Hi, joined about a week ago wanted to say hello.

First post never got posted, guess it got lost in cyber space.

Been playing for a long time on and off, mostly off but have been on alot the past 5-6 years. Not professional for enjoyment amongst friends.

I bought an "83 Strat Elite" new and still have it. I know you either love them or hate them, but damn that ax can make some very nice sounds.

I am seriously considering selling it and was wondering if anyone here can give me some idea of it's value. It is in mint condition and completely stock and I play it daily.

Here are a few pictures to view.

Welcome to the forums man! Nice strat, shame I can't help you out with the value though, I'll leave that to more experienced people. Good luck though.

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2010 American Special HSS 3TSB
Marshall MG15FX

There's not much love for the Elite's Schaller-built Free-Flyte tremolo, I'm afraid.

Any surcharge on the guitar's intrinsic value would likely be due to it being a collectible "curio" more than as a gig-worthy relic.

HTH

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

From what reearch I have done on the guitar I would agree it is not the most sought after Strat that was ever built.

Reason I am looking to sell is to purchase a Jeff Beck model. I am a recreational player and really have no need for a second electric guitar.

Thanks for your response.

Anyone else that would like to chime in?

Hey, got this one mid-summer for just over $900

can you tell me how to tighten the tremolo???
I put 10's on after I got it and really knocked the bridge out of whack.

That is a pretty one you picked up.

10's are what I use also, and that is the biggest problem with the Elite, changing strings to different gauges does throw the bridge out, especially if you go heavier, then you have to setup the guitar again. Which if you havent done so you would definitely want to do or have done, the difference in tone will be noticeable. I am not a luthier so I have one of the local shops do the set up for me twice a year.

As for the tremolo, I raised the bridge (by pushing down on the tremolo) and wedged a piece of wood under it to hold it up (remove the tremolo before tightening). Then holding the top nut where you insert the tremolo arm on top, and grabing the nut underneath the bridge directly under where the tremolo arm pops in you can tighten it up (it wont turn all that much but it will tighten the arm so it stays in positiuon and keeps it from swinging down all the time). Not sure if that is the way your suppose to do it, but it worked for me.

Good luck and enjoy. If you or anyone you know is interested in mine let me know, it's going up for sale soon.

I think HemiRam means how do you adjust the spring tension on the trem itself, which I believe you adjust with an allen wrench through that hole in the trem unit between the D and G strings (right below the knife edge). Someone somewhere on the web used to have a pdf of the old Strat Elite's manual posted; I'll add the link if I can find it.

By the way these are both nice examples of Strat Elites; while I couldn't stand the wide/thin neck (I've got small hands/short fingers and do better with a vintage-size neck) I always thought the electronics on these were pretty cool.

EDIT: Well I knew I had seen a pdf of the manual for the Elites somewhere; it's here on the Fender site under support; here is a direct link:

http://www.fender.com/support/manuals/p ... s_1983.pdf

[quote="HemiRam"]Hey, got this one mid-summer for just over $900

First I've seen in that finish....Looks like what they now call Sienna Sunburst.

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"Another day in paradise!"

I thought the same thing when I first saw it Doc.

JohnC- thanks for the link, I found that manual back when I bought it-(from daddys.com)
there is an adjustment nut down in that hole, but it's at angle I just can't get anything to fit. I may pull the pick gaurd off to get a better look, I know I can unscrew the trem claw and move that. There are a few spots marked out on the body cavity for different string gauges.

[quote="HemiRam"]I thought the same thing when I first saw it Doc.

That's quite a find at the price, if the entire guitar looks as clean as the top, and considering what it eventually evolved into. Wonder if it could be and would be worthwhile retrofitting it with something like a Calaham block and bridge, to give it a more stable back end.?

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"Another day in paradise!"

I have seen a few that had a Floyd Rose or Kahler trem installed, but the back has to be routed out and I don't see much point in doing something like that to a guitar that is already hard to find. I think it's best to leave it alone as an interesting side note of Fender history.

Wise course of action considering the condition of the guitar. At such a price who wouldn't have jumped at the opportunity. How did you come by it? As an aside, I've done a bit of background research. The finish on your guitar is likely what they called 'Stratoburst' in that it doesn't fit the description of any of the other finishes offered in those years. Additionally, the guitar retailed for $950 plus probably another $100 for the burst, so your purchase price was not far from its original retail 27 years ago.

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"Another day in paradise!"

How does it play? Tuning? Seriously, if i had one I would probably put a hardtail strat bridge in it. The Freeflyte was crap. But the Elite is just another example of all the crap that was going on at Fender in the early 80s. Thank the guitar making gods for Dan Smith, the Japanese, and Bill Schultz!

The backs of those guitars just don't look right (without the usual trem cavity cover but with that other cover).

That type of trem never had a fighting chance, what with the company being sold around that time and TRADITION. I'd like to try one at least once in my life ...

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Thanks for your professional criticism, remind me to hijack and dump on your threads for a chracter assassination next time you post.

I guess it's never to early to panic... right "nikoblatz"... what a tool!!!

To the Mods, if I overstepped the boundaries, please except my sincere apology. I belong to a lot of forums, and in most negative comments are not acceptable.