I find it amazing that Fender consumer relations seems to have NO info on their instruments unless you provide a serial number, multiple photos, and detailed history (seems like if I had that info, I wouldn't be asking, huh?). I have tried to find pickup resistance values for 1997 Custom Shop pickups, history on a USA Strat prototype, colors available by production year, why 1M pots are used with vintage noiseless pickups, why many MIM Strats use 500K pots, and other such topics...real-world questions in my opinion. Each time, I get a response that says they don't know or they didn't keep records. I find it surprising that a company such as Fender doesn't have records of the products they produced. I think it is more a matter of not wanting to expend the effort to give customers the background info that serves to reinforce the Fender brand and the loyalty of customers/players. On a corporate level, this should be both embarassing and shameful for FMIC.

We are trying to change that at axvault.com Users post their entire collections, register them and share their knowledge while creating a as detailed a picture of guitars as possible. Registrations can be public or private. But the community is helpful.

In the end we hope to create an archive for reference, security, value..

Fender do keep records and have, diligently since 1992. Also from 1948 to 1982 there is a decent database garnered together by FMIC.

Fender likely require that you prove you own the guitar you are asking about for the same reason they don't make the database public. They don't want to aid the quest for accurate forgeries.

Now to answer your other questions to the best of my ability.

1Meg pots with VN pickups? Well you couldn't make em sound any worst than with 250 or 500k pots. Nah just kiddin, thats opinion. Fender have provided VN kits with both 1meg and 500k volume pots.

If you want to know the resistance of a particular pickup, buy a multimeter and measure it. DC resistance readings alone describe nothing about a pickups sound.

Many Ceramic pickups use 500k pots because they are mostly higher output than alnico. Leading to a somewhat less treble'y sound. 500K resistance will help hold back any excess bass clouding the sound further.

The history of the USA strat goes right back to 1949 with the release of the Broadcaster. I thought every guitar player knew about the development of the strat?

Black, white and sunburst until 1958 when FEC started to introduce other colours.

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If Fender has been keeping records since 1992, why are they unwilling to share that info with the public who are interested? I just can't understand the "don't give a damn" attitude from Fender consumer relations.

By the way...I know about measuring a pickup's resistance. I bought an abused 1997 Strat that happened to have Custom Shop pickups installed (from the factory, I believe). They were physically damaged and a good reading could not be obtained. I would like to put this poor Strat back to original specs (too beat to restore) out of respect for what it was when it left Fender. After giving them a good reading on a neck/middle, they couldn't even give me an idea of what the other pickups may have been. Of course, the neck and middle were probably the same. So....if they have been keeping good records since 1992............and 1997 is more recent than 1992..............

They want you to prove that you own the instrument before they will disclose all the secrets. Otherwise any forger will be ringing up finding out all the details to make a fake guitar.
In the mean time there are plenty of books chronicling the Strat's evolution to what it is today.
In fact forum user ChromeFace is a veritable walking strat encyclopedia. If you post a specific guitar type, he'll give you all the info he has on it

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Or with a Custom Shop guitars why not try the Custom Shop section?

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I've had zero issues. I gave them SN#'s to 3 mim strats and 1 mim telecaster and asked for the info sheet. It told me everything I wanted to know about the guitar.

Depending on the year, they might not know. In the early years, it was about getting guitars out the door as fast....and as cheaply as possible. Do you think thin nitro was for tone? It was because the more paint you put on a guitar, the more it costs. Records were not all kept.....keep in mind that it was Leo's company until the doctors told him to get his affairs in order because he didn't have long to live.....and CBS wanted to put stuff out the door to keep stockholders happy (and vintage guitars had yet to be invented) and then FMIC bought out CBS's interest and more turnover and possibly loss of records. I find it quite acceptible that out of the millions of guitars that they've made that they don't know why your pot is something.

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2002 mim Telecaster
Jimmie Vaughan Stratocaster
Mexican HSS Stratocaster
6 non-fender guitars
2 kids (not for sale)
1 wife (uh....no comment)

Hi Jack (don't want to say that in an airport, do I?) - Sure, give them a few photos and a serial number and they can provide some insight. I think what bugs me the most is their 1 or 2 sentence replies telling me that they don't know or can't access that info. Just seems like they're not trying.

Hmmmmm.......I'm not sure that I can reply without sounding defensive.
I'll admit that sometimes even I'm surprised when information isn't as available as we'd like it to be. At the same time, the sheer volume of guitars and models that have been made over the entire span of time Fender has been around is pretty staggering. Also, to say that the information isn't available---- and that the information doesn't exist is saying two different things.
Technical specs, particularly on older models are not easily available.
All I can tell you is that we're happy to share the info that we have if there aren't (as nikininja points out) particular proprietary concerns in doing so.
Our asking for a serial number is mainly to assist us in looking up the information you are asking for.
Again, even the current number of Models is daunting considering the department answers questions about all models past and present for Fender, Squier, Guild, Gretsch, Jackson, Charvel, SWR, Tacoma, Sunn etc etc.(I'm leaving some out...). So yeh, the serial number becomes important to making sure that we are looking for the correct information.
As for
and


I can't argue with how its strikes you cause I know its all about perception, but I do spend some time over there most every day and often get involved with issues that come up for them. I think we've got a good group of guys that genuinely care about helping the folks that call in.

At any rate Chriscarter, if you need some info that you haven't gotten from us, post what yer looking for or drop me a PM and I'll probably ask you for a serial number etc, and I'll re-check with the guys, and we'll see if we can find anything out for you.

Cheers,
rob

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rob Schwarz
Director,Fender Customer Service
Proudly serving Fender Customers
for over 30 years

Great response, Rob!

I know regardless of the explanation there will remain those "Doubting Thomases", but something not mentioned is the fact that staffing the consumer relations department entails a paid staff -- very difficult to justify in the current business climate, and it increases the corporate overhead (and thus, retail prices). As far as I'm concerned, you folks do a fine job.

Rawk on!

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

Thanks, I have already asked the questions...and have received half-assed responses. I am tired of trying to get information that should be forthcoming from a corporation like Fender. I only posted here so more people who are loyal to Fender might see that as a company, they just don't care that much about the little guys/girls.

If it's that difficult to staff a consumer relations department in this business climate, they should close it rather than make feeble and embarassing attempts to placate the consumer while sidestepping the questions asked.

Chriscarter...you have a whole 8 posts and all you do is complain about getting info? Why not try and give the forum members as much info as you can and maybe someone will help out...that is if you leave the crappy attitude out of the post.

Fender does a great job of helping thier customers and I have owned probably twenty different Fender Guitars or Amps over the years and they have always been helpful, but as with almost everything in life you get what you put into it! You sound like a guy whose glass is always half empty.

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

@ chriscarter: if someone gives you a hand, it's a bad idea to immediately bite it.

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"Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc...and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons."