Talking about the date of manufacture of a stratocaster using a pot code - not about a variation on a date drug or amorous erotic fantasies about an inanimate guitar .
I bought this guitar in 87 or early 88. Serial E469889.
The guitar store said they could possibly find the receipt for an estimate of when purchased but it would take a considerable amount of work. No go.
I took the neck off and there was no date written on it. Fender said it could have been 84 or 85 or 87-88. Since it has the post CBS small headstock, I figured 87 or 88. Fender said since no date was written on the heel, I could potentially look at the pot codes for manufacture date. Most likely 85 or 87.

Does anyone have experience with doing this? If so, how hard was it?

Is it possible that a small head stock strat was made in 84 or 85? - I don't think so but defer to smarter people than I.
Thanks for any help and happy holidays.
Cheers,
Phil

How hard is looking at the pots?

Well, peek under the pickguard, write down all of the numbers you find stamped on the pots, come back here, and share them with us. Someone here will tell you what the numbers mean.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Wow thanks. I was thinking third order - something along the lines of once the numbers are obtained, then how difficult is it but your point is taken. Happy Thanksgiving.

Google will lead you to the answer ...

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Oh. Well that makes this thread much less interesting.

Are we allowed to have amorous fantasies about your black Strat privately, if we wish?

Anyhow. Google will lead you to the answer - but why not seek it back here instead, please, when you get those numbers? So's the rest of us can learn something.

Cheers - C

Ha! Absolutely.
Although she's had a monogamous relationship for all these years maybe it's time to branch out.

I'll report back when I take the pickguard off and look at the pot codes. I was dissapointed when there wasn't a date on the heel and didn't even know that dating by pot codes was even an option.

Cheers,
Phil

Looks like what you have is an American Standard Strat. Production for these began in 1986, but the American Standard Stratocaster was formally introduced at the Winter NAMM Show in January of 1987. Some say it was influenced by the 1981/82 "Dan Smith Strat," and Dan Smith was most likely was behind the 1987 American Standard concept, its final engineering design is credited to Fender R&D's Geroge Blanda, who was hired by Fender in 1985 to institute the "Custom Shop," but became a leading force in Fender's R&D department.

These were the precursor to to the Strat Plus Series, using the same kind of body and bridge design, and even the same profile neck, yet missing some standard features of the Plus. For instance, like the Plus it features 22 frets, a 9.5 fingerboard radius, "swimming pool route," and a re-designed 2-point bridge/tremolo unit. But the bridge poles are screw in types with round heads, unlike the threaded brass ferrule inserts used on the Plus and the later American Series. Also the bridge is solid chrome steel, instead of the painted Grey or Black used on the Plus. So check your guitar for these items listed above. The bridge post should look like this:

The route on the body should look like this:

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

Outstanding information! You are correct on everything and I think it was one of those produced, probably in 87. I don't remember that far back when I switched the white pickguard for the black one on there now to know if it is a swimming pool route though.

You sound like you would know the answers to the following questions:

Were serial numbers sequential? (I know of an E4..... that is close to mine produced in January 88 so is it safe to assume that I could extrapolate)?

Would knowing the pot code only let me know the date of manufacture of the pot and not the guitar? I know Fender said that is my best shot but the pots could have been manufactured much earlier and sat in a warehouse perhaps.


Not really sure why I'm obessing on the date of manufacture of this guitar , maybe wanting to see if it is amongst some of the earliest post CBS Strats:?

Thanks again for this very helpful post and Happy Holidays.

Here is a huge site that contains all kinds of information on Fender guitar etc. I'm sure if you look through it you will find some useful info. Good luck!
http://home.provide.net/~cfh/fender.html

To the best of my knowledge serial no's have never been sequential in that say N400001 would have been made before N400002 (example).

Even now you get guitars produced well into one year with the previous year's serial year prefix. Say a deluxe released in 2009 with a DZ8 prefix.

They weren't sequential in the pre CBS days either, or Gilmour's 0001 would have been the first strat ever.

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No no and no

Thanks fhopkins and nikininja, very helpful!
I'm honing in on it. Too bad the serials aren't sequential because I found one that's only 70 apart from mine and it had the date on the heel.
This has become like my own private find Waldo I tell ya.

So Phil, did you get the codes off the pot's yet? If so, what are they?

I'm getting intrigued.

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No no and no

Should happen soon. Put new strings on it a couple of weeks ago and I'm such a cheap bast*rd that I wanted to wear them down first but I'm also intrigued and it was a cheap set of strings. Been wanting to try coated strings so this is the chance!

Hey Phil, it would be good if you could take and post some pictures of your electronics for some of our experts to look at.

Will do and thanks.