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Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:35 am
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New photos at link below....

http://s783.photobucket.com/home/wbba


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Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 1:33 am
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Thanks nikininja...

Yeah much nicer than the Oxford end....I just moved from there. ..we're just down the road from Moreton ...near Stow...very nice. I could do Stratford...or strangley enough I play drums in a soul band and we rehearse in Selly Oak (Ritch $@!&* Studios) alternate Monday nights (meeting up next on Mon 26th) so if you're around Birmingham way on a Monday evening at some point then that might work to. Either way's good for me and would be great to get to know exactly what the guitar is.

Cheers for now..


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Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 4:22 am
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I know Stow on the Wold. Utterly stunning place.

Monday 26th at Rich #itch on the Bristol rd, I know it well and will see you there if you like.

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Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 4:39 am
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This neck does indeed point to a laminated maple board.

Image

Notice theres no skunk stripe on the back of the neck. The rosewood boarded Fender's didnt have a skunkstripe because the trussrod was put in from the fretboard side of the neck, before the fingerboard was glued on.

That would hold true of a laminated maple fingerboard and a neck that had a replaced fingerboard. Hard to call, the way the flat of the neck heel falls into the shape of the back of the neck looks right.

This bridge unfortunately
Image

I have never seen on any Fender guitar.
Also the pickups polepieces on that picture look quite flat as opposed to staggered. I'm not sure when fender changed from staggered to flat set polepieces. I thought it was in the early 70's. The neck and mid pickups both have staggered polepieces so they could well be late 50's/ early 60's. The flat poles of the bridge pickup could indicate the guitar being modded in the early 70's. When Birch was at his peak.

It's really hard to call. I'm going to have to take the neck and the pickguard off and have a look inside to be sure. I'm not sure that the neck will have kept any original markings because of the refinish. The body should have though. Then theres the switch and pots, I'll have to brush up on pot code dating.

You could be better off taking this guitar to Vintage and Rare, pay them £30 and get a proffesional appraisal. They'll also give you written documentation of what it is.

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Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 5:28 am
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Thanks nikininja....

I'd be glad to bring the guitar along on the 26th....will be in touch later to confirm time etc.

The bridge pick up was changed just after I had the guitar...I still have the origonal which I think is identical to the other two.

I contacted your friend Alan and his reply is below...

many thanks for your enquiry, without actually seeing the guitar in the flesh, I can not definatly say, but from the photos, it looks like an early fender that has been customised.
The machine heads look like they have been recromed, these were done by a company in Kings Norton in Birmingham.
The transfers on the headstock were of John Birch stock, it looks like the bridge may be original Fender, with John Birch bridge saddles, I think from memory the John Birch bridge plates were made out of stainless steel, if it has been changed.
The knobs look to be of John Birch stock & I'm unsure about the pick guard, as if it had been one of his, it would have been made out of a material called Darvic which would not have gone 'mint' green.I can't really tell you much more with out seeing the guitar. All the best Alan

Think i'll take your advice and take it along to Vintage and rare at some point to.

Cheers for now and thanks again for all the help...


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Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 6:28 am
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Alan's a great guy, if he says its a genuine Fender thats been Birched as it were, I dont think you'll get a better more educated view from anywhere.
During his time at Birch/Diggins he worked on numerous CBS strats as they were imported into the country, fixing em up before sale. He's worked on Blackmores guitars amongst others. I've known the guy since I was 15, every time I speak to him he reveals something new.

Take a look at his Burford pedal range. Their absolutely stunningly good. I have the Mosquito and cant find anything that comes close to it, Roger Mayer Octavio included. He's making me a new fuzz sometime soon, to my own spec. Like good food, he's well worth waiting for.

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Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 11:43 am
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Hi nikininja

Am happy to meet up tomorrow in selly oak if you're in that area and still want to check out the guitar, or Alan has said I can take it up to him so he can take a closer look., so maybe we could meet up at Alan's in the next couple of weeks of you're around Redditch way in the near future. I've mailed you my phone number so you can give me a call.

Cheers

Wbba.


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Post subject: Re: John Birch Custom Strat
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 3:59 pm
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Hi- I have a 1964 fender strat that unfortunately was customised a few years into its life by a John Birch customisation. The body was routed for humbuckers in the middle and bridge position leaving just the neck pick up original.
Also the neck was replaced by a maple neck with the John birch custom logo as in the other post on this site.
Does anyone have any more info on these maple necks?
Cheers
Bill


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Post subject: Re:
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 6:42 pm
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Xhefri wrote:
I read this and I was like "no way!" A John Birch Strat? Well a case of mistaken identity. One "John Birch" is the founder of, what has been described by some as an "ultraconservative" political group here in the USA.....I had seen Harley Davidson and Playboy Strats, so what not a John Birch Society Commemorative Strat??? :oops: :oops:


The John Birch Society was not founded by John Birch. They named their special little club after a man name John Birch who was killed by communist Chinese in 1945 shortly after WWII. The said he was the first casualty of the Cold War.

The fact that you did not know this actually speaks well of you.

Cheers,

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Post subject: Re: John Birch Custom Strat
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 7:25 pm
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It's such an old post do you think he cares or not?

Although on topic, it is an interesting guitar


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Post subject: Re: Re:
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 2:38 pm
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mhowell wrote:
Xhefri wrote:
I read this and I was like "no way!" A John Birch Strat? Well a case of mistaken identity. One "John Birch" is the founder of, what has been described by some as an "ultraconservative" political group here in the USA.....I had seen Harley Davidson and Playboy Strats, so what not a John Birch Society Commemorative Strat??? :oops: :oops:


The John Birch Society was not founded by John Birch. They named their special little club after a man name John Birch who was killed by communist Chinese in 1945 shortly after WWII. The said he was the first casualty of the Cold War.

The fact that you did not know this actually speaks well of you.

Cheers,

Lol! I just remember seeing their newspapers back in the 1970s in a small town I lived in. I knew there were a right-wing political group of some sort...and I was only being facetious stating he had a signature Strat. But as always, Nick's posts were interesting and informative. Thanks for the post so many years later...

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Last edited by Xhefri on Sun Aug 10, 2014 6:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Re:
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 6:06 pm
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mhowell wrote:
The John Birch Society was not founded by John Birch. They named their special little club after a man name John Birch who was killed by communist Chinese in 1945 shortly after WWII. The said he was the first casualty of the Cold War.The fact that you did not know this actually speaks well of you. Cheers,

Suggest ya'll Google one Robert Welch for the full skinny on the JBS. Robert Welch made some serious money in the candy business. One of your favorites might be among them. The fact that you did not know this actually speaks well of you. As for myself...well....research was the foundation of much of what I did in my career.:wink:

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