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Post subject: Re: Contoured/Beveled Heel?
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:30 pm
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Rebelsoul wrote:
yeah, but did fried eggs come before fried chickens? :mrgreen:


These contoured heels are certainly big haired!

You dig?

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Post subject: Re: Contoured/Beveled Heel?
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 9:24 pm
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i dig... :mrgreen:


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Post subject: Re: Contoured/Beveled Heel?
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 5:47 am
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BMW-KTM wrote:
ZZDoc wrote:
No one's mentioned the set neck guitars which I believe pre-date 2002. :wink:

Indeed. The earliest versions of the ShowMaster guitars were called Stratocaster ShowMasters and I think I first saw those some time in the mid to late 90s.

There ya go :!: :wink: That's it.

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Post subject: Re: Contoured/Beveled Heel?
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:26 pm
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John C wrote:
Ah, the contoured neck heel. It has really been around since the 1980s; it started on those "grey area" guitars from the late 1980s that could be MIJ or could be assembled in the USA from MIJ parts. I first saw the heel on the original HM Strats (the ones with 24 frets, the funky-looking "Strat" large script on a black headstock, and a Kahler Spyder trem). I believe these came out in 1988;

Here's a rundown of the models I remember that have the contoured neck heel by dates:

1988: HM Strat Style 1 (made until 1992 or 1993) - these are the ones I described above. The photos are of an HSS version, but they also had a single H version.

1989: "Contemporary Strat" - 1-year version that had the hardware of the HM on a more standard Strat shape with a 22-fret neck. These have all the hallmarks and markings of an MIJ model but do not carry any country of origin at all.

1989: HRR Strat - these were made up until 1994/1995; these are MIJ, HSS Strats with 22 frets. They came as a '57 version with a maple fingerboard/1-ply pickguard and a '62 version with rosewood fingerboard/3-ply pickguard. They had Kahler Steeler trems to begin with but eventually had original Floyd Rose trems.

1991: HM Strat Style 2 - I believe these were 1-year models that had a Heartfield-style headstock but on a traditionally-shaped Strat body. These could have been HSS or HSH, and had either an original Floyd or a Floyd II (sorry, just don't remember).

1992: Ritchie Sambora Signature Strat version 1 - these were a USA-made version of the HRR Strat with other changes Sambora wanted - large star inlays, original Floyd Rose, 12 db mid boost. I think these were replaced by a more vintage-styled Sambora circa 1998.

Once these models were discontinued there wasn't a Fender with the contoured neck heel until the Jeff Beck was updated in 2001. Here are the rest of the models:

2001: Jeff Beck Signature version 2 - these came out in July 2001 if I'm remembering correctly; the model is still made this way.

2002: American Deluxe Strat version 1 - this was a late year change on the American Deluxes; I don't think that Fender even announced they were making this change; the American Deluxes just started showing up with the contoured heel circa November/December 2002.

2004: American Deluxe Strat version 2 (all veriations) - the contoured heel is now an "official" feature of the American Deluxe Strat. It is also added to the alder bodied American Deluxe Tele at this time. This model is made through the end of 2009.

2010: American Deluxe Strat version 3 (all variations) - current model.

I may be leaving some things out.

This was very helpful for me. John have you seen one of these that says USA on the neck plate for the contour heel, and Made in USA on the Chrome Kahler bridge (has Fender inscribed on the saddles) but a standard headstock (NO black finish with the word STRAT on it) and a serial number that starts with an "F" Not "FN" but just an "F". I know a guy who has one with a transparent red finish on what looks like a flamed maple cap, chrome hardware, looks very 80ish, and has Gotoh tuners. Any ideas. I have never seen a plain "Fxxxxxx" serial number before... I would swear it look like a Made In Japan model with the black pickguard and knobs, Was set back to see the USA logo on neck plate and the contour heel......

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Post subject: Re: Contoured/Beveled Heel?
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 5:10 pm
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Xhefri wrote:
This was very helpful for me. John have you seen one of these that says USA on the neck plate for the contour heel, and Made in USA on the Chrome Kahler bridge (has Fender inscribed on the saddles) but a standard headstock (NO black finish with the word STRAT on it) and a serial number that starts with an "F" Not "FN" but just an "F". I know a guy who has one with a transparent red finish on what looks like a flamed maple cap, chrome hardware, looks very 80ish, and has Gotoh tuners. Any ideas. I have never seen a plain "Fxxxxxx" serial number before... I would swear it look like a Made In Japan model with the black pickguard and knobs, Was set back to see the USA logo on neck plate and the contour heel......


Sorry Xhefri, that one doesn't sound familiar; however all of these things made from the first HMs until the original Samobora was dropped say "Fender USA" on the neck plate regardless of country of origin. Of course at that time of Fender's history who knows what they were doing; the one you're talking about could have been a prototype or a one-off.

I do know of one I left out of my list that I just thought of - the "HM Ultra" that was made I think only for the final year of the HM Strats. Picture the 24-fret version of the HM with a figured veneer on the top and bottom of the body (like the Ultra), rear-routed and with the same Lace set as the regular Ultra. By this point the HMs had original Floyd Rose bridges; this beast had a Floyd Rose Pro bridge. I was living in Akron, OH at the time and did see one of these in the flesh at Akron Music when they were still in downtown Akron (they closed that one in early 1993 when they moved their main location out to the suburbs near Stow).


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Post subject: Re: Contoured/Beveled Heel?
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 5:43 pm
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Do you know anything about an "F" serial number? That has me really stumped. I have figured out almost every odd serial number made by USA and JAPAN Fender, but this one is really strange. I am sure it is not a counterfeit Fender either.

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Post subject: Re: Contoured/Beveled Heel?
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 7:01 am
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Xhefri wrote:
Do you know anything about an "F" serial number? That has me really stumped. I have figured out almost every odd serial number made by USA and JAPAN Fender, but this one is really strange. I am sure it is not a counterfeit Fender either.


No, I've never seen an "F" serial number either, but you just never know with Fender. I know it's not yours but could you get some photos of it?


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Post subject: Re: Contoured/Beveled Heel?
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 7:41 am
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These picts were sent to me and are not very good. The body has flame on top and back and it is not Foto-Flame, as far as I can tell (and I have owned a lot of them). Looks very MIJ 80s vintage but USA on the parts and neckplate. Any ideas???? F serial number is so weird!

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Post subject: Re: Contoured/Beveled Heel?
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:26 am
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Xhefri wrote:
These picts were sent to me and are not very good. The body has flame on top and back and it is not Foto-Flame, as far as I can tell (and I have owned a lot of them). Looks very MIJ 80s vintage but USA on the parts and neckplate. Any ideas???? F serial number is so weird!

[photos removed]



Okay - thanks for posting these. This guitar is what I called a "1989 Contemporary Strat" in my long post. I didn't remember the serial number on these; I haven't seen one since they were new back in 1989-ish - basically I saw them during the first half of 1989. I've only seen two of them - a red one like this and a blue one. My belief is they were most likely assembled here from MIJ parts. I suspect these will be the only Fenders you will see with that "F" serial number.

By the end of 1989 these were gone and the HRR models were out.


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