G'day Ya'll,

Well this morning I had to do a restring on my 08 3tsb American Standard Stratocaster.

Whilst taking off the old strings I let my curiousity get the better of me and lifted the pickguard and the trem cover to see what was underneath. For the last 4 years I have resisted urges to do this because I wanted to leave it alone until I was at least 50yrs old.

Well here is what I found, can anyone help me out with what the initials mean??? UP2

Hi KK: in short, no, I don't know what UP2 means. Probably not the finisher's initials unless he has a very odd surname. But something to do with that stage of the manufacturing process, possibly.

Or maybe it has to do with an adjustment required during set up. Tell me, do those springs rub slightly against the edge of the wood just above the red marker pen in your photo? It looks like they might, but perhaps the angle of the picture is deceptive.

BTW: I wonder if the reason you haven't had more replies to your thread is that the majority here probably don't know what "bonnet & boot" means?

Cheers - C

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G'day Ceri,

Mate lol yeah for all of those that may not know?

Bonnett = pickguard and Boot = Trem Cover

Ceri I am thinking that like a period in the 50's & 60's disgruntled Fender employees wrote rude comments on the body of the guitar under the pickguard and trem cover..

In all of my Strats & Tele's I have never seen any markings like this.

I am thinking UP2 may = You Pee Too written by an employee with tongue and cheek haa haa..

If not, is there anyone from Fender on here that can assist me with what this marking means.

In relation to the springs, they don't rub against the body, it is the angle of the picture lol.

Thanks for your response Ceri

Haha - or to put it another way, ladies and gentlemen of North America, bonnet = hood, boot = trunk. It's all about hats and luggage, one way or another...



Well now, if it said FU2 that theory would definitely have legs.



More seriously, me neither. I've seen various stuff written in Strat cavities, but not UP2. It's a mystery and no mistake.

Cheers man - C

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UP2 = Ultra Polish 2 more times? Move up to the 2nd level of production? May the fender employees is asking why you took the back cover off, like: what are you UP 2?

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

It means add UP2 springs.
Or maybe it is a new sort of finish they tested on that special guitar?
UrethanePoly2 which is the next step from poly. It´s thick as glass and durable as metal.
Probably not but let the metal burning \m/

Cheers,
Robin

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http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
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If I worked at fender I would be fired fast for leaving messages inside guitars
A nice Hello! written in the body cavity would be awesome or AHHHHH! Im Naked!
or maybe random naughty words
back in the day while in construction I left all sorts of messages inside homes. I also hid a few beer bottles and cans in walls. my favorite thing I wrote was "What the hell have you been eating" on the floor before I set a toilet I wonder if anyone has changed it yet

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UP2
QC Specialist's initials
Ulysses Peterson The Second/Junior

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G'day again Ya'll lol...

Well thank you for your replies everybody

Here is the response I recieved from Fender Consumer Relations Department.

Hello Kineman Karma,
Thank you for contacting Consumer Relations.
Sorry, but there is no reference material for this marking in the rear cavity. This would be production identifying mark and would have been used in production as a location the guitar body needed to go during assembly. I hope this helps.

My next question is, does anyone else out there have markings on their Strats like this one. If so let's see em please!!