are there any notes about "made in" on the rear or front of the headstock?
i would say a MIA 79/80 but i don't know if the japanese serial no E + 6 dig.
could start with a 0.
do you have pics?

cheers

Welcome, and at the same time, nix the HUGE text. It hurts my eyes and I don't even want to read it. You won't get a ton of responses when you text is yelling at everyone

It sounds like one of these:

http://www.stratcollector.com/scn/models/strat.html

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Hi ....and thank you all for your replies. Firstly, apologies for the shouting ( large text ) I'm partly blind on ths laptop
There is FENDER USA on the rear neck plate and Made in U.S.A. under the START on the headstock. S/N is E0 ***** which by my reckoning is a 79 - 81 Strat.
Not sure how to upload pics, sould love to but alas..

Also. thans for that site orvilleowner, most useful. They lokk just like mine but I guess they are all very similar in ways.

Thanks all
Cheers
MarZ

Hi,
Some pics you asked for with extra info to help.
Cheers

What you have there is a 1980 "The Strat"
This was meant to be a customized and souped up variant of the Stratocaster. It was meant to blend some classic features with more modern electronics. The small headstock was meant to harken back to the 50's style headstock, but they got the size wrong! Apparently it got designed without anybody looken at old blueprints, or even checking it against an older guitar. It is actually smaller than the classic headstocks, and is now commonly referred to as an "atrophied" headstock.
The hardware was brass, electoplated in 23k gold. Brass hardware was very popular back then. It was thought to increase sustain due to it's weight. The Strat also had an extra massive bridge and trem block, as well as an extra hot lead pickup known as the X-1, and different wiring for 9 basic sounds. They also went away from the 3-bolt neck, fitting The Strat with a 4-bolt neck with no micro tilt and the old style truss rod adjustment. It was available in Candy Apple Red or Lake Placid Blue, and listed for $995 when first released in June of 1980.
A bandmate of mine at the time had one. I never cared for the painted headstock, or the color for that matter. But it was a nice playing instrument, and the different wiring did make it pretty versatile, kind of a precursor to the S-1 switching. As far as I can find it was made only in 1980, but it may have still been in production in '81. Either way, it was gone by 1982.

_________________
I grew up in the "Dark Ages" of gear, when a '63 Strat was just an old guitar!

Almost forgot, definitely American made.

_________________
I grew up in the "Dark Ages" of gear, when a '63 Strat was just an old guitar!

HI STRAO....
Thanks for your reply. I knew deep down it was from yhat ilk. BTW, it is U.S.A. model. Your info is much appreciated.
Thanks again.

MarZ