I just purchased the white strat shown here at a pawn shop in Louisiana. I was told by the pawn shop owner that it was played in clubs and bars in Louisiana for at least the last 30 years, but beyond that he didn't know anything about it. It has no country of origin anywhere, no serial number and no markings or any kind except an A on the heel of the neck. I've taken a lot of pictures and would sure appreciate any help that could be provided. Is it american? japanese? other? Any idea about what year it might have been made? Thanks everyone. This is a link to pictures of the strat on my google pictures page.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gordonb59/WhiteStrat#

Hi: thanks for the reply. I paid $325. The pawn shop owner was kind of embarassed because it was "beat up". But in fact it's really not. It plays beautifully and is a real authentic "relic". Nicely broken in, very comfortable, lots of life in the frets. A real player and a gem. I sure would like to know more about it though. Did Japan ever make strats without a serial number or country of origin at least somewhere on the guitar?

Looks like a Japanese copy. Note the bridge cast-saddles, body shape isn't quite right, skunk stripe is too narrow and doesn't continue to the heel like most do, the tuning keys are not correct for that logo, front contour is too large...

What it LOOKS like is a mid to late 70s copy/forgery. There were a lot of these made, and in fact the companies that made these forgeries eventually ended up making some Fender Japan guitars. A lot of them (like tokai) were of excellent quality, better than what fender was putting out at the time. But, what you've got there isn't from Fender.

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Some Guitars played through an amp...

I really do think its a partsocaster, with a non fender neck. The pickups look identical to some I had on a old japanese charvel. Very underpowered but very nice sounding. The body looks great, infact the only body I've seen with similar neck pocket detail is my customshop. The two nailholes in the pocket and that 'just a tad' of paint outline, way thinner than normal shows it to have been cut and painted with the upmost care. No mouse ears either, very much like CS guitars, every bit of wood is kept. Non removed needlessly.
Here


Unfortunately the skunkstrip on the neck end seems quite untidy. Maybe its just the photo or something overshadowing the end of it, but it looks raggedy



Dunno what to make of it. Considering the pickups, pots, switch and trem (similar to a callaham) I have to believe its a partso. Still $325 is a good price for a good sounding/playing guitar. That high class body just makes it more of a deal.

Yes, it looks like it's made up of import (Japanese?) parts. That neck has '50s styling, but the body has '60s styling (set up for an 11 screw pickguard). The electronics look like those of an import, not a MIA Fender.

There's no "Custom Contour Body" decal. Any "Made in ... " indication anywhere?

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My other guitar is a Strat.

No, none whatsoever. No indication at all of a country of origin, serial number or even a manufacturer if these are replacement parts. thanks for your reply.

BTW: off topic for a second - does that mean your CS also doesn't have mouse ears, Niki?

I'd like to have a clearer idea how far up the catalog that feature goes. I've seen it on an Eric Johnson Sig, which surprised me. Made me think; maybe the makers don't see that thing the same way I do...

Cheers - C

Here you go, no ears. Perhaps I ought to rename it Vangogh



Note also how the paint is kept off the top wall. Theres just a band of it 3mm wide on that wall like the 3mm wide one that you can see on the face of the pocket.. Just like SeriousJamming's guitar. All i can surmise is that its to bind the paint in along that edge, maybe to stop chips on that sharp edge. However I know zilch about painting.

The hotrod doesnt have mouse ears either but does have a ugly routerbit blemish in the top right of this photo. The side wall isnt painted either. Theres a partial smear but no neat 3mm band. Perhaps cellulose doesnt need it to bind on the very edge. Note also the two nail holes, just like SeriousJamming's guitar.



After comparing those pockets and the pickup routing (along with the worm), I'm pretty convinced its a high end fender body.

Excellent: thanks for those photos, Nick; appreciated.

I was going to apologise for the hijack, but actually I think those pics add to this discussion. Wherever seriousjamming's body came from it ain't bargain basement work.

Cheers - C

I agree, it does add. Thanks. The similarity of the nail holes is interesting. Although mine doesn't have any of the writing in the neck pocket that yours does. If mine was really played in bars for 30 years, it would have to have been a very early MIJ model.

The customshop guitar (top picture) doesnt have any writing in the neck pocket thats permanent. Theres the item code in pencil, the same as is stamped into the middle pickup route. Considering the depth of the shim inserted into that neck pocket, its probable that the pocket has at some point been sanded. Its certainly very fresh looking for a 30 year old guitar.

Hi seriousjamming: the one thing that I'm not in doubt about is those holes. It's perfectly normal for makers at all levels to fit a handle for spraying bodies and not use the neck screw holes but add additional ones instead. (Because using the neck mounting holes would compromise the paint application on the back of the bod.) Like this:



That's a photo I found on the net of a home builder's work, but I have Strats from the factory that show similar holes, as does Nick's top of the line Hotrod (above).

So no conclusions can be drawn either way from those screw/nail holes.

If the date of the guitar is correct then I'm strongly tempted by the pre-MIJ Japanese copy identification. But I can't back that up with certain knowledge.

Cheers - C

thanks c. I didn't realize that with the nail holes. great pic of the process. thanks. Still wondering about my guitars origins then.

Here are a few pics now that I know how to do it: