Ok i have found some info on here,but a dicussion on early 70s strats? (before 74) i have had a few all very different the one i kept has a great neck with some flame very lightweight all original staggered pickups three way switch sounds great.Now i WAS one of the people who always said as a youngster i dont want any seventies cr*p.....BUT......i missed the boat (or my pay checks did) on getting a pre cbs or even late 60s before prices went stupid.(and yes i have played a great 57 and a 62 from a friends private collection for a LOT of hours so i have an opinion on what is good) prices on e bay are now getting sillly for these early 70s - are they selling? are they worth it and will they soon be seen (as recently late 60s has been) they are the last of the great Fenders............

Yeah i know,can of worms springs to mind,but hey i remember when no one wanted anything unless it was pre CBS,dont you wish you had stockpiled some 69 models........?

Early '70 some are great Stratocaster

The early '70s, pre-bullet truss rod, pre-micro tilt, can be quite nice.

The price on them peaked a few years ago, so if you see a good one now, grab it.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

I've got a '79 and I love it. I had to get some work done to make it playable, but it's really great.

I own 4 CBS Fenders. Every single one of mine, spanning from 1974-1983, will beat the pants off much of what is made today. There are horror stories about some quality issues, but other than the cheap die-cast bridge parts used in the 70's, the rest of the guitars are top notch. I have never had an issue with the 3 bolt neck, or a micro tilt adjustment. My old Strat is heavy, but it is solid ash and the tone is killer! And they used lead based solder LOL which is far superior to the "Green" crap made today. The electronics are also of much higher quality than the Chinese junk used in 90% of today's guitars. Keep in mind the whole idea that CBS Fenders are "inferior" comes from when all the changes CBS made started showing up, like large headstocks, large logos, poly finishes instead of nitro, 3 bolt neck mounting......too many changes at once, and people freaked out. Everyone started to think the earlier ones were better, but how many REAL musicians still used the brand new, hot off the line Fenders? Several, one of which was Jimi Hendrix. Guitar players are a conservative bunch.....and we hate change (overall). If Fender started monkeying around with our beloved Strats today in such a drastic way, we'd all have our panties in a wad! LOL. CBS Fenders are quality guitars, and reasonably affordable to anyone who wants an older Fender

Thanks for the input. It reminds me of two beliefs I have: 1) the pre-CBS Fenders had more than their share of quality issues (don't make me list 'em), and 2) if the CBS Fenders were complete garbage, the company would have gone out of business by 1971.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

A agree that there are lots of great CBS Fenders, but there were many problems and most of them came from the home office in NY. The biggest issues seem to be:
1. Adding the metal disk to the neck caused Fender to make the pocket on the body where the body and neck meet bigger. This made it impossible to have a stable neck (Sometimes you'd get one that was good, but...). I don't even think 6 bolts would have kept those necks stable.
2. Fender went to a thick polyester paint that sanded well, looked great, shines up nicely, and was more durable, but sucks the sound out of your guitar. My '77 Strat didn't sound nearly as nice as my stripped to the wood '79 Strat.
3. The cheap bridges. I don't think that I need to go any further about this.
4. Micro phonic pickups. This happens when you don't seal them properly (my term, not an official term) with wax. My '77 had a really nasty squeally bridge pickup. I was able to fix the problem, but man it sucked.
5. Quality control was really bad at this point. NY didn't listen to those who knew (who in turn left) and demand more product. So many bad guitars went out the door. I really don't believe that Fender was trying to make a bad guitar. I think that money was more important to NY than quality.

The rest of the changes seemed just fine to me.

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1975 Sunburst Stratocaster rosewood finger board
1979 Stratocaster with roseowood finder board
2001 Candy Green Clapton Stratocaster
2007 Andy Summers Inspired Telecaster
2007 '51 P-Bass
2012 Taylor 110
2015 Mystic Ice Blue Deluxe Stratocaster Plus

I have heard all of those "issues" mentioned many times. But again, I own 4 of them and never have found anything to this. My 3 bolt necks have always been tight and have never slipped, and the poly finish has not sucked the tone out of any of these guitars either. Heck, every standard model Fender has used poly for the last 40+ years. I do agree that the pot metal bridge saddles were not the best choice LOL. I had heard all the horror stories about these guitars, and how 30 years ago you couldn't hardly give them away. But again, go find one and play it before you just toss the idea of owning one out the window. I love the U shaped necks, the way the shiny poly fretboard feels (if ya keep it clean), and there just is no way to get the tone of "old wood" without having an older guitar. It is rare to find a 70's Fender these days that hasn't been monkeyed with. Many a fool stripped off the finish for that natural look, and even more swapped out tuners. Then many removed the stock nuts and bridge pieces to use brass parts. Pickups were swapped and pickguards were mutilated.....then routing was done for the Floyd Rose craze.....and extra holes were drilled in the headstocks for locking nuts! Find one that has survived these horrors....buy it and keep it

I only have 2 with the 3-bolt necks. One time, while playing it, I felt the neck of my '74 shift. I discovered a bolt was somewhat loose, so I tightened it, and never had it happen again. So I guess I would have to say that my two '70s 3 bolts have been quite stable.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.