It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 2:19 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 60 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Author Message
Post subject: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:04 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 8:25 pm
Posts: 1099
Location: A cloud of eider down
Is thereany way to tell if this is an 84, or 88? SN E454309, I am going to possibly buy this All I know from seller is in very good shape,Oly white/Maple neck, and fretboard, and is USA . He is supposed to get back to me before tomorrow if there is swimming pool route, or not...I hope not, may lose interest. Is the Problem with pinning down the year due to the transition from CBS? guitar dater project gives me this:
Your guitar was made at the
Fullerton or Corona Plant (Fender), USA
in the Year(s): 1984 - 1988

Any way to tell exactly what year, and which plant this was made?

_________________
"Where would rock and roll be without feedback?"
Image


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:35 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:25 pm
Posts: 432
One way is the heel of the neck or body pocket


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 3:39 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:54 am
Posts: 2573
Location: Laurel, MD
+1 with goodinbed. Remove the neck.

_________________
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


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:45 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:06 pm
Posts: 534
Location: Northern Virginia
If it has 22-frets and a 2-point trem, then it's an '88 ("American Standard" vs. a made in USA "Standard Stratocaster").


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 7:16 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2008 6:45 pm
Posts: 2770
Location: Kansas
93greenstrat is spot on - it's very easy to tell the difference between the last of the CBS Standards and the first of the FMIC American Standards:

CBS Standard: 21 frets, 2 knobs with output jack on the pickguard, top loading trem

American Standard: 22 frets, 3 knobs, traditional metal angled output jack, 2-point trem

If it's an American Standard it's going to have the swimming pool routing; they all were routed that way until 1998 (when they switched to HSH routing). It is also most likely that the guitar is an American Standard built between the fall of 1986 and the middle of 1988. Not very many of the CBS-era Standards wound up with "E4xxxxx" serial numbers; while some exist, most of the CBS Standards wound up with "E3xxxxxx" numbers in both 1983 and 1984.

And of course just for laughs you will find a few American Standards out there that wound up with some left-over "E3xxxxx" serial numbers (although you'll find more American Standard Teles with "E3" numbers).


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 11:38 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 8:25 pm
Posts: 1099
Location: A cloud of eider down
Thanks for the info, helped me make up my mind. Seller wants $600, defintately is American Standard by looking at pics, compared to info you guys gave. Think I'll pass, I'm not interested in the swimming pool routed body, at least not for $600.

_________________
"Where would rock and roll be without feedback?"
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:04 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur
User avatar

Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 5:25 pm
Posts: 144
Nothing wrong with the swimming pool routing. Don't let that scare you off of a good deal.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:41 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:45 pm
Posts: 1980
Location: texas
If its in good shape, 600 for an 80's model isn't bad. they have been climbing in price lately due to the "Vintage" thing.

_________________
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 6:12 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 8:25 pm
Posts: 1099
Location: A cloud of eider down
Seller just offered to sell it to me for $550. You think thw swimming pool is ok? I just feel like the route is so big, It would lose some tone. But $550 seems like a good deal though.

_________________
"Where would rock and roll be without feedback?"
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 6:32 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2008 6:45 pm
Posts: 2770
Location: Kansas
Arnold Layne wrote:
Seller just offered to sell it to me for $550. You think thw swimming pool is ok? I just feel like the route is so big, It would lose some tone. But $550 seems like a good deal though.


Swimming pool routes are okay - I've always felt that a good Strat is a good Strat no matter what is under the hood. I've played great sounding swimming pool route Strats and poor sounding individual route Strats - every guitar is different.

For what it's worth, custom builder Don Grosh prefers the swimming pool route for his Retro Classic S-style guitars. He'll do them with individual routes, but a stock one will have the swimming pool route.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 7:19 pm
Offline
Fender Staff
User avatar

Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:40 pm
Posts: 746
Hi all,
JohnC, offhand and being at home away from work, I'm not altogether sure when we started the swimming pool route but i remember that i was there for the first few months of the American Standards and don't recall the swimming pool route on them, nor the first Strat Plus's. I'm thinking late 87 or early 88 at the earliest..(jeez guess i should check and see if we have record....duh).
Anyway......jes stretching my long term memory again *sigh*.


cheers,
rob

_________________
______________
rob Schwarz
Director,Fender Customer Service
Proudly serving Fender Customers
for over 30 years

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 8:48 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 8:25 pm
Posts: 1099
Location: A cloud of eider down
Well I think I will know more tomorrow, I think $550 is a fair price regardless of thr route. Will post pics, after I bring it home. Is there any way to tell if this was built in Fullerton, or Corona, GDP puts it as either.

_________________
"Where would rock and roll be without feedback?"
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 12:37 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 1339
Location: Denver, CO, USA
When CBS sold Fender to FMIC, they included everything except for the factory building in Fullerton. So FMIC bought a building in Corona and started building guitars there. So American Fenders built before '85 were all made in Fullerton. After '85, all American Fenders were built in Corona.

If your guitar had been built in '84 it would have been made in Fullerton. But since it's an '88 it was made in Corona.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 6:59 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2008 6:45 pm
Posts: 2770
Location: Kansas
Rob Schwarz-Fender wrote:
Hi all,
JohnC, offhand and being at home away from work, I'm not altogether sure when we started the swimming pool route but i remember that i was there for the first few months of the American Standards and don't recall the swimming pool route on them, nor the first Strat Plus's. I'm thinking late 87 or early 88 at the earliest..(jeez guess i should check and see if we have record....duh).
Anyway......jes stretching my long term memory again *sigh*.


cheers,
rob


Rob - cool; I never knew that. I think the earliest American Standard I saw taken apart had a March 1988 date on the body and it was a swimming pool route; all the other ones I've seen taken apart had dates later than that and they had the swimming pool route. I have Wheeler's "The Stratocaster Chronicles" at home; I'll take a look tonight to see if he put anything down about the routing in the section on the development of the American Standards and post what I find.

As I always say - if the guitar sounds good and speaks to you who cares how the body is routed under the hood. People sometimes get hung up on the specs "on paper" - and I'll admit to being disappointed on a couple of custom orders (not from Fender CS but "the other guys") where the specs "on paper" should have been perfect but the finished product just didn't grab me, resulting in quick sell-offs. I've always had better luck "running the racks" to find a guitar that talked to me.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1984/88 strat...Which is it then?
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 2:55 pm
Offline
Fender Staff
User avatar

Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:40 pm
Posts: 746
JohnC !!

Awwww man.......my memory loses. I checked with a couple of others who were there with me and are still around...and actually even more involved with thre birth of the American Standards and Strat Plus's (ok namely George Blanda and Jack Schwarz)
and yes they began with the Swimming pool route in Corona.

You were right.


Thanks for being around to assist and whack me when i need it!!
Cheers
rob

_________________
______________
rob Schwarz
Director,Fender Customer Service
Proudly serving Fender Customers
for over 30 years

Image


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 60 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: