Help determining whether "Fender USA" partscaster is legit

ozrv · **Posted:** Thu Jul 26, 2012 2:48 pm

mcswek wrote:

Thanks again for your help everyone.

Also, I just though I'd mention that a guy over at strat-talk has said that a MIJ strat might be a good match for my situation. I'm not sure how common they are here in AUS, a cursory glance didn't reveal a truckload of them. Would there be a lot of difference between a MIJ strat and a MIM Classic Series?

A MIJ is just a lot better guitar......Better built, An E series 80's Mij is as good as anything you'll ever buy outside CS or master built...... Squier also in e series, Bang for buck it's the best strat you'll buy.

Toppscore · **Joined:** Sun Nov 20, 2011 3:16 am **Posts:** 2337

tbazzone wrote:

toppscore wrote:

I have two like this. Fender parts claimed, but hard to prove.
Also, the Strat could have "Fender Authorized" parts from resellers.
Therefore it all could be "Fender".

Typically, you probably got a great deal and will probably never
be able to identify parts' date codes or proof of what the seller says.

Personally, IMHO, once a Fender Stratocaster is modified, who really cares too much?
If you ever sell it, most buyers will consider it a partscaster. Right?
Guessing Fender wood is most important. Then the Fretboard/electronics are pretty important.

I have at least two Strats that are claimed to be "Fender" wood.
But, I have them so highly modified, it really doesn't matter.
Just gotta make them into players.

Also, the guitars that I cannot prove date codes or it's history,
are my fun axes to play with the wiring, pickups, switches, etc.
Hope you enjoy your Strat. Toppscore

Top Fender Authorized parts are NOT Fender parts. And Fender would not ever use these parts. They are only parts Authorized by Fender to use there design.

I agree Tab, trying to make that point.
But do sellers know and sell with deceit in mind,
or do sellers just not know or are uneducated. So, buyer beware.

Also, sorry if anyone misunderstood "it all could be Fender" as I meant from the seller's
point of view, IT IS ALL "Fender" with Fender factory & Fender authorized components.

But from Fender's or the buyer's point of view, IT IS or IT IS NOT "ALL Fender Factory Shipped".

So, obviously more investigation is necessary. Toppscore

NeedForTweed · **Joined:** Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:11 pm **Posts:** 112

Stay away. The guitar in the "related listings" is fake as hell too. Fake neck, fake "noiseless" pickups, etc.

Toppscore · **Joined:** Sun Nov 20, 2011 3:16 am **Posts:** 2337

ozrv wrote:

A MIJ is just a lot better guitar......Better built, An E series 80's Mij is as good as anything you'll ever buy outside CS or master built...... Squier also in e series, Bang for buck it's the best strat you'll buy.

++100. Good call, Ozrv.

Beginning to desire the "right" MIJ. I have MIA MIM and an MIP.

So far, so good. Toppscore

53magnatone · **Posted:** Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:05 pm

OP...From what I see of the Strat it is definitely a Partscaster.

(1) The tuners look suspiciously like an old set of Carvin Tuners..If they are.. nothing wrong with them they are quality and Carvin is top of the line actually has been around almost as long as Fender.

(2) The body is a respray, you can see orange peel in the light.

(3) Neck Plate screws should be flat not domed

(4)The neck looks OK but it is an aftermarket Not a Fender even though it is stamped licensed by Fender that does not make it a Fender....

900 AUS may be high considering, I would bargain and start at 500 and go from there.
If the seller balks, well it's a parts caster and that is not high dollar unless it was from high end parts and even then it is difficult to get a high price if it isn't genuine Fender...

After going back to look at the photo's , you will have to base your decision on a hands on inspection and a full refund if unsatisfied or else look around...

Toppscore · **Joined:** Sun Nov 20, 2011 3:16 am **Posts:** 2337

mcswek wrote:

Hey everyone, I'm in the market for a secondhand Strat and I've come across a partscaster which the seller is advertising as "assembled with genuine USA components". I was hoping I could get some help in determining if this thing is actually made out of genuine Fender parts.

You can check out some pictures of the guitar here:

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/kardinya ... 1004714547

As you can see, the guy is charging $900 Australian for it, which would be about the same in USD give or take. I know it's pretty beat up-looking, but I'm into that.

