Thats OK.
Thanks for all the help and suggestions.
There are so many things to consider and could be easilyy confusing.

It looks to me that it may be Partsocaster.
Will be harder to sell unless swomeone tries it.
Not a chance of getting my money back. The market has changed.
No sense to holding on to it sitting in the case.

Well now, just hold on one moment. For starters, that's a neck with a lot of eye appeal and if only you could authenticate it you'd put a good bit back onto the sale price.

SNick may have something about the Korean plant perhaps having used that metal logo: MIK Strats certainly have the black plastic trussrod hole lining and often 22 frets and sometimes tasty timber - I have a MIK Lite Ash guitar that fulfils all those critera, except the logo.

Also. I have a niggly memory of in the last couple of years seeing a Mexican special run Strat with a fancy paint job they made for a charity auction and I think it had the metal logo. I've searched and I'm damned if I can find it, so annoyingly I can't substantiate what I'm saying - but if they've used that logo once they can use it again.

In other words, you might have a partsocaster - but it could also be a legit Strat (underneath your mods). And it would be worth finding out because it will change the price for the better by a worthwhile amount. So if I were you I'd get over the worries about unscrewing the neck and have at it: see what's written on the neck heel and inside the neck pocket and if they're both Fendery and especially if the dates match you probably have a guitar that came as one piece.

Worth the trouble - and anyway, we're curious to see!

Either way, pulling that imiation CS sticker off the back and taking some better, focused photos will help no end in selling it. Plenty to like about that guitar, after all.

Cheers - C

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OK, hold on till tomorrow to satisfy our curiosity
I have busy day today till late in the evening.
I am so anxious now that I will take it apart tonight.
Will try to post the pictures right after.

Thanks again.

A few more pictures:
Headstock:




Neck heel:

Are there any Custom Shop markings under the pickguard or anywhere at all on the body? Also the Custom Shop logo on the back of the head stock can you get a better picture of that. I did have two custom shops strats with the foil Fender on the head stock and have never seen that counterfeited. so the neck may be custom shop the body questionable.
Let see some more pictures
Cheers

The Custom Shop logo is counterfeit. I printed it on my laser printer.
Please disregard it.

Since it is so hard to identify it, I will have to presume that it is a Frankenstrat and price it as such.
And that's the question now:

What is it worth?

It comes with new ATA case (new style), but with crack on the bottom (fixed with epoxy).
Has Malmsteen pickups, killswitch and split coil switch installed, large high quality pots, locking tuners, GFS roller bridge and big heavy steel block, strap locks, Fender strap and I have the black pearl backplate for it too.

It's definitely a frankenstrat but it is a nice one. I don't know the origin of that neck but it has nice figuring - definitely not a Fender neck but the decal does look pretty close to an American Deluxe chrome decal.

I would try for something in the $500 range since we don't know the source of the body and neck; as you say it does have premium hardware on it.

I think that the Custom Shop logo on the back is confusing everyone.
The gold foil Fender logo is original, which makes me believe that it is a Fender neck.
I have seen those before on Fender Special Edition and it is dead on.

Why are there no Fender designers or QC people who can identify their own product?
The "Fender Community" knows more about Fenders than Femder luthiers or whoever.

When I contacted Peavey for ID on my Wolfgang - I got an instant reply. Same with my St. Blues guitar. They called me back at home (long distance is cheap,but still) and explained everything.

...or maybe I am just fishing for the right answer and find it hard to believe that it is what it is...

Thanks for all the answers.

Well look at what you have - and I'm completely ignoring that fake CS sticker you made and put on it - a strat-style guitar with no serial number. That means it isn't a Fender as they would put a serial number on anything they produce. Even if it was made from Fender parts it would likely have a serial number on the neck somewhere unless it really was a Custom Shop - but then it would have identifying marks on it somewhere.

Some other issues - it is missing the micro tilt on the neck and body but the neck plate has the hole for a micro tilt. Fender only uses that "Fender Corona California" neck plate on the American Standards (technically they started sometime late 1999 or early 2000 on the original-style American Standards, right before they changed to the American Series in mid-2000) or the early American Deluxes as made from 1998 until they switched to the beveled neck plate circa 2002 on the Strats and January 2004 on the alder bodied Teles (the ash bodied American Deluxe Teles may still use that neck plate). The body and neck have no identifying marks that would make them Fender.


Regarding the Fender logo on the headstock - Fender did use a gold colored decal on the MIK Lite Ash and Koa topped Special models, but it was a regular gold with black outline decal and not a raised gold foil decal (which your decal looks more silver but that could be the flash photography). However, if the neck did come from one of them it would also have a serial number on the back of the headstock - it doesn't appear that a serial number was removed.

I think Fender is staying out of this because the parts just don't add up.

I'm thinking than neck is not original fender. pretty, but even with the blurred pics, I don't even see a hint of a SN#. The only Neck logos I'm aware That just say FENDER areKorean Lite Ash series, but I'm not aware of any of those with a rosewood neck. probably a partscaster.

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"Where would rock and roll be without feedback?"

Hi again Arekkoz: thanks for the nice photos! Very clear and interesting.

I support everything John said (he really knows his stuff). Till these photos I was still half expecting to see some Fender markings on the heel, but the fact they're not there I think conclusively shows that the neck isn't genuine. Also, the shaping of the curve round the end of the heel is very odd (where I've drawn red arrows) and I'm sure Fender would not let anything like that past QC:



On the other hand, it is a very pretty piece of figured maple; more or less birdseye, which is a fave of mine. So that's nice!

I have no idea who made the neck. I wondered if it might be Mighty Mite, because they offer some figured timbers like that in their catalog and because they use the black plastic trussrod hole lining. But I'm pretty sure they also mark the heel of their necks with an indelible brand logo, so I don't think this is one of theirs - and therefore I don't know where it comes from.

The most surprsing bit is the Am Deluxe style metal foil logo. It looks completely convincing and certainly took me in. To the best of my knowledge I've never seen that type of logo counterfeited before, and it's a great shame if it is now available to fakers out there, because it is going to make authenticating Fenders from the more expensive end of the catalog that much more problematic.

I still think you'll get a worthwhile sale for this guitar because, branding aside, it is easy on the eye and has some nice features. I do think it's time to take that fake Custom Shop sticker off now, though...

Good luck with it - C

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Hi Arnold: the Lite Ash guitars had un unusual logo all their own, but I have the LA Tele and it does have a serial number on the back of the headstock, as well as Fender markings on the heel.

The Korean factory also used the black plastic trussrod surround - but if this was a MIK Fender neck there would be a SN, like John says.

It's a mystery!

Cheers - C

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Yes agreed, I have a lite ash and has a sn# on the back. Not sure who's neck it is, as I believe mighty mite, and warmoth have a branded logo on the heel. interesting anyway, and very nice looking.

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"Where would rock and roll be without feedback?"

Thank you everyone.
I am really impresed with all the knowledge.

One part of me makes me wanna keep it, while the other says: "Sell it, you have too many guitars". Or maybe that's my wife bikering

I will post it for sale on local Kijiji for $777 and see what happens.

The guitar is a beauty, but "...too many guitars..." rings in my ears.