Hello,

I just bought a stratocaster from a friend of mine, and i have a problem determining how old is she. Her serial number is F&S 0486253. It's a Fender Stratocaster Special, probably custom, from a headstock and a little knowledge from the internet i think its from '70s '75 to be specific. On the back plate it says Fender Corona California. I would like you to try and determine yourselves, because i dont have as much knowlege as you guys.

And of course photos:












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Also: are these pickups any good? Should i buy some new ones?

I think it's a fake, the headstock is the wrong shape, the logo is wrong and put on unevenly and the pickguard looks homemade , only has 7 screws and looks like it was made for a different strat copy (whats happening at the bottom horn?)
The top horn looks too long and the truss rod cover (there shouldn't even be one!), looks like it's either off a cheap Italian 1960's clone or home made.

Ted

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Ted

"All right, guys, uh, listen. This is a blues riff in "B", watch me for the changes, and try and keep up, okay?"

Well i was ready for that answer, but even so i still managed to save lots of money, cause i bought it back for a little price. any other ideas? What about them pickups?

Sure it is a fake.

Pickups ? You have to remove pickgard to see if something is write on the pickups. Also , potentiometer and switch will tell lot about this guitar.

Thaks for the answers, now i wont feel bad when ill modify that guitar. Even if its a fake its still plays really nice, but ill leave tht for someone who can see this guitar with their own eyes.

Thanks again for the answers!

Just from the pics..The dimensions for that guitar are incorrect...The headstock is more reminiscent of the ol' Bigsby's.
The body is way out of proportions, the pups look like they could be EMG's...

The headstock logo is too small and incorrect font.
As for that string tree, that is more in line ( no puns intended ) with a Harmony or a Kay....

The truss rod adjustment screw is at the body /neck joint, so there would be no need for a truss rod cover at the head. In addition Fender has never used a cover like that on any of their production guitars. That truss adjustment is a dead giveaway as to "this is most definitely not a Fender "...

I hope you did not pay more than $50.00 max for that.
I would not call it a Stratocaster, as a copy it is poorly executed and would not pass the first look.

Sorry but you asked, and my thought is that even for $50.00 you were scammed.....

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Damned ugly fake too. Personally, I wouldn't spend a dime modding it as any mod is going to cost more then the thing is worth. I'd use it for kindling or a doggie chew toy.

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Bill

Boy! That's some friend you got there.

If your friend told you that guitar was an actual Fender Strat,he is either not at all knowledgeable about guitars or a scam artist.To find out if he knows the difference-tell him that you're going on the Fender website and find out what year the guitar is and watch for his reaction-then you should be able to tell whether or not he knew.

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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.

I've been doing research and some work on this guitar.

I'm completely sure that it is not Fender, and sure it is ugly, but what is interesting is the origin of the guitar and every component of it. This guitar has no marks of any guitar manufacturer ever. I believe its completely homemade, guessing form the body which is not perfect and electronics. There is completely no writing s on pickups, and when i gave it to many people at music stores and my friends, all of them said that it is homemade electronics along with the pickups. But the strangest thing about that guitar is the almost perfect sound that it makes (with no amplification) and very long sustain and loudness, i guessed that it was because of the only original Fender thing in that guitar which is the Tremolo bridge, the bridge was in an awful condition so i changed it for some other tremolo system I found in my house (not sure about manufacturer, some cheap tremolo) and the sound stays the same. The Wood which the body is made from is really lightweit and in my opinion "beautiful in its ugliness". How can i determine which kind of wood is it?

And to your information I paid alot less than 50$, also my friend doesnt know anything about guitars.

Then you got a good deal, I guess.

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Bill

You really think so?

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

No...You didn't get a good deal as it is $ 50.00 which you cannot sell it for....

As for the wood of the body..it looks like either Poplar or Pine....

A plus is that if you ever want to experiment on different finishes, that is the perfect guinea pig..

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

The OP paid less than $50 for the guitar and he is happy with it. He never said he wanted to sell it. That's a good deal in my book.

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Bill

I've seen ugly no-name deko guitars going for 75 Euros on German eBay.

So if he likes his home made axe and it was far below 50 bucks, then I agree on the "good deal".

He might just go ahead, put some LEDs into it (or some neon light) and hang it on the wall.
I've seen more expensive deko lamps in the past

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!