I quizzed him about it and here's what he told me:

"I initially bought the fender off a guy who put it together using USA fender strat parts, hence no serial number for the guitar. The pickups are definitely the standard strat pickups found in a USA strat. Not 100% sure on the wood, i think it is alder.

As for the age of the guitar, since its made of parts it doesnt have a true age. I remember the pickups to be early 2000s (ie 2003?!) and the body to be later 2000s (2007/2008?). There are serial numbers stamped in the neck join of the neck and body that give you more info, but I don't want to take the neck off just in case it will throw off the set up. It has been set up and shielded by Trevor Foley - he's one of the licensed Fender repairers in Perth. The hard case is not a Fender case." So yeah, any help would be greatly appreciated!

So, what is the news MSCWEK?
Get her?
Forget her?
Keep her?
Leave her?
. . . . . "As The World Turns"

Toppscore

mcswek · **Joined:** Tue Jul 24, 2012 12:54 pm **Posts:** 5

Haha i left it, after the advice I got here and on other forums, I decided not to bother. I figure for around $1000 I can get a Classic Series or Classic Player in Surf Green, whack a tortoise shell pickguard on there and beat it up myself.

I've had a good hunt and I've found a store in my city that has both a Classic Series 50's and Classic Player 60's in stock, so I'm gonna go check em out. Hopefully one of them talks to me, I'm interested in trying out the V-neck on the Classic Series 50's.

Thanks again for the advice everyone!

Toppscore · **Joined:** Sun Nov 20, 2011 3:16 am **Posts:** 2337

mcswek wrote:

Haha i left it, after the advice I got here and on other forums, I decided not to bother. I figure for around $1000 I can get a Classic Series or Classic Player in Surf Green, whack a tortoise shell pickguard on there and beat it up myself. I've had a good hunt and I've found a store in my city that has both a Classic Series 50's and Classic Player 60's in stock, so I'm gonna go check em out. Hopefully one of them talks to me, I'm interested in trying out the V-neck on the Classic Series 50's. Thanks again for the advice everyone!

Hi, Mscwek!

Don’t give up on Partscasters all together.
For a fact, they can be a SOUND/TONE BLAST!!!

Over the years, I have owned fourteen Fender Factory guitars,
PartsCasters & Warmoth Super Strats.

I sold four 1970s-1990s Fender Factory original guitars.
They were very easy to sell as they were all original, well maintained,
Near Mint, Mint or UnCirculated.

But, for me, not as much fun as my current harem of ten guitars.

Currently, I own five guitars that are Fender Factory made. Only one, my
1990 Fender Plus Ultra Stratocaster, is untouched from modifications,
and still sustains being 100% Fender Factory original, except for the
long ago replaced original Fender Factory installed string set.

The other four Fender Factory guitars have been highly modified.
All four do not have the original Fender pickups. Two have humbuckers.
All four have enhanced or modified wiring. And all have different
Modifications from locking tuners, Bigsby bridge, nuts, and switches.

Believe me, it is sooooooo much easier on the conscious to change and
modify Fender Factory guitars from 1990s-2012 than committing the
modification sin of altering original guitars from the 1960s-1980s. Right?

Of my remaining five guitars, only one has Fender wood.
All five have none no nil zip zero Fender Factory ANYTHING else.
Four are considered Super Strats with highly modified switching & wiring.
Some have humbuckers, or single coil sized hot rail humbuckers
or stacked humbuckers. Real cool stuff.

Following are some pictures of my “Super Strat PartsCasters”:

HSH, All the Way!!! DeMarzio Social Distortion, GFS Stacked 12k, Demarzio Humbucker from Hell!

Check the fretboard on this Mircotonal Stratocaster:

A completely flipped LEFT-HANDED 2010 Fender American to become a Hendrix Strat copy:

Three Seymour Duncan Pickups – HHH - Hot Rails, Cool Rails, Cool Rails

1990s Fender Stratocaster. Customized with a scalloped neck fretboard,
and a Single Seymour Duncan Active Live Wire Humbucker
. . . . . same as Jim Martin of Faith No More.
Dang, gotta get some photos dressed in strings

This Super Strat has more varitone switching possibilities than my wife has shoes

Talk about Tele Modified! This Fender 1960s Reissue has a four-way Hoagland Brothers Wiring Harness
with custom 4-way pick-guard switch, SEYMOUR DUNCAN STL - 52 (FIVE-TWO) BRIDGE PICKUP,
SEYMOUR DUNCAN STR - 1 NECK PICKUP, and a Bigsby "F" Tremolo System.

