 and since the model was introduced in May of 2000, it fell within this time line so I know it's got an agathis body, polyurethane finish, alnico pickups, etc..

If it's an older instrument/out of production model you may have to do a little more digging and you may or may not be successful in getting all of the details...but it's worth a shot. In this case depending on what information you are looking for, a visual inspection may simply be more telling. Also remember that again if the instrument was purchased used, Strats are very easy to modify so it may or may not be "original"...pickups, hardware, etc., could have been replaced somewhere in the instruments history...tis the nature of the beast. Personally I've modded the crap out of my '96...I've replaced the trem block, the bridge saddles, added an LSR roller nut and roller string T, pickups, the previously mentioned neck plate...that's one of the beautiful things about Strats is that you can truly personalize them and make them your own.

Good Luck!
Jim