I have just come into possession of a vintage Fender Strat. Not positive of the year yet, but believe it's 1964 or earlier, as it has the "nail holes" I've read about used in early painting processes. I'd like to restore it, but know I don't have the know-how to do it properly myself, so I'm going to pay for the restoration (over time, heh, I'm poor ). Still, I'd like to do what I can myself, to save as much as possible, and one of the things I'm thinking I can do myself is get replacement knobs. But I'd like to get real bakelite ones, and not get shafted in the process. Does anyone know of a reputable seller who carries these, online or offline?

TIA!

I don't know if you should restore it. 1964 strat have good value if original.

But can lost is value if you do anything on it .You can make a big mistake

Be carreful, ask on the web.

Go to ask to Georges Gruhn ( Gruhn vintage guitars, web site)

He is well know

What's wrong with the original knobs??? Don't replace the knobs unless they are missing!! Every little thing changed on a vintage Strat deducts from its value. Even screws, pots, tremolo springs ect ,etc, shouldn't be replaced unless they are missing. If you want new knobs, KEEP the old ones in a safe place!!!


+1 I'd suggest getting the guitar appraised ASAP and have an expert give you guidance.

p.s. Fender stopped using bakelite for Strat knobs long before 1964. "Fender switched to white ABS parts in early 1957" from http://home.provide.net/~cfh/fender.html

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

One more thing, vintage Fenders are so well built that you shouldn't need to do any restoring unless it was purposefully damaged or neglected. These guitars are tough. You should be able to tune it up, plug in, and play.

Can you describe the "resoration" you think your Strat needs? Any structural issues with it? Have any pics?

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

Actually, the volume knob is flat-out missing. The others are just cracked (one so badly it falls off when the guitar is picked up). Good to know about the bakelite, though. Do you know if "ABS" is the same as modern plastic? These just don't look/feel like the same stuff to me.

I'll be the first to admit, I know squat about restoration. Luckily, we do have a good guy here in town. But when I talk to him next, I'll see if he can appraise it, before I decide what further to do with it.

Thanks for the responses!

Hi ZFDA, welcome to the Forum.

Your post confuses me slightly. Are you talking about selector switches that contain the brown Bakelite-type insulation material within them?

Or do you indeed mean knobs?

I'm assuming you really mean the latter - but my doubt is because Fender never used knobs or covers made from Bakelite (though some people mistakenly use that word.) Back in the day they were made from a polystyrene product which turned out to decay very quickly so later in the '60s was replaced with a more durable plastic.

As far as I know there is only one maker of period correct styrene knobs. Montreux Guitars do very accurate replicas of '50s and '60s knobs with different types of wear on them. Working to a budget? You are going to be surprised by the prices:

http://www.montreuxguitars.com/products ... chine.html

Not many suppliers carry those knobs, but you can buy them direct from Montreux (I believe), or in Europe you can buy them from WD Music, at www.wdmusic.co.uk . For some reason WD Music in the US don't appear to carry them. I expect Montreux want you to buy direct in North America.

WD Music UK also carry Montreux's RetroVibe knobs, which are made from modern plastic but look like the old ones. Cheaper - but still very expensive. Here they are on Montreux's site:

http://www.montreuxguitars.com/products ... ovibe.html

Eye-wateringly pricey, huh?

Perhaps you now want to hear about ways of making ordinary, reasonably priced modern knobs look old. Suddenly authenticity seems a bit too costly - do you think?

Good luck - C

You're right, I do mean knobs. Unfortunately I was mistaken in thinking they were bakelite. The more research I do (and the more responses I get here ), the more I learn!

All I can say when I look at some of those Montreux prices is Actually, the Retrovibe prices are more in line with what I was expecting to pay (about $15/knob), but I was hoping to get either originals (is there such a thing as a 60's strat "parts guitar?" LOL I'm thinking not...) or repros made with original materials for that sort of price. Silly me!

I was thinking restoration would be a good option, but now I'm thinking of either shoving it in a (nice, climate-controlled) closet until I'm rich, or just having it appraised and selling. Live and learn...

Matter of fact, there are indeed folks selling what they claim to be genuine vintage parts on Ebay. And not just knobs and pickups and such either. One time on this Forum we were all falling about laughing at an Ebay page where a guy was selling bits of brown tape that he claimed came out of the innards of old guitars - and he was asking HUGE prices for them!

Someone less lazy than me can possibly do some searching and turn you up some "genuine" old parts. Prepare to need an oxygen mask when you see the prices!

Though I tell you what: if you have a real 1964 Strat it just could be worth spending the money to get it into sale-able condition - at least as far as replica knobs and the like are concerned. That all depends on other things - care to post some pictures so's we can see what you've got?

There's folks here very expert at this stuff (I definitely don't mean me) who might have useful advice. And anyway: we love looking at pictures of old guitars!

Good luck with it - C

I will also say to get it appraised,if you go to Gruhn's site it tells how to do it by sending photos and I'm sure it costs something but it could be money well spent,because should it be worth say,$20,000...then his appraisal letter will be something to back up the asking price.
http://www.gruhn.com/

Unfortunately, I'm familiar with the type, which is why in my original query I was asking about reputable places to buy. Ebay is handy for lots of things, but I don't think I'd trust it for true vintage guitar parts.

I will be happy to post photos for y'all as soon as I get my camera back. Right now my boyfriend has it (ironically enough, so he can take photos of stuff he wants to sell on eBay!), but when I get it back I'll let you see it.

RebelSoul - I'm going to my local guy first crack at an appraisal (even though I love the 'net as a resource, I also like to shop local when possible), but I trust me to tell him if he's not up to the task. At which point I'll hit up Gruhns and see how much they get for an appraisal. I'm still thinking my closet is the best place for it for a while.

Thanks to everyone for your responses!

Pictures please and have you checked the serial number out?

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Well I see at eddievegas .com you can get '54 knobs (volume and tone) for a mere 5500 dollars.They also offer a 56 3 way switch tip for 2k. I guess I am in the wrong business. .

Beautiful! That made my day - lots of happy browsing. Thank you!

I noticed some "short skirt" 1954 knobs for a mere $495. What a bargain! Naturally I bought them...

Cheers - C

Well I figured someone would want these for their project guitar. .The funny thing is that there are people out there willing to pay those prices.

Though seriously for a second: if you had a real '50s or '60s Strat missing a knob I wonder whether these ones would add enough to the resale value to justify the amazing prices being asked? I simply have no idea - but ZFDA might be curious to know...

Cheers - C