53magnatone · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2012 5:13 am

No Pics of the shoes....... :?:

Couldn't resist the jest....
I'm intrigued with the microtonal Strat, can you elaborate in deep detail.. :?:

Nice quiver, they look cherished..

Toppscore · **Joined:** Sun Nov 20, 2011 3:16 am **Posts:** 2337

53magnatone wrote:

No Pics of the shoes....... :?:

Would you rather see a woman's bare feet?

Toppscore · **Joined:** Sun Nov 20, 2011 3:16 am **Posts:** 2337

53magnatone wrote:

I'm intrigued with the microtonal Strat, can you elaborate
in deep detail.. :?:

Nice quiver, they look cherished..

53 Mag. Thanks for your interest. Hope the following helps:

Initially, I purchased this guitar last month in July to work on my personal
guitar fretboard play for Jazz & Blues scales and alternative scales.

Investigating and studying (frantically) during the past month,
trying to better understand what Microtonal Music, Microtonal Theory,
Microtonal Guitars and Instruments are focused on, I discovered that
this is the most perfect Microtonal Guitar to play Jazz and Blues music.

This is a 12-Tone Ultra Plus Microtonal Guitar. The 12-Tone adds 12 extra notes
per octave. EDO stands for "Equally Divided Octive. Normal Strat/Tele guitars
have frets that make 12 equal half-step notes per octave.

Notes from a couple of sources:
"'EDO' is when all the steps are the same. Standard instruments are 12 EDO - 12 equal notes per octave. Any other EDO would have all the steps the same size - e.g., a 36 EDO is 12 x 3 - every single note in the system we are used to would be split into 3 equal parts. The 12-tone-ultra-plus is not EDO at all, but an expansion of 12 EDO towards Just Intonation.

It actually has a great deal to do with 19 EDO. 12, 19, and 31 are intimately connected. You can play the same-sounding kind of musics on all of these, and also with your 12-t-u-p, and yet explore nooks that previously were unavailable - many of these sound like a sweet spot you'd normally bend a string to, or "blue" notes.

The 12-t-u-p (12-Tone Ultra Plus) adds extra frets so that, in the scales we are used to, you can play more accurate upper harmonic ratios. So, on a normal guitar you can basically play in 5-limit (studying Just Intonation will help explain this). On the 12-t-u-p you can play (for most notes in most scales) a better approximation of 7-limit or higher.

In the space between two adjacent frets on a standard guitar, there lies an infinity of notes. Guitarists have accessed these pitches with bends, slides, vibrato, whammy bars, harmonics, and feedback. Why should these in-between pitches remain hidden between frets, severely limiting their use harmonically in chords and melodically as exact fretted notes?" Catler's quest for these notes and his fascination with "just intonation" – the series of pitches derived from the natural harmonic series – led him to design the wild instrument you see here. The 12-Tone Ultra Plus ($1,199 direct) gives you all the "normal" notes you're used to, plus 12 extra frets. . . .
resulting in 36 different pitches per octave. Wow!

First, a note to all the "Isn't this a solution in search of a problem?" doubters out there: This guitar clearly isn't for everyone. What it does offer, however, is a fascinating way to learn about intonation, which should be of interest to any player who has ever wondered why only fourths, fifths, and octaves – power chords, if you will – sound good with tons of distortion. That's because of the beat frequencies that arise from equally spacing notes in our standard Western "equal temperament" scale. Let's take a real-world example. Now play a G power chord through a viciously distorted amp. It sounds pure, solid, and, well, powerful. Now play a G7. Hear all those clashing overtones? It sounds rough, unsettled, and kind of curdled. That's because the seventh degree is more than 31 cents sharper than the harmonic seventh. The harmonic seventh is what is found in nature and it produces a beatless chord when played with a root and a fifth. The FreeNote 12-Tone Ultra Plus gives me access to that note, in the form of what they call "F half-flat," found at the new first fret. After struggling just a bit with the fingering, I hit the chord through a heavily distorted amp.

