So a friend of mine recently acquired this Strat. He was told that it was a 1988 Japanese strat. He is questioning if it really is an '88 and if it's really Japanese. I've been told by a couple different people that it could be Japanese, that it "might" even be a Chinese fake. The neck is really well done and plays awesome. It does have the Kahler "Spyder" Floyd Rose System with matching locking nut. Would this have been stock on this guitar?

Can anyone tell me exactly what he got just from looking at these pictures??? Any help would be appreciated just to have peace of mind on what he purchased.

Thanks all! Pictures below.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 140933.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 104202.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 141015.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 104356.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 104356.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 140251.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 140943.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 105426.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 105417.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 105001.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 104342.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 104329.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 104321.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 104302.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/ ... 104244.jpg

looks like a late 80's early 90's japanese strat. awesome guitar there. Those features came stock on a few models. Can't really tell until it's taken apart and look under the hood. But definitely looks like a japanese fender.

I feel sad for you. Floyd Roses have too many thorns.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Looks to me to be a Contemporary Standard Japanese Strat. I have an '87 model and it looks very similar- the headstock's a slightly odd shape, a little thinner than the classic design. The fret markers are more dainty too, which may make them look 'fake'. Tuners are period correct. Kahler system was a standard feature.

Looks pretty legit to me.



(See- same headstock!)

I'll have to get some more batteries for my flashgun, but the fret markers are the same size on mine and it looks similar overall. Great guitars. Best Strat neck I've ever played.

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'01 American Deluxe HSS Strat.
'87 Japan HSS Strat.
'11 Custom Shop FMT HSS Strat.

"Without music, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines and dates by which bills must be paid."

I'll join those saying MIJ "Contemporary Standard". Since this one has the Kahler Spyder it's probably somewhat later in the 1980s - around 1988 or so (about the same time that the HM Strats came out; they also had the Kahler Spyder trem).

These are the eyes that I was talking about xmetal1287, welcome to the forum.

Initially, from your verbal description, it sounded like Japanese, but when I saw the pictures, the slim headstock and missing "Made In Japan", among other things made me suspicious.

Looks like your friend can rest easy now. Call me, I'll be up late.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

helped one of my coworkers sell a guitar exactly like that years ago to a buddy's little brother who never really played much and he gave to my buddy who has since moved to houston and had it up for sale on craigs list a couple of years ago

same color with a kahler spyder trem could be the same one
Mike

_________________
1985 Fender Squier Bullet
1987 Kramer Striker
1983 Fender Strat Elite
1995 Fender Strat Plus
2001 Carvin DC127
1999 G&L Legacy
2002 Melancon Classic Artist
2009 Paul Reed Smith SE Singlecut
2010 Fender Deluxe American Strat
2006 Fender MIM Fat Strat

I have one. Kahler Spyder trem. Gotoh tuners. Silver logo, No country of manufacture.





I bought this new in 1988. This is a thread I started to find out more.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=50058&hilit=MIJ+strat+with+Kahler+tremolo&start=30

Here's a red 'un.



...and one on ebay. (non stock bridge PU, badly damaged body)

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/180710250477 ... 1438.l2649

Mine's a great guitar.

..............Mark.

That E8----- serial number would be correct for 1988-89 Japan but it is not marked correctly for origin and the Kahler in that photo is incorrect for Japanese models. It should be either a system one, two , or three. 1's say Fender on them and 2 and 3's have a Fender F all look different then one shown.
Also the pickup's and controls look out of sort! I would not buy it!

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Whether or not you'd buy it, my point is that this model did exist in this configuration, and often there is no country of manufacture.

Sorry but your info is a bit off. The Fender Contemporaries with the System 1, 2, and 3 bridges go back to 1985-1986. Fender had issues with them, so they switched over to Kahler trems once they retired the original Contemporary series guitars. I've seen this very guitar with a System 1 (as long as I'm remembering correctly that the System 1 was the bridge with the roller saddles and fine tuners), a Kahler fulcrum-style trem with rollers (don't remember the model number on these but it was similar in function to the Fender bridge with roller saddles and fine tuners) and then the final version had the Kahler Spyder trem on it.

By the time they got to the Spyder trem these guitars, for whatever reason, didn't have any country of origin on them. Same as the other "Contemporary" Strat that had the figured top, HSS pickups, and a master tone plus a coil split bridge. These were just oddities that came out during this era as Fender was trying to meet demand while ramping up the USA production. I do remember playing these new with both types of Kahler at a couple of dealers circa 1987-88.

I don't get it....

If you really want help, why are you blanking out the guitars serial numbers?

Using a guitars serial number, in conjunction with web sources, is probably the fastest and surest way to research guitars that weren't built by Fender or Gibson USA. For US instruments, a call to Fender Customer Service is the best solution and I'm surprised that more people don't use it.

Other than that, Strats get modified and customized all the time. If the guitar plays right, looks right, smells right and the price is right, buy it.

I don't see any blanked out numbers in this thread, nor do I see anyone asking "should I buy?"
The OP asked if this was a stock Strat. The ebay link I provided was just an example.

I did blur out the last two digits of the serial number because there are scams where people can say "their" guitar was stolen and use that serial number and info i've given to say it was "theirs". I don't see the necessity in revealing the ENTIRE serial number to get an accurate answer on what the guitar is.

Thought everyone would like to know, my buddy got the strat by trading the guy for an Ebony Epi Les Paul Custom he paid 200 bucks for!!!

The E stands for 80's and the *8 for year 1988 and that is not a system !,2 or 3 plus most Contemporaries have one volume one TBX also side jacks. The locking nut appeared on some system 3's
The Contemporary Standards had 3 single coils and jack on the front, string clamps, in 88 they went to a Kahler locking nut that was marked Fender.

There were some oddities with these MIJ's but I have never seen one with no place of origin.

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson