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Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 11:58 am
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John C wrote:
qblue wrote:
There are two models in this thread that should be separate because they are differing species. I think that Fender was just getting their Custom Shop together and needed models ready for production. This was a new FMIC corporation who didn't have much production in the 80's. I hear stories of making guitars with whatever parts were left around( remember the Stratocaster Elite?) But because of interest piqued by the current guitar gods, e.g., Clapton and Beck, in Fender products, obviously Fender thought they could sell a lot more guitars with signature models. The Eric Clapton model was first; the Beck version came next, with heavy input from both guitarists. To me the Plus is a production model of the signature Clapton and the Ultra is the mass production version of the Beck model(without the bat-neck). These models initially came with Lace Sensors.

The Plus has brushed chrome Sperzel hardware; the Ultra has polished chrome Schaller hardware. While they share the use of Lace Sensors the Plus' came with $@!/S arrangement and the Ultra has a H/S/S arrangement. The Wilkinson metal nuts were on both guitars. The Ultras came with coil-taps and innovative 5 way switch different than all other Strats. Ebony fingerboards were used on the Ultras. Tremsetters were used on both. Both guitars were built rock-solid, because Fender had to erase memories of the unflattering eighties products they had produced.

Fender's association with Lace was a good one, so good they produced the Tele Plus. But that ended with the SCN Fender noiseless pickups helped in develpment by a Master pickup innovator, Mr. Bill Lawrence. So that leads one to wonder what would a Tele Ultra sound like?


Just to set the story straight:

The Ultra came out in 1991; it did have chrome hardware (I have played a couple that had chrome Sperzels but most have chrome Schaller tuners). The 5-way isn't particuarly unique; it's just a 5-way. The unique part of the switching was the 3-way mini-toggle that gave you the front/both/rear coil of the dual Lace.

Your also missing 6 years of Vintage Noiseless pickups, which were developed in-house by Fender's pickup department. These are the pickups that have been on the EC Strat since 2001, and this team developed the "Hot Noiseless" currently on the Beck Signatures. Bill Lawrence developed the next generation noiseless pickups, the SCNs, which were used from 2004 until this year when the N3s came out on the new versions of the American Deluxe.


Thanks for the corrections; I don't like to rewrite history.

But the 5-way switch is different. I cannot find a schematic for the switch on the Fender website, but these are the details. Position 1 is the bridge pickup, w/ the coil-tap in play plus the TBX tone control. Position 2 is the bridge and middle PU's, with the coil tap in play and TBX tone. POSITION 3 is not the middle PU only; however it is the neck and bridge together in a Telecaster type connection, with the coil-tap in play and both tone and TBX tone controls. The position 4 is the middle and neck PU's with a single tone control. Position 5 is the neck PU only. I used to lament not being able to hear my middle PU (especially since it was the vintage Gold )by itself and almost got rid of the guitar because of it. My Ultra has a H/S/S arrangement with Red dually/Gold/Blue Fender/Lace Sensors. And while I bought mine in 1991 it has a N0XXXXXX serial number (see the second page of this thread).

This website explains it all: http://xhefriguitars.com/page4.html

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Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 12:48 pm
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[quote="qblue]
Thanks for the corrections; I don't like to rewrite history.

But the 5-way switch is different. I cannot find a schematic for the switch on the Fender website, but these are the details. Position 1 is the bridge pickup, w/ the coil-tap in play plus the TBX tone control. Position 2 is the bridge and middle PU's, with the coil tap in play and TBX tone. POSITION 3 is not the middle PU only; however it is the neck and bridge together in a Telecaster type connection, with the coil-tap in play and both tone and TBX tone controls. The position 4 is the middle and neck PU's with a single tone control. Position 5 is the neck PU only. I used to lament not being able to hear my middle PU (especially since it was the vintage Gold )by itself and almost got rid of the guitar because of it. My Ultra has a H/S/S arrangement with Red dually/Gold/Blue Fender/Lace Sensors. And while I bought mine in 1991 it has a N0XXXXXX serial number (see the second page of this thread).

This website explains it all: http://xhefriguitars.com/page4.html
[/quote]

Aha - thanks for setting me straight. It's been so many years since I played an Ultra I was just remembering position 3 as the middle by itself.

I had a PRS Custom 22 Soapbar model for a while (this has 3 soapbars) and it was wired the same way - position 3 was the neck & bridge pickup together instead of the middle by itself.


