I just picked up this 1985 MIJ Contemporary Strat, and it is a pretty cool guitar. I have some questions for you Stratophiles.
1. What color is it?? It is a dark silver with green metallic finish. It is the first one I have seen. I don't think it is sage green.
2. Did the guitar have a wrench holder on the back of the headstock that held allen wrenchs for the locking nut?? There is a minor repair there, and it looks like 2 holes were filled, and I thought it might be for a wrench holder.
3. Where can I get replacement parts for the stock System 1 tremelo?? I have read that Schaller, Gotoh and Kehler all are rumored to have made all or part of the System 1 tremelo. I beleive Gotoh made the string lock, and Schaller made the trem, even tho it is stamped 'Fender"
4. What exactly is the TBX tone control doing to the signal?? I know it is a tone control plus some extra stuff(mid/high boost), but what electronically is going on in there.
Thanks as always to my brothers and sisters in Stratoland.

I think I got a good deal, as after a complete tear down, cleaning and set up, it plays great, and sounds very un-Strat like, which is way cool!!

Hi Big Jay, as I have been playing and setting up the guitar, I find I like it more and more. The overall feeling is one of solid construction and build. Mine is definately a players guitar, with quite a few dings in the finish. Nothing bad, but this guitar has seen some use. The neck is awesome, and feels good. It could use a fret dressing, but that is later. The neck plate looks original and has an A series serial # on it with 6 digits. It has nice worn marks from lots of soloing. When I took off the neck, it made a nice sound. The sound of a neck being taken off a guitar for the first time. You know the sound if you hear it. Crack...click...squeek!! I think the neck and body are original They were both stamped ST-555
I tend to go for "different Strats" from your run of the mill black SSS with maple neck etc.. I now have several MIJ Strats;
1985 Contemporary Strat (A series) metallic silver/green
1987 Squire Strat (E series) fiesta red
1988 Strat '72 reissue (E series) pink paisley
These guitars are great deals, play well, sound great and are fun to play!!
Made in Japan is a mark of quality that Made in Mexico has yet to reach, IMHO. MIM are much better, as I own several, but the MIJ guitars have a slight "feel"edge. Just the thoughts of a madman!!

You should try to check out the MIJ Gibsons sometime: the Orville by Gibson guitars.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

In reference to question 3, go to http://www.wammiworld.com and there is a link to System 1 parts in the left menu.

Hey Paisley, BigJay et al. I wanted to question the hardware on your headstock on your original post, Mr. P, but figured it was just a mod someone did. This morning I looked at mine:



See the four filled-in holes around the truss rod? So now I'm curious. Am I the one missing an original piece of hardware, and if so, what might it be? Looks like some kind of locking mechanism.

Not all Contmporary strats had black headstocks. Some were natural maple with a one piece maple neck/fretboard. Some of them also had SSS configurations. The system one bridge (with "Fender" stamped on it) is definitely Schaller, not Kahler. I agree the holes in the headstock were for the locking nut that was standard.

From one very happy owner of an e-series MIJ maple neck SSS 1986 Strat. They're built rock solid and play great.

This will help: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.blackman4/cont.htm

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Chet Feathers

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

The "Contemporary Standard 22" is the only Contemporary model that did not have a "Black Headstock"

_________________
Chet Feathers

Authorized TonePros Dealer
Authorized WD Music Products Dealer
F/A Official Southpaw Compliance Certification Tester http://faamps.com/

http://www.facebook.com/cafeathers


I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.