A recent issue of Guitar magazine (UK publication) had and an article on the CBS area of Fender.

According to the article, the neck instability on 3-bolt Strats during this period was due to CBS using larger bolt holes than previously was used because it speeded up the production process.

Interesting . . .

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

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Hi Mike: was it actually Guitarist magazine? If so I must check back, because I missed that item.

I've had a '75RI Jazz Bass with a three-bolt neck for many years and no problem with that fixing whatsoever. But then with that heavy ol' thing I don't go leaping around putting stress on the joint, so...

Cheers - C

I've read up a little bit on the subject and owned a '77 Stat. I never had any trouble with a 3 bolt. My belief is that Fender got lazy with their craftsmanship during those dark times.

I don't believe that the people at Fender went out their way to ruin guitars. I’m just of the belief that CBS was too far away and didn't know anything about the musical instrument business.

There are "good" '70s Fenders out there, but there are plenty of bad, too.

Paris

Might be, Ceri, and there were a number of other issues, too. The neck pocket cuts were often too big, which allowed the neck to shift. Dan Erlwines book has a nice section on how to tighten the neck pocket issues up. Step #1: Don't over tighten the screws!

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Neat.

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