Ahh, I know very well where you are coming from with these comments!
Because I am an owner (and lover) of a few '70s Stratocasters.

When I said that stuff about the "Lowest Point," I did not say that the guitars produced then were garbage. It's like this: one can talk about the worst Mercedes Benz cars, but it's certainly not a bad car.

There are people who will say the Strats of the 70s and early 80s are garbage, but they are full of hyperbole. Those guitars may not measure up with the Pre-CBS or current stuff, but that doesn't mean that they were not professional level gear.

Even if a particular guitar from that era had some sort of real problem(s), they could probably be dealt with.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Nobody's saying that it's a bad guitar, as most of us have probably never heard or played one. It's just that they went and cut corners on a classic design. They should have just given it a different model name and left the standard design intact.

The pickguard is a tad bigger, and the strat itself is very badly produced with rock bottom quality stuff.

That strat is one of, if not the biggest reason that people prefered Squiers over Fender Strats.

I am new to the froum but couldn't help but comment on the early 80's American not Japanese produced Standard Strat.
I sold my Strat in the late 60's to buy a set of drums. Huge mistake. While I still have the drums, I needed another guitar for another band I was doing session work for.
Enter the 83 strat promotion and my New Strat. They offered the American made Standard Strat with Case and either a years supply of strings, a practice amp or a Fender acoustic guitar for free. I chose the guitar and still have the Strat which is the best guitar I have ever owned. Yeah, it was $225 but it sounds fantastic with noisless pickups and, unlike my previous Strat, stays in tune. I miss the baseball bat neck though.
Yeah it would have probably been a good Idea to name it something else but....
Between my Tele and Guild Aristocrat/Bluesbird (63) I have all I'll ever need as far as the sounds I like.
Can't beat my Strat as far as value. THe MIM's are fine but can't compare. Besides I'm not smart enough to figure what the hell to do with that other volume control anyhow.
jd

Dude my '83 Strat Kicks $@!. I've had it since I was fifteen and everyone always compliments me on its tone. I have tweaked it a little since '83 (I have a Fender Noiseless PU in the Neck and the Middle, but I have the stock PU still in the bridge. It's just to funky to take out. Plus I added a tone nob for the bridge PU, and a mini toggle switch so I can get a N/B sound or all three PU's. The N/B is a Tele sound that's pretty cool), but it's a blues boogie rock'in bastard! It plays well, sounds great and has more wood than a regular Strat. So all you cork sniffers out there, just keep on sniff'in. Don't knock it until you play it!

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"Bring me four fried chickens, and a coke."
HOUSE-OUT!

The "bare-bones" Strat wasn't officially dead though, Fender Japan did a 22-fret version of the guitar which lasted for about three years, having medium-jumbo frets and a 9,5" radius.

I've a trouble to find a picture of a 22-fret bare-bones on the Internet, but I can post a photo of a Japanese Elite from that period: