I just picked up a strat in a trade over the weekend. It was brought to me as a Classic Player 50s with CS Fat 50s in it, but I'm not sure on its status. Pulled the pickguard last night and it does have CS pickups, and vintage cloth wiring. So thats a good thing. However it works out, the guitar sounds very good, players very well, and I feel like I came out on top in the trade. No complaints.

Here's a list of what does and does not check out-
Bridge - 2 point : check
Pickguitar - three ply faded white : should be one ply if Classic 50s.
Neck - check
Tuners - newer "Fender" labeled sealed tuners, not vintage tuners
Rear cover - faded white, offset screws, one ply. Pulled it and there are some filled holes from wrong / previous screws. Strange.

Serial is MZ9 550997.

Thoughts?

I have an '07-ish Classic Player '50s Strat with just the sweetest neck. Great guitar!

The CS pickups with vintage cloth wiring is a really nice upgrade, though the 57/62 pups aren't exactly slouches themselves (just noisy in some environments).

I really like the two-point bridges they put in these, in fact that bridge turned out to be precursor to the ones they are now putting in the American Std. Strats. So someone at Fender likes them too.

The pickguard should definitely bet an unbeveled one-ply but, with the issues getting them to sit flat at times, I can understand why someone would swap one out. Is the replacement an 8-screw pickguard, modified 11-screw (using the existing holes for the 8-screw version), or modern 11-screw?

The neck is why I bought the one I own.

IMO, it's a real shame they replaced the original Gotoh vintage-style locking tuners that came on that guitar. (Once I figured out how to use them, it took a trip to YouTube! )

Maybe they auditioned a different back cover for the same reason they swapped out the pickguard, inability to get it to sit flat?

Someone else will have to weigh in on the serno, but it's either a 2009 or possibly a very early 2010.

Congrats on the new axe!

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A bunch of Strats, some Gibsons, a couple clonewheels, a few Fender amps, various stompboxes

Hi undercool,

Sounds like the single ply 8-hole vintage style pick guard was replaced with a modern 11 hole, hence the filled in holes and new holes in the body, same with the back plate. Not really a problem except the looks, the 8 hole was a 50s style. I actually liked the original vintage style locking tuners that came on the Strat, but some people hate them as they can be difficult to unlock sometimes. The original pickups were the 57/62 reissues, but the Fat 50s are also CS and should sound great too. It is still probably a killer Strat, even with the mods (great neck!). It probably wouldn't be difficult or expensive to get the original style locking tuners and pick guard, and replace the modern ones. I am not sure, but I think that the locking tuners and the sealed tuners both fit in the same holes, so you should be able to swap back to the originals with no trouble.

I agree, if it sounds and plays to your liking, then good for you, sounds like you may have gotten a good deal. Enjoy!

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Thanks for the feedback. I forgot to mention that it also has a graphite nut in it.

Just dropped it off with my buddy for a setup and once over or I'd post a photo.

Pick guard is 3 ply 8 hole.
The neck plate is plain...shouldn't it have some insignia of sorts?

The 2 point bridge is all that points to a 2009 Classic Player 50s at this point.
Seems like a series of strange mods to take a "Classic...50s" guitar and then put in a new nut, new tuners, new pickups, new pickguard and new wiring...

Did any other MIM strat have that 2 point bridge on it?

This one is a 60th Ann, if it matters, and has the "Custom Shop Designed" neck plate, which I thought was on all of the CP50s Strats. If you have an 8-hole pick guard, and still have extra holes, that tells me that the original pick guard was not an 8-hole. There are other two-point bridges that are not the same, like a Squier two-point bridge, or Am Std and Dlx two point bridges. The back plate should be a single ply. The two-point pivot bridge is supposed to be a Custom Shop bridge "never before available outside the Custom Shop", and is on both CP50s and CP60s. You may be correct, it sounds less and less like a CP50s, you really should post pictures to help us identify it. Does it even have the soft V contour on the back of the neck? Also, contact Fender with the serial number and they may be able to tell you what it indicates.

http://www.fender.com/contact_information.php

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I read that Squire reference and just threw up in my mouth a little bit...

Going to call Fender on the serial#. Will get some pics tomorrow and post.

Clarification: the back cover has the extra holes. It is a single ply white (not matching the front 'vintage' white) and has six individual cutouts for the strings, unlike the one you show above.

The pickguard has 8 screws and NO extra holes. They are VERY SLIGHTLY out of alignment in two spots, but I'm talking very very little.

Keeping this positive - I can't see someone putting this much work into a crappy Squire strat or some knockoff. I hope.

And the verdict is (Thank you, Fender customer service)...

MIM Standard Stratocaster HSS, Made in Jan. 2010.
With upgrades:
-CS Fat 50s pups
-SSS pickguard
-graphite nut
? Bridge ?

