Acquired an '88 Strat Plus. My 1st strat with the Lace Sensors and roller nut... and locking tuners. At first I didn't like the sound. Seem a bit 'brittle' at first. Messed with it a while and got the amp 'dialed in' and now I'm sold. I really really like this guitar.

Bought it because it was a good deal, at least compared to prices on completed ebay auctions. Thought I might could make a few bucks but I think now that she might be a keeper.

Any opinions on Strat pluses?

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

fine guitars. especially the late 80's and early 90's ones when FMIC first took over after the CBS buyout.

The are among the first USA made guitars since CBS sold the company and the new owners wanted to repair the damage to the Fender rep that occured under CBS's ownership. They came up with some extremely high quality instruments. Some think the swimming pool route removes too much wood from the body, but as you have found out for yourself they are still great sounding instuments in spite of it...and if you had decided to swap for humbuckers the routing is already done.

The 87 and 88 models are also quite rare. The USA factory was not fully re-established (CBS didn't sell the production facility and most strats were Japanese made during this time) and while not technically Custom Shop instruments, they are made in the same facility by the same people and only a couple of dozen were produced each week. They are about as close to a Custom Shop guitar as you'll get without shelling out huge money.

They're a great buy right now because they are awesome players guitars, but also have investment potential because of their place in the company's history - a turning point where the company bounced back after years of stuggling and when the company put a focus on quality.

My Plus is my main working guitar - gets the job done right, every time.

Admittedly the Lace Sensors are long gone, but the combination of locking tuners and Wilkinson nut is an absolute godsend for my style.

It was my '87 Strat Plus was the first Strat I evder owned and I loved it. I wish that I had never parted with it.

Congradualtions

hey cool, I just bought one home from lay away last week. Paralell universe? does yours have the split nut or flat nut. The early 88's had a weird split nut.

I prefer the split nut. It allowed me to use thicker strings.

Mine has the flat wilkinson. I here most folks prefer the lsr. I'm not sure I've played a strat with an lsr.

The flat wilkinson is definitely imposing. I haven't changed strings yet. Is it a pain with the wilkinson?

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

No. You just can't use really thick strings. They won't slide through the roller barrings.

mhowell,

Can we see some photos?

Sure. I'll get some pics up later today or tomorrow. It's really not much to see. As far as I can tell it's a stock "wine red" strat plus. Nothing unusual but it is in very good condition with one small chip and a few scratches.

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

I can't stand the LSR - never played one which hasn't had issues in one way or another, and I've played a lot of them. But then again, I'm very picky.

The Wilkinson just gets the job done, and gets the job done well. A little light oil now and again works wonders on those rollers.

Thanks for the tip.

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

Couple of pics. And also a pic with my '89 standard (which is almost mint).






The Twins

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.