What I heard was like a G7, but with no beating. It's essentially a power chord, but it has a seventh in it. It's a pretty amazing thing to experience. The FreeNote manual says that if you want to compare this chord to an equal tempered G7, just raise the F half-flat to an F (which is now at the second fret). All the clashy overtones reappeared and it just didn't sound good. I played some D7, A7, and E7 chords in the manual and I really dug the consonance and stability of them. The sound seemed foreign at first but it was addictive, especially with tons of gain. Finding the proper voicings and fingerings took some getting used to – there are a lot of frets and some are pretty close together – but I found it worth the struggle. To be honest, a couple of the chords in the manual were too weird for my ears, strangely dissonant, not particularly musical, although I admit the sounds are intriguing

This guitar would not be my first choice on a four-set bar gig. Many of these new pitches and chords struck me as a little funky when played against equal-tempered guitars and pianos, although they sounded great with a bass holding down the bottom. And, obviously, any fretless instrument could play in tune with these notes. Some of the sounds I discovered are so evocative that I could absolutely see basing a movie soundtrack around them. It would be easy to say you've never heard anything like the FreeNote, but you have, because these intervals are all found in nature. And the next time you're complaining that no one is doing anything new, remember the 12-Tone Ultra Plus.

53magnatone · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2012 3:40 pm

I'm definitely interested, I love Al Dimeola, Lee Ritenour, John Mclaughlin and quite a few other
contemporary greats....
I'll have to get back to this as I'm in the middle of milling out my Tele and Strat bodies

( break Time )

Toppscore · **Joined:** Sun Nov 20, 2011 3:16 am **Posts:** 2337

53magnatone wrote:

I'm definitely interested, I love Al Dimeola, Lee Ritenour, John Mclaughlin
and quite a few other contemporary greats.... I'll have to get back to this
as I'm in the middle of milling out my Tele and Strat bodies (break Time)

53 Magna . . . .

No problem, my pleasure.
Just got it a month ago. Wasn't sure about proper tuning;
which turns out to be normal Strat/Tele EADGBE tuning.

Since I got a good price with no manual, I had to do
extensive research to see "what the heck"

Turns out, this is a "12-Tone" guitar,
but there are others:
19-Tone, 36-Tone 51-Tone . . . and more
21 Frets, 32 Frets . . . and more
6-String, 7-String, 9-String, 12-String . . . .and more
Sitars etc.

Without knowing it, I truly lucked out and "just happened" to buy a
six-string, 12-tone with 12 EDO intonations (24 notes per octave)
which is perfect for Jazz, Blues & Rock.
Once discovered I had the right instrument = HALLELUJAH

Let me know your interest, and I'll gladly share
some great information. Toppscore

nikininja · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2012 2:31 am

When you see a Warmoth or WD Music stamp, that means the part it is stamped on is not Fender.
WD/Warmoth are not Fender. That licensed thing simply means that they have paid Fender some money (probably a lot of money) to be able to make necks guaranteed to fit a Fender design guitar and put some nonsense blurb on their advertising saying "Licensed by Fender".

When one breaks, try taking it back to a Fender dealer and see how far it gets you. That should pretty much settle it. If they were anything to do with Fender the Authorized Service Centers would be more than happy to accept them for repair or replacement.

Toppscore · **Joined:** Sun Nov 20, 2011 3:16 am **Posts:** 2337

nikininja wrote:

When you see a Warmoth or WD Music stamp, that means the part it is stamped on is not Fender.
WD/Warmoth are not Fender. That licensed thing simply means that they have paid Fender some money (probably a lot of money) to be able to make necks guaranteed to fit a Fender design guitar and put some nonsense blurb on their advertising saying "Licensed by Fender".

When one breaks, try taking it back to a Fender dealer and see how far it gets you. That should pretty much settle it. If they were anything to do with Fender the Authorized Service Centers would be more than happy to accept them for repair or replacement.

Thanks, NikiNinja. Good to know. If all suppliers are legit/honest, "licensed by Fender"
is another way to state: "this is not Fender nor is it supported by Fender".

Toppscore

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