Now that I think about it, at some point the guy I traded with mentioned that it had a Wilkinson in it. Thats not the case, but I'm guessing that it was upgraded to the standard Fender 2 pt. Found pics and it looks exactly right. He wasn't the original owner, so who knows. Did these MIM strats have a 2 point tremolo?

Mystery solved - almost.

No, the Mex Standards do not have a two-point trem. It is possible to dowel and redrill the bridge mounting screws to convert to a two-point. If this hasn't been done, then you don't have a Mex Standard body. It may very well be a CP50s body that didn't come with the neck plate, or it could be some other type (don't want you to throw up ). The CP50s has the vintage style SSS routing, whereas the Mex Std and other models will have HSS or even HSH routing. And the CP50s has a "Super Switch" instead of the typical 5 way stock selector switch. I believe that the CP50s bodies only came in Gold or Sunburst.

The serial number really only tells what the neck is from, and that the rest of the Strat could be something else. The only really important thing is if you like it, that's really all that matters, even if it is a partscaster.

Post some pics of the body sans pick guard, close up of bridge, etc, to help us identify what you have.

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Is more of a vintage / off white PG.






via photoshop, it seems the body contours are not the same as the guitar posted above.

Standard strat MIM is 11 hole pickguard. Initially, the owner said it was a "57 reissue type guitar", so I'm thinking the PG is a 3 ply '57 style (which I was able to find online).

I pulled the PG off when I first got it and it didn't click - it is routed for HSH. I didn't check what was up with the bridge routing, though. Getting it back tomorrow.

More to come.

Yep, that clinches it. There seems to be nothing at all that is from a CP50s Strat, not even the bridge or body. If the body only has 8 holes drilled for the pick guard screws, no extra holes, then it isn't a Mex Std body either. I also see no evidence that the bridge mount holes have been changed from a 6 screw. I don't recognize the bridge or body (looks like Fender saddles). Maybe some of the other forum members know what you have there.

At any rate, it is a very nice looking guitar, and someone spent some time putting it together.

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Hi undercool: can you show us a pic of the rear with the spring cover removed? If the holes that you say have been filled are in the middle and parallel with each other instead of off-set as on the plastic cover then the mystery is solved. You will have a non-Fender body with a legit MIM Std neck on it.

A partsocaster - and nothing wrong with that so long as it wasn't sold to you as a fully kosher Fender at a price to match.

Frankly, unless there's something obviously subquality about it the body is probably the least important thing. If the body wasn't made with the neck then it could be absolutely anything and we're wasting our time even trying to ID it. The Squier Delux Strat has a two-point bridge, just for example - but then it would have the backplate screws in the right place. I expect it's a fakeocaster body, but who can tell? If the neck feels nice and the pickups sound good, that's what matters.

Play it and enjoy it.

Cheers - C

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*Edit: I wanted to point out that the guy I traded with is not the suspect here. It's the guy he picked it up from.

Got the guitar back just this morning. Ended up getting the frets leveled.

For the sake of closing this out, here is the deal as I understand it:

Serial: MIM 1/2010 Standard Strat, Candy Apple Red, HSS.
Neck: MIM Standard Strat (as per serial#), tinted maple.
Pickguard: '57 parchment-black-parchment 8 screw
Pups: CS Fat 50
Body...(drumroll...)...-
- candy apple red
- Back is redrilled (sloppy, at that) to fit a MIM/American backplate. Stock holes were parallel- like you'd find on a non-Fender strat.
- 2-point bridge (stock) looks very similar to that found on a standard Squier strat.
- The SADDLES are off a Fender, so someone put Fender Saddles on the Squier bridge Which makes me believe this was done for one reason - deception!

So.. someone took a MIM neck, put it on a same-colored Squier body, and dressed it up real nice Good thing is that after gettin dressed properly, this classy lady puts out on the first date...





BTW- I traded a '93 Heartfield Talon for this, so I at least (I hope, at this point) broke even.

With that sparkly finish, I believe that's a body and bridge from a recent Squier Standard Deluxe. Without seeing it close up, I'd be prepared to stick my neck out and say that I bet the finish looks slightly rippled very close up and in the light. And that feeble zinc sustain block is absolutely Squier I'm sure.

But whatever it is, I love the guitar. Looks really nice, and sounds like it now has good hardware on board with those pickups.

I'm with Ceri on this - if any part of a partscaster has to be from a Squier, then i'd want it to be the body.

Would I have swapped a Talon for what you have there? Absolutely - just as fast as I could hand it over..

One more thought - if it is a Squier body, then chances are that those are the original Squier control pots. You might want to think about upgrading them to get the best out of those decent pickups..

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

I agree, definitely a beautiful guitar. And if it plays/sounds good, to go along with the looks, then no doubt you have a nice Strat. BTW, looks much better without the stickers on the fret board, great decision.

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