Last edited by John C on Fri May 21, 2010 11:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject:
Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 1:24 pm
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I still wish I could find that schematic for this 5 way switch. My knowledge of this fact only occurred in the the last 4 years, as all the documentation from Fender conveniently omitted this fact. And all the facts I received from the internet, no less. However, that knowledge has significantly increased my enjoyment of this guitar.

I also love the tremsetter as it does not go out of tune. I am inspired by Jeff Beck's playing and now I am hot for steel guitar effects. You don't have to have a tremelo to get that effect but it helps. This tremelo you can change the note upwards as well as downwards. Its a super guitar. I like to use the Tele I have to bend on the neck to get a similar, though more subtle, effect. Both are good on songs with space.

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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 12:53 pm
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JasonSD wrote:
Mine looked like it had a lot of purple in it. It looks a lot different depending on the lighting. I bought it on ebay and in the photos on there it looked like it had more blue metallic in it.

Here's a pic of mine.

Image



Jason,

When I first saw mine when searching online it just looked like a navy blue Strat. I was getting info from the seller while trying to search color charts through the years to see what it was. I confirmed it through Fender CS that it was in fact Midnight Blue, which looks different in each pic I take of it. Looks blue in some lighting, and more purple in others. Either way, I think it is a great guitar.

I don't know if it has fully replaced the 2000 Fender Strat Deluxe I sold in a translucent green, but I'm loving the Plus and the Lace pups and the TBX control right now.


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Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 8:19 pm
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modestglock26 wrote:
When I first saw mine when searching online it just looked like a navy blue Strat. I was getting info from the seller while trying to search color charts through the years to see what it was. I confirmed it through Fender CS that it was in fact Midnight Blue, which looks different in each pic I take of it.

Midnight Blue is an interesting color as it really is a candy blue as it is applied just like Candy Apple Red, Frost Red, and Midnight Wine. They lay down a fine silver coat which is then followed by a semi-transparent color coat (Blue, Red or Darker Red) and then after reaching the desired color, they then shoot clear over top.

Several years ago I had a Midnight Blue Plus that had some bad chips in the finish. I decided to strip it down and do a refinish on it. I found out two things. 1) Candy colors are very hard to strip as the fine silver metallic coat is very hard to get off. 2) Sometime a Strat can come from the factory with a lot of coats of paint. See the guitar below. This Plus had Midnight Blue (MB) and then Candy Apple Red (CAR) and then another CAR, then MB with a sealer coat (each color had the base coat and color coat) and then 2 more MB coats with base and color and then the first sealer. Wow, talk about a THICK SKIN guitar! What in the world was Fender doing when this happened. The paint had to be at least .5 mm thick.

Image Image

Here is the finished product shot in urethane with base coat clear coat:

Image

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Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 6:21 am
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Wow - beautiful job on the Grafitti Yellow.

Also, in seeing that middle shot I see where James Tyler got the inspiration for all of his unusual finishes.


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Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 9:24 am
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John C wrote:
Also, in seeing that middle shot I see where James Tyler got the inspiration for all of his unusual finishes.


I agree, those wacko finishes are astounding, especially the shmears. Jimbursts, Vomits, Burning and Ice Waters are also interesting.

Jim uses some rare exotic timbres for the bodies, apart the traditional alder and ash. One of these fancy timbres was the Malaysian Mystery Wood, better known as Mamywo and Jelutong.

These guitars are extremely versatile, with some models sporting a Demeter Fat Control mid-boost preamp, a lead/rhythm circuit, three mini toggle switches to split/tap the pickups and two buttons to preset and bypass the preamp.

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Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:39 am
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Hey - no knock on Tyler's here; one of the best "Strats" I ever owned was this Psychedelic Vomit SE (which I don't think Jim is doing any more):

Image

Very cool axe; it was mamywo body, Duncan stacks in the neck and middle and a JB jr. in the bridge. You could go throug Jimi, Gilmour, Blackmore all the way to EVH (well, the first couple of VH albums) with one guitar.

The only reason I sold it was the neck was just too fat for me; Jim uses a pretty thick carve on his guitars. I would love to try one out with his so-called "thin" carve which is something like .825" at the 1st and .845" at the 12th - which is pretty much a "medium" neck for most other builders. I also like that he has moved from the Wilkinson bridge to the Gotohs these days; while the bridge on mine was fine I don't want to think about trying to adjust that sucker myself.


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Post subject: Strat Plus or Ultra
Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:57 am
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Hey Xhefri;
Beautiful guitar. Is that a PLus or an Ultra? I noticed the 'mini-switch' there? I am new to the Fender strats as I'm just learning to play.

