I recently got a new Eric Johnson Stratocaster for $880 at Guitar Center. The price was set there because it was labeled "used" even though when closely examined, the original pickups were still there along with all other hardware, all case candy, documentation, the strap, etc, were ALL there and seemingly untouched. The store manager, along with other employees, said that the guy who traded this guitar in (along with another 2 guitars in exchange for a Les Paul) was a freak about keeping his guitars in nice shape. So I looked over the guitar, no fingerprints, no scratches, no sign of wear or tampering, looked untouched.

Anyway, how big of a deal is this? I know salesmen by nature are supposed to be enthusiastic, but he seemed to be almost getting high off this guitar and said it was the best deal in the store that day. Opinions on this please!

That's the deal of the century. Used strats are usually way overpriced, and with the price increases, people are demanding more for their 2005 strats for example, then they would have a year ago, even though they didnt pay more when they bought it. I havent seen a used EJ for less than $1200

For an extra $200, I got a VOX VT15 practice amp. I picked this one because it had a tube in it, plus it's a modeller with something like 22 amps and several effects built in, plus tons of presets both factory and user-defined. Plus the power sponge for warming it up at night without waking anyone is nice, along with the standard headphone jack, so I didn't need to buy a new pair of headphones to fit my amp. This is my first electric guitar, my other guitar is a Songbird Acoustic, so this is a step up. Anyway, I love my current setup, what's everyone's opinion on the overall setup? Is this a pretty good pairing of equipment?

Note: I told the guy in the shop that my goal was to get a guitar and amp that would allow me to play "everything from reggae to Rage Against the Machine". Does it look like I could pull it off?

Unbelieveble!! I can only find EJ used strats around 1200-1300 Euros, that's approximatly the double of what you have paid...

Quick question: Should the little stickers on the headstock that say "Fender" and "Original/Custom Contour Neck" or something or other be left alone for future resale value purposes? Similar to how one should leave serial #'s, and engravings alone? Or are these completely arbitrary and can be removed without potential loss of value? I know these are just 2 little stickers, but hey some folks are weird about this stuff. So is removing the stickers okay? Assuming of course that I remove them carefully.

Hi Shemptastic: those are decals rather than stickers. I don't recall whether they are applied beneath or on top of the lacquer on the Eric Johnson model, though knowing his taste for vintage gear they are probably on top (that is how Fender used to do them back in the '50s).

Anyone interested in Strats wants to see those decals safely in place. Definitely leave them alone, please!

BTW: I notice that the current list prices for the EJ guitars are $2929.99 for the maple fingerboard one, $3139.99 for the rosewood. OK, nobody really ever pays anything like list, but still you probably got a pretty good deal, no?

I hate to think what Guitar Center paid the previous owner of that Strat for it if they were knocking it out for £880...

Cheers - C

Shoooot, because I dislike decals, nothing against those who do like them, it's just as I said before, I see them as completely arbitrary. It's not a serial number, it's not engraved (I would love it if they were engraved words), it's not any sort of significant documentation, it can't be taken off and reused on another guitar (as in the case of the pickups in many EJ's, I heard folks strip off the pickups because they're like gold to collectors), and they seem like they should be removed after the purchase just like a price sticker or price tag. To me it's a bit tacky to use a decal as a permanent facet of the instrument's value.

On a side note I've got a friend on the opposite side of the preservation spectrum, he's sanded, dropped, and generally worn his new bass (also a Fender, made last january) to the point where it looks like it's been in one too many bars. He's sanded off the serial #, the Fender logo, stripped off the decals long ago, and has added bits and pieces for convenience instead of aesthetics. That poor, poor jazz bass.

Well, he murdered the resale value of his instrument, with or without his other mods.

It's your guitar to do with as you choose. But if you ever want to sell it later you'll have a hard time convincing anyone it's real without the decals.

Stick around this Forum for a while and see how much hangs on those decals being present and genuine when it comes to distinguishing real from (very common) fake guitars.

Whatever you think of them now, you'll be kicking yourself later if you take 'em off...

Cheers - C

I was sure that the documentation (all hand-signed by Fender employees), the pickups, and serial # were the top points for convincing a potential buyer. What I'm wondering is how greatly this guitar is (or has been) increasing in value. I'm keeping this guitar for a long time, if not permanently. Right now, how hard to find are these pickups and the guitar itself? And how rare will these be in a few years? Several years?

Not hard:

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid ... Categories

Fender don't sell EJ pickups seperately, so they come at a small premium when they are offered for sale. But gold dust they ain't.

The EJ Strat is one of Fender's most popular artist models, so they are readily available, many are sold and they will likely stay in the catalog for a long time to come.

There's nothing rare about the guitar. However, it is desirable simply because it is a rather good model with attractive features.

You got a nice guitar at a good price.

Enjoy!

Cheers - C