Hi all,

I just bought a strat from this nice older guy recently but I am having trouble identifying it. He told me that it was a '77-'80 (hard to tell by serial number) strat but when I looked at it I realized it wasn't an unaltered instrument. I could tell it had an older body with a late 70's neck. I took a chance and bought it anyway because the guitar sounded great and it was only $400.

Here's what I (think I) know so far. The Serial number on the neck is indeed is a late 70's to early 80's but the headstock is large which points to a 70's. Further complicating the issue is fact that it is a 4 bolt pattern which is only on one model in the 70's, right? Could this be a neck from an Anniversary model? The neckplate has a serial number that is mid-late 60's but that could be purchased offline and put on any 4 bolt strat. The routing on body has the "rounded" pick-up slots that back up the 60's origin body but there is no definitive "fender" markings of any type (I'm not sure if there ever was on any strat but I figured it was worth mentioning). I have not removed the neck because I don't know how to and don't want to damage it. The color seems like an original and I would guess it is Fiesta Red. The block I have no idea on. It looks after market to me honestly but I do not know much. I also can't identify definitively the bridge and saddles.

The pickguard is a single-ply black with 8 screws (the body has 8 screw holes). The pick-ups are aftermarket Seymour Duncans. I have no clue what the electronics are. The knobs and the jackplate look after market.

There is some wear and tear as you can see on the guitar but she sounds great (even when she could use a proper set-up). I'm graduating from a MIM with vintage noisless PUs and I can already tell a difference. I am curious the learn this guitar's origins and any help would be appreciated. I don't think I got ripped off but it would be nice to have some piece of mind. Any thoughts? EDIT - you can't see the plate serial number in the picture but it is in the high 200k's.

Partscaster, and not a particularly good one.

The bridge is mounted crooked to the body and the saddles are of Japanese origin. The bridge pickup cavity lacks the "worm rout" which belies the seller's claim that the body is from 1968.

As for the neck, you will have to disassemble the guitar to determine whether it's a 3-screw type with the micro-tilt adjustment disc -- a hallmark of all '79 Strats except for the 25th Anniversary editions.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

It´s not an Anniversary neck, they had the walnut plug trussrod.
I bet it´s an all original 1979/1980 neck 4 bolt added later.
The body looks strange/refinished but maybe there are some stamps/marks in the neck pocket.
Pull the neck and hopefully there´s the stamp telling you the exact day it has been finished.
It´s a steal at $400 anyway, the neck alone is about $400 (even there are 5 holes - 4 any locking device, 5th removed 2nd string tree.

Cheers,
Robin

_________________
_________________________________
http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
_________________________________

Cool. I'll find someone local to set it up and I'll have them take the neck off and do a little investigating. Thanks again for the info and I'll post an update once we find out what's under that neck (if anything).

Potentiometers are not original , look to be Bourns pot .

To remove the neck , don't be afraid , it is only 2 piece of wood bolt together , but I understand you.

Slack a lot all strings to remove the tension . Before put a capo on first fret to hold strings on the nut.
Unscrew all of the 4 screw ,to free the neck from the body pocket .
Before removing neck from the body , move it slowly and look if there are any shim AND WHERE in the the pocket.

To replace the screws , be sure your neck is press firmly on the body . Start each screw with your finger to be sure you use the SAME thread. Don't use screw driver to start. After one turn , with finger you are sure you are in the tread . Finish with screw driver. Be sure the neck is parallele to the body before tightening.

I agree about it being a partscaster, and I'm thinking the neck might be the only 70's era Fender part on it. I wouldnt call the guitar a 'steal' exactly, but as the other poster stated, the neck should be worth what you paid for it alone, even if it was converted to a 4 bolt, which many of them were & yours appears to be. You can find out real quick by pulling the neck though, as mentioned above.

It's easy to do, go for it!

Okay I pulled it (that was embarrassingly easy ) . Looks like a Carvin body?

Here's a couple neck shots (I'm not sure what any of the markings mean):



Also here's the 1960's plate someone put on the back


I am not familiar with Carvin bodies. Are they any good. The guitar sounds a lot better than my MIM strat and the set-up was bad. I'm taking it in this week. Any suggestions I should give to the tech?

I'm thinking CAR stands for Candy Apple Red. The body does not look like a Fender product to me & I doubt it's a Carvin, either. The neck is a 3 bolt converted to 4 bolt alright, as I said many were converted this way.
I'm not sure on the body but it looks to me like a generic Strat copy. Anyone one else wanna take a guess here?

That was my first thought as well, but the body is obviously not Candy Apple Red. It looks more like FRED to me.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

It´s an all original neck from 1978.
Guitar was assembled on Tuesday, 6th of June 1978.
(they often used next year serial numbers because all serials were used up, esp.in 1978 - they made tons of ´79 serials then, some were used in ´82)
Body is a new production no Fender.
EDIT: maybe, it is a Fender Japan body - but I don´t think so

Cheers,
Robin

_________________
_________________________________
http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
_________________________________

Nice. Thanks again for all the info. I'll probably play it for a while and either sell it as is or take the neck and make another proper partscaster in the future. It's nice to know these things because if I do sell it in the future I like to have full disclosure. It is on me that I didn't investigate fully before buying. That being said, I essentially broke even so I can't complain much especially considering it really does have a nicer sound than my current guitar that was roughly the same price.

Not everybody has the luck these days to get an original ´78 neck with a guitar attached for $400.
Sell the neck for $400
Duncans for $100 and the body maybe for another $100. That would be $600, nice win.

My best advice play the guitar and use it for a while, neck is the most important part anyway (sound), the body wood looks great. You said it´s an upgrade from your MiM anyway. You will love how it plays and sounds and maybe a good setup will make it one killer guitar.

Another idea is to put the neck on your MiM, maybe you have a killer combination.

Cheers,
Robin

_________________
_________________________________
http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
_________________________________

Where did you see that info?

_________________
---> "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.

The stamp on the bottom of the neck heel ´2382´. In addition to the stamp at the heel of the neck (which is faded) it has been used by Fender to add the body date-the date the neck has been put on the body in that years (later 70s).
23 - week
8 - 1978
2 - 2nd day of the week
You know that - the code Fender used for the neck date

Cheers,
Robin

_________________
_________________________________
http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
_________________________________

OK, thanks. I can't even see a hint of anything stamped on the butt end, where a date would normally be.

_________________
---> "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.