I don't think it's the real deal. I've never seen anything like it. Look at the bridge and the machine heads... don't look right to me, but I could be wrong.

Can anyone tell me if it is real?

see ebay listing

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... K:MEWAX:IT

or item number: 380274592161

Real. It's a Fender Elite Stratocaster from the early 80's. See the pic of the neckplate? It says 'Elite'. Check this out for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_Stratocaster

Not sure if the price is right. I don't see many Elite's around. Maybe there was a reason they were discontinued after a short time. That trem system seems kind of wonky to me.

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

Great thanks very much. The wiki entry is spot on. The tremlo sounds a bit crap. Don't think I'll bother bidding.

Thanks for your input.

Mate you're missing up on a bargain. The value of the Elite is raising already.
I think their trems were spot on.

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No no and no

A guitar should be bought to be played -- not with some nebulous hope that it will pay monetary dividends sometime down the road.

The Freeflyte trem sucked Top Flite #5 golf balls through a Dixie Cup straw.

That's why they only offered them for a couple of years.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Thats a freeflyte? I thought it was a kahler. I either need my eyes tested or to pay more attention when playing guitars.
Still I didn't think it was bad at all. I've spent all this time confused.

Seriously I thought only the strat with the surface mount jack had a freeflyte. Looks like I was wrong

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No no and no

+100

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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!

Niki,

There were actually 2 FreeFlyte trems - those 2-knob/surface mount jack Standards had the "plain" FreeFlyte with the bent metal plate while the Elites had the nicer one that had that kind of cast rounded back on the plate.

Here's the Standard's version of the FreeFlyte on a 1984 bowling ball model (from Stratcollector.com):



Here is a close up from a 1983 Elite with gold hardware (also from Stratcollector.com):