Did Fender ever produce a 40th Anniversary Ultra? I have a (1994) Strat with Flamed Maple top/back, roller nut, "40th Anniversary of the Stratocaster" medalion on neck, 1994 40 years of.... on the neckplate and it has the 'mini-switch'. Dual Pups at the bridge w/single/single but they are not FLS.



Thanks


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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus or Ultra
Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 1:23 pm
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kevinb580 wrote:
Hey Xhefri;
Beautiful guitar. Is that a PLus or an Ultra? I noticed the 'mini-switch' there? I am new to the Fender strats as I'm just learning to play.

Did Fender ever produce a 40th Anniversary Ultra? I have a (1994) Strat with Flamed Maple top/back, roller nut, "40th Anniversary of the Stratocaster" medalion on neck, 1994 40 years of.... on the neckplate and it has the 'mini-switch'. Dual Pups at the bridge w/single/single but they are not FLS. Thanks

Hi, the Yellow one pictured in the previous post is a Strat Plus customized like a Ultra. All Ultras, except a few very early 1990 models say Ultra on the neck Plate. They all have Ebony fret boards and chrome parts as well. Your guitar sounds interesting. Do you have any picts you could post or email? my email is: xhefri@gmail.com

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Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 9:43 am
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I had one of the early '87s with the "E4" sereal number on the neck. What a great guitar. Wonderful tone and personality.


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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus or Ultra
Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 12:44 am
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Xhefri wrote:
kevinb580 wrote:
Hey Xhefri;
Beautiful guitar. Is that a PLus or an Ultra? I noticed the 'mini-switch' there? I am new to the Fender strats as I'm just learning to play.

Did Fender ever produce a 40th Anniversary Ultra? I have a (1994) Strat with Flamed Maple top/back, roller nut, "40th Anniversary of the Stratocaster" medalion on neck, 1994 40 years of.... on the neckplate and it has the 'mini-switch'. Dual Pups at the bridge w/single/single but they are not FLS. Thanks

Hi, the Yellow one pictured in the previous post is a Strat Plus customized like a Ultra. All Ultras, except a few very early 1990 models say Ultra on the neck Plate. They all have Ebony fret boards and chrome parts as well. Your guitar sounds interesting. Do you have any picts you could post or email? my email is: xhefri@gmail.com


Xhefri- I do remember seeing a plus deluxe anniversary model a while back- it had a special blue finish to it but cant remember the details exactly. It may too have had gold hardware (?) The guitar above sounds interesting :)

BTW- this Ultra might interest you- Ive seen some of this guys stuff and he photographs his gear in good detail. Check out the price- its dead mint isnt it! the price is err... :roll: but note the sperzels on it- I didnt think they ever used them on the Ultra. Looks like this strat has never seen the light of day at all judging by the colour of the neck, the guard is white as anything and nothing has yellowed at all- not even the switch tip :)

He has even had an Taos Plus, and a Seafoam Green Plus in the past with E4 serial #'s for sale!
He has some pretty tasty inventory but it seems that some gear he cannot seem to move- I assume it could be due to the prices he has got on a "buy it now"
Ultra:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/1991-FENDER-USA- ... 20b220094e

Taos Plus:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/1984-FENDER-USA- ... 20b22046cd

Seafoam Plus:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/1988-FENDER-USA- ... 20b201a6df

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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 6:53 am
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This 1988 Seafoam Green Plus was used by Jeff Beck.

BTW I've seen an early 1990s photo of him playing this particular guitar on the "Electric Guitars - The Illustrated History" book written by Paul Day.


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Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 8:47 am
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blertles; Here is a few pictures of my guitar. I just got it set up and it plays/sounds beautiful, would trade/sell it for anything. My friends that play Fender MIA strats all tell me to let them know first if I decide to get rid of it. I would just like to know how common these guitars are and what it's value may be now and in the future?


Keep Rockin!

kevinb580


Sorry, haven't figured out how to post pics yet.



[/img]


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Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 3:34 am
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kevinb580 wrote:
blertles; Here is a few pictures of my guitar. I just got it set up and it plays/sounds beautiful, would trade/sell it for anything. My friends that play Fender MIA strats all tell me to let them know first if I decide to get rid of it. I would just like to know how common these guitars are and what it's value may be now and in the future?


Keep Rockin!

kevinb580


Sorry, haven't figured out how to post pics yet.



[/img]


Go to Photobucket.com and set up an account. You can upload photos and post the img code on your reply/post and the picture will appear on the thread

keen to see your guitar mate :wink:

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