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Post subject: 1986 Fender Mystery Strat
Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:22 am
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As you can see, 1 HB and 2 Singlecoils, but with a Black Sys-I Tremolo w/ chrome wammy, Black Tuning heads. Rosewood Fretboard and black neck and headstock. Single Volume and Tone W/ TBX. Side Mount jack

E6 series SN (1986)

This was bought "New" off the rack, according to spec this should have had a Sys-II tremolo. To be honest, the Sys-I has been great. I tossed on a 4th spring and the thing stays in tune like a fixed bridge!!!!

I do have to do some cleaning on the pots and switch though....23 years....I might just replace them. But everything on this thing is "Stock" pups, swtiches, tuners, pots, etc.

Playing this is like going back in time....can you smell the hair spray? LOL!!!

JJ


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Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 8:44 am
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Location: Phoenix, AZ
That's a really nice guitar. The Bridge looks in really good shape, even if it is the wrong one.

I was going to try and buy a contemporary strat of craigslist awhile back, but the guy never wrote me back, then he reposted the guitar again later, and still didn't write me back, so I said screw it.


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Post subject: Thin SS pups
Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 12:58 pm
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The Hummbucker is "bright" esp with the TBX turned all the way up.

The Scoils are "thin" and can be a little murky without the TBX adjustment. However, the tone out of them is very "bluesish". I can get some good mid-range out of them but the "highs" are lack-luster. If your playing clean...switch to both Scoils and bump the Tone +1 over the detent. That is the best sound with the singles on this one.

I never liked the sound from just one S-coil on this guitar. So 3 outta the 5 postions is all I ever use! LOL.

The Scoils are not the "hot" rock/metal pups! I use the HB alone for rock/metal distortion. Right through the 80's vintage DOD FX's. I've toyed with putting some new ones in....but at this stage of my life.... Blues is cool. LOL.

JJ


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:12 pm
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JasonSD wrote:
You can get the fine tuners from here

http://www.fretsonthenet.com/new_page_2.htm



this site it awesome!

JJ


Last edited by JJJefferson on Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Thin SS pups
Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:22 pm
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BigJay wrote:
JJJefferson wrote:
The Hummbucker is "bright" esp with the TBX turned all the way up.

The Scoils are "thin" and can be a little murky without the TBX adjustment. However, the tone out of them is very "bluesish". I can get some good mid-range out of them but the "highs" are lack-luster. If your playing clean...switch to both Scoils and bump the Tone +1 over the detent. That is the best sound with the singles on this one.

I never liked the sound from just one S-coil on this guitar. So 3 outta the 5 postions is all I ever use! LOL.

The Scoils are not the "hot" rock/metal pups! I use the HB alone for rock/metal distortion. Right through the 80's vintage DOD FX's. I've toyed with putting some new ones in....but at this stage of my life.... Blues is cool. LOL.

JJ


Im with you. My experience exactly. When playing the mid or bridge alone, I almost always have both the volume and tone all the way up. Thats about the worst thing I can say about it.

Ive had mine for 20 years, paid $350 for it w/case and candy. Its served me very well as my only electric over that time. Very stable...can drop it off the roof and it stays in tune. Very flexible...rock out with that HB or more delicate clean on the mid/bridge. Wide variable sound.


Sounds very similar to my purchase. I remember it was somewhere between $350-$400. That was a ton of money for a 22 year-old kid in Western NY! But it was for a REAL Fender!

I was playing no-name garage sale knockoffs before this one. I remember the Sales guy saying....."You'll own this guitar for the rest of your life." LOL. So far....he's right!

Some look down on the Japan-Strats.... I have found it a very solid and dependable guitar. The only negative I would put out there is that the metal bolt plate on the neck corroded on me quite early. The finish just crackled.

Now it just looks "distressed" and fits its age but it just couldn't take the sweat I was putting into it! LOL. My skin is hard on strings too! I can tarnish a set in minutes. My buddies wont let me touch their guitars!


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:13 am
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Location: Germany
Hello,

This is my first post here, just to introduce me a little bit:

My name is Michael, I’m living in Germany (2 kms from France and 50 from Luxembourg), still 39 years old and I play guitar since 1979.

I have exact the same guitar like JJ, but total black, body, neck, headstock, pickguard,hardware. HSS, black Trem System I (manufactured by Gotoh), 5-way, Vol, TBX, NO coil split.

It’s the unknown model and I own it since 1985. The story behind the guitar might be interesting…

In 1985, I was 15 and wanted to have my first Strat. My grandmother worked at this time for Schaller (Germany). She knew that I wanted to have a Strat and she offered me to ask René Schaller (at this time Junior President of Schaller) to “organize” one when he will visit Fender for the next business trip.
I got a flyer (not a big catalogue) and I choosed this one.

So Mr. Schaller flew to Fender US and on his way back he brought my Strat with him.
Finaly it’s a Made in Japan imported to Europe via USA…

My grandmother traveled via train from Nuernberg crossing Germany to my hometown, the guitar just packed in the original Fender cardboard box. (There was no case with it unfortunately).
Funny story beside: There was a long-haired young man in the train who watched the whole trip the Fender-box and finaly he asked my 62-year-old grandmother: “Is this really your guitar box over there?” He couldn’t believe, grandma with Strat on tour ;-)

I had to pay 900,- Deutsche Mark (ca. 500,- Euro, ca. 650,- US $ today) for it, this was a little bit less then I would have payed in a store.

I played lots of gigs with it in the 80’s and early 90’s, only tuning was a Rockinger black box (not sure if you know it in the states, it’s to keep tune if a string is cracking, works very well).
Then I stopped playing for almost 15 years, you know that, study, work, family…2 years ago I started again and I tried to find more informations about my guitar.
The Trem was little bit rosty after all these years and I was always thinking that it was made by Schaller. So I called there, had the production manager on the phone (he is working since more the 30 years for Schaller and knew my grandmother) so he tried to help me. I found out that it was not a Schaller-made Trem, it was made by Gotoh. Nethertheless he offered me to help me with refurbishing and I sent the Trem block there and got it back like new; amazing what they could do with the right know-how, even it was not a Schaller-Trem.

I like the Trem system, it’s a very good mixture between Vintage and FR, best of both worlds ( string-through without cutting string heads like Vintage trem, but locking nut and finetuners like FR).
Now I’m playing since 2 years in a band again, it still plays fantastic with great sound, the tuning is absolute stabil.

In 2008 I bought a sister model with red body via ebay from Japan, same unknown model, only difference is the body color and the serial number is here written on the neck backplate (on the black one it’s written on the headstock)
This is also a very good guitar, I use it as backup.

Long text, thanks for reading…

Best regards

Michael

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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 6:53 am
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Location: Germany
Hi,

thanks for your comment; I never had in my mind to sell the guitar, and since my grandma died 2 years ago it is a kind of "holy" for me.

You may laugh but I wrote in my testament that my inheritors should keep that guitar in family hand as a memory for her!

greetings from snowy Luxembourg

Michael


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Post subject: Re: 1985-86 Contemporary Strat MIJ question
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 2:12 pm
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I seem to have the exact same configuration as Paisley Strat. Its an '85 or '86, two humbuckers, three-way selector, no coil splitter, but appears to have the TBX feature. Unless the tone knob just has a mid-point detent. It seems to fit closest to the 27-4200 model, but the TBX doesn't seem to fit that. It hasn't been modified; I'm the second owner and I bought it in early '87 from a guy who didn't know how to play, much less modify anything.


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Post subject: Re: 1985-86 Contemporary Strat MIJ question
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 4:53 pm
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i have a e series strat with system 1 trem
what kind of value do you put on this guitar ?
im thinking of selling it but dont have a clue about a realistic price ?


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Post subject: Re: 1985-86 Contemporary Strat MIJ question
Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 4:26 pm
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I know this is an old topic.....Paisley Strat,i have the exact same contemporary strat that you have except the color mine is like a browny bronze or copper,metallic......its all original,i picked it up at a pawn shop a week ago and absolutely luv it.Like you said it sounds great with the dual humbuckers..tc F.M


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