Hello everyone,

This is my first post I'm totally new to the world of Fender. Been a luthier for about 4 solid years and a custom guitar builder for a couple of years, however, I have not yet come across that many American Fender strats as of yet.

A couple of weeks ago, I found an American strat neck. I thought it was a bargain as I got it for about $50. Here's the thing, I was VERY disappointed with the manufacturing of this one! This is not what I would expect from the legendary company Fender (yes, I'm suspecting something being wrong here, hope i wasn't scammed due to my Fender n00bness).

I was told the neck was made in the 90's. The guy who gave it to me was not sure when exactly. The serial number is shown in the pictures attached below.

The skunk stripe is coming out it seems so it has to be redone. The screw holes seem to have been drilled a little smaller (and boy the drilling looks bad ) and some fretwork has to be done, but the latter is normal.

And another thing, when did Fender ever put those tuners with locking thumbscrews? That looks a bit odd. And what worries me the most is that Gibson used to stamp the number "2" on their factory rejected necks. This one has an engraved "2" on the back of the headstock, also shown in the pics.

Enough blabbering from my side. The pictures should show all that's needed. I would appreciate any help from you guys in dating this neck and finding out whether it IS in fact a real American neck or just a spoof. Build and wood quality apart form what was mentioned seems very good. Also the fretwork seems good. That's why I was leaning towards believing it's American.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/ ... 002742.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/ ... 002743.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/ ... 002744.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/ ... 002746.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/ ... 002747.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/ ... 002748.jpg

Thanks in advance,

Sami

EDIT: Yes, upon checking the dating guide on the website (just found it) the neck was indeed a 1991 neck. But I still can't find out the series nor exact model.

Hi Sami, welcome to the Forum.

The Guitar Dater Project says that serial number belongs to a 1991-2 American Fender, so the number is real at any rate, whether or not the decal is.

Fender put locking tuners on their American Deluxe guitars. The ones I know have an "F" logo on each thumb wheel and I don't ever recall seeing brushed chrome tuners like that on a Fender. Which suggests that these tuners are aftermarket mods - but my knowledge on that is not catagorical, so maybe someone else has further thoughts.

I've seen stamped digits like the number "2" you have there on Chinese made Squiers. I'm not at all saying that's what this neck is, or calling into question it's authenticity - but I don't remember ever seeing a stamped number like that on a real Fender. Again, someone else may have better info.

Your neck has the circular metal plate in the heel to mate with Fender's Microtilt device. Can't recall seeing that on an imitation - certainly not a lower priced Fender. So at any rate I don't think this is a MIM or a Squier with a fake logo.

If original then that nut is a clue as to the model Strat this neck came off.

Can't see from the pics what you're getting at about the skunk stripe. Be interested in anything more you can tell use about that. But it looks like you have a crack developing between one of the bolt holes and the end of the heel. Hide glue and careful clamping is the fix for that...

My thoughts.

Now. Howsabout telling us about your luthierie?

Cheers - C


PS Oh yes: you need to show us a picture of the end of the heel. There should be a helpful inked stamp there to move us along...

Ceri,

Thanks a lot. As little as it might seem to you, this info is of great value for a complete Fender noob. I know it sounds weird to say that I've been doing luthiery work without getting a lot of Fenders here and there.

Fact is, I have fixed about 10-12 Strats. Most were American standard series, but those fixes were either general setup, pickup change, simple mods, etc. So I never really had to start digging deep into their origin or anything.

I started getting into guitar luthiery after discovering the uselessness of guitar shops here (Dubai, UAE). We have most of the major brand sales covered and got dealers for almost any brand of equipment. But absolutely no service centres or qualified luthiers which was horrible.

I started learning the basics out of necessity. But then I grew fond of the technicalities of the building process and advanced maintenance (major fretwork, heavy modification, broken necks/joints/bodies, vintage instrument restoration, etc) later on. So now needless to say, stewmac.com has been my best online friend as of yet

I can't say I'm an expert. I am, at best, a hobbyist luthier. But I have done some complex jobs which I'm quite proud of I will try to post pictures later on.

I have built a couple of guitars from scratch (well, to tell the truth, I have not carved necks from raw blanks nor slotted/radiused fretboards yet as I still need a little more stock on tools and a LOT more free time) and they were my own designs. I face a major problem here which is the lack of tone woods. So the productivity varies drastically depending on cash flow and what I can get my hands on.

If this neck proves to be worth the effort, I'll fix the issues it has and build a body for it. And probably either use it or sell it (no, not as a full authentic strat of course )

The skunk stripe issue might not really be a manufacturing issue tbh. It might be the owner who had the truss rod push it and cracked the lacquer. The other issue is cracks along the heel due to either using bigger screws (which is unlikely cause I checked the holes and they seem smaller than usual) which lead to cracking the wood. This might not be a major issue for the time being as I can glue that together. As long as it doesn't split and attack the fretboard with it. I'll have to do some thorough testing first.

P.S. As embarrassing as it is, upon looking at the heel, there was a faded stamp that said May 15 1991 so much for being a "luthier"

Hi again, diSEMBOWELMENT: well for starters, I think a lot of people get started in luthierie/techery for that very reason. Perfectly honorable!

Regarding tonewood: I have a notion that in Dubai there possibly is not much import tax to pay on stuff you ship in? Does Dubai actually have "free port" status - can't quite remember?

If so, then you might as well buy tonewood from StewMac or one of the many other American suppliers. The relative bulk they consume it in means it is as cheap or cheaper there than anywhere else. By comparison, take a look at what a medium grade chunk of wood can cost in Europe - and this is by no means the most expensive:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0361324043

Even European grown timber can often cost less when sold in American, simply because of the quantities they shift. Frustrating - but...

The exception is sometimes African sourced wood, such as sapele (which in these days of South American timber bans is often what people are actually using when they talk about "mahogany"). Keep an eye on those African timbers.

Shucks: just for the heck of it... I normally wouldn't dream of blowing my own trumpet - and it's a very small trumpet! - but you might be amused by a couple of threads from the Annuls of the Forum. To show the level of interest there is here you could have a glance at this techy type thread:

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... sc&start=0

And on sourcing timber this might tickle you:

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... hp?t=15656

Behind the scenes there is progress being made on that second thread. Expect to see further developments there in a month or two...!

What I'm trying to say is - show us what ya got! We're hot to see!!

Cheers - C

Haha this thread is chat messenger rapid!

I'll post some pics once i get them organized. They're mostly restorations and 1 complete build (I forgot to document another quick build I did, nothing fantastic though) and an "in the works" build.

HOWEVER, I have to warn you guys, you will NOT be excited to see the shapes this is a Fender forum, so I'm expecting a lot of shuddering if I post pointy evollll looking guitars haha.

I'll try to gather my stuff together and post soon

I know quilted billets can go pretty expensive. And yes you're right about the super low tax (there is some but it barely reaches 5%) but shipping costs are something! And i'm not that confident to do a solid burl body for example, eventhough i would KILL to have something like that!

Anyhow, looks like i'm gonna be visiting this forum pretty frequently... thanks a lot for the help Ceri!

Those brushed-steel locking tuners were Schallers, I believe. The Strat Plus and Strat Plus Deluxe (and Ultra) series of the day had either Sperzel locking tuners (chrome finish and used more in the very early nineties for the more high-end guitars) or the matte Schallers. I think the "F" logo thumb wheels are more recent Fender/Schaller collaborations.

That sure looks like a real "1991 Strat Plus" neck to me.

Google will lead you to lots of info and pictures.

_________________
Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Ha! Strat Plus, huh? The nut, I presume?

Orville's on the case, gentlemen. All shall become clear.

- C

Perfect! Thank you so much Orville! It is a Strat Plus neck. Here is the guitar I got the neck from: (this is a 1989 picture thouh, but the one I had was identical)

http://www.vintage-guitars.se/1989_Fend ... 901085.jpg

Thanks guys for all the help. However, no one seems to have solved the mystery of the engraved 2. Could it possibly be some after market thing? Cause it honestly doesn't look like it was done at a factory, bad edges and stuff.

I hate to say it but don't completely rule out a copy. Fender necks are well built!

Can the imprinted number "2" on the back of the headstock indicate that it is a factory 2nd, that may not be within the standard spec?

_________________


http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

I'm just saying I've never seen tuners that look quite like those. Might be just the picture but they almost look plastic. I know they are not. The holes drilled into the bottom of the neck don't look professional either. But on the good side he only paid $50.

I think the pictures might be a little deceiving as the tuners go. They look like standard brushed aluminum tuners that I've seen on plenty of Plus strats on ebay as well as in my friend's shop. I kicked myself because I had saved and bought my 91 MIA strat, and the same day went into his shop to get new strings and saw a 96 Plus hanging on the wall that they had just gotten in. If I wasn't paying for a wedding in the next few months it would be mine...hopefully it will slip under the radar of everyone and I can get it later.

I'm sure that I'm wrong. It does not take much to know more than me on identifying guitar parts!

The stamped 2 means it is a factory second. Which means it left the factory with a blemish or some sort of defect. A lot of times the manufacturers will sell these to wholesellers and stamp and 2, used, or B stock in the headstock so that they can't be passed off as new, non-defective guitars