Hello,

First time poster, long time lurker:)

I own a 1964 Fender Stratocaster. I bought the Stratocaster around 1972.

I am trying to get an idea of what it may be worth because I am seriously thinking about selling it.

The neck, serial number, pots, pickups and case all date to 1964. (See link to photos).

http://cid-07d2eba9e07e1714.photos.live ... RATOCASTER

The tremolo bridge is original however the tremolo arm broke off.

It looks like that the original Kluson tuners were replaced before I bought it.

The bridge cover was missing when I bought it.

The tremolo cover plate on back of the guitar was missing when I bought it.

The color of the guitar body is natural. I could not see any over spray in the body of the guitar that would indicate that the guitar was refinished. I know that U2 guitarist Edge, plays a natural finish 1964 stratocaster. I am not sure if his was refinished.

I have a couple of questions:

1. Did Fender make 1964 stratocasters in a natural finish?

2. Was a natural finish a special order?

3. If you look at some of the photos of the body, you can see that the body was made from 2 pieces of wood. Did Fender make stratocaster bodies out of 2 pieces of wood back in the 60's?

4. Any realistic idea as to what the guitar is worth in the current depressed economy?

Thanks so much for looking and any comments would be greatly appreciated.

CHEERS !!!!

I have no idea if it's a refin or not. I'm not an expert on old Strats. I just want to say it's one cool looking old guitar.

Jeff

I gather you will get lots of replies with excellent information as to the price of that old girl. I reckon you should just play it!!!!! how could you sell that?? I just want to go on the record to say i think it's worth...............Plenty!!! :

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The natural finish is not shown as an available color option in the 1964 catalog. Bodies from this era were routinely made from two or three pieces of alder.

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

Sell that '64 and never look back. There's a reason a '64 reissue has never been made. You can flip that 64, buy custom shop strat that's a superior instrument, and then bank the 15 grand difference.

judgeing by the photo's i'd say somebody stripped the original finish the heel route suggests it was either a burst or a black strat....

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Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancin'

Also the tuners have been changed; back then it should be a Kluson-style. Those tuners with the "F" on the back started more like 1966. Also, Fender didn't use the plastic button "F" tuners on Strats - they had the metal buttons. The plastic button tuners were used on guitars like Mustangs, etc.

+1, but not "Kluson-style"......they were genuine Klusons.

Single-line logo on the housing up through the beginning of the '65 model year, changing to double-line logo in the spring. The double-lines were short-lived, replaced by the chrome "F" tuners in late '66. The plastic-buttoned "F" types were used on the budget guitars (Musicmaster, Duosonic, Mustang, and Bronco).

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

I know that the tuners have been changed. I said in my post:

"It looks like that the original Kluson tuners were replaced before I bought it."


Thanks for the input though:)

Umm actually the custom Shop has made 64 and 65 reissue...

I played a stock 65 that was selling for 15,000. This one would be worth significantly less since the finish has been stripped, tuners changed, and its not in mint condition. I would take your guitar to Gruhn's in Nashville to have it evaluated.

I have a '65 Strat that was stripped to a natural finish but all the hardware is original. The L series Strats-'62-'65-had Kluson chrome button tuners-without the original finish and tuners you would be very lucky to get $4000 for it.An unmolested '64 would go for around $15,000 for a sunburst and $1000-$2000 more for a custom colour.BTW to my ears and hands the L series Strats were the best sounding and playing Strats ever made-I'd hang on to it if I were you and look for a set of Klusons.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Cant comment on price, just wanted to say nice guitar !

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Dan...

Fender 1987 MIJ Stratocaster, Texas Special Loaded.
Fender 2007 MIA Jazz Deluxe.

Sorry - I just missed that in your post when I bounced back from the photos and didn't even realize I type "Kluson-style" instead of "Kluson Deluxe"; too many responses about modern reissues.

Back around 1980 I was taking lessons from a guy who had a '63 Strat that he had refinned in natural; it looked kind of like your '64. Either way this is a very nice older Strat; I would hazard a guess that the refin and the tuner swap happened about the same time.

My favourite year (I like the 70s Strats more but..), I never would sell that great guitar.
I would play it as much as I can.
The reason I wouldn´t sell?
You can get get 15k easier than getting another ´64
Enjoy the guitar.

Cheers,
Robin

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http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
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The refinishing does cut off 50% of the value ... however, $4000 is on the low end of the value of this one IMO ... he could maybe get $6000 for it.

A couple years ago, he could have gotten $8000 (when clean originals were over $20k).

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.