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Post subject: '77/'78 Strat History
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 4:07 am
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So I was looking on Craigslist for some vintage gear and ran into an ad for a '78 Strat for a very reasonable price.

When I met the seller, I asked about the guitar's history. It turns out that he is related to singer/song writer, Paul Davis. I had never heard of Paul Davis. After some investigation, I learned that he did recorded the songs, "I Go Crazy", "'65 Love Affair", "Cool Night," as well as two #1 duet hits from the '70s.

I was pretty surprised. I was born in '71, so I remember all these songs on the radio. Anyway, what I'm trying to do is learn more about the guitar. I figure it's a long shot, but does anyone happen to know who Paul Davis' guitar tech might have been?


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Post subject: Re: '77/'78 Strat History
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 4:58 am
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You are sure it is a real 1978 ?


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Post subject: Re: '77/'78 Strat History
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 5:59 am
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stratele52 wrote:
You are sure it is a real 1978 ?


Absolutely! Everything about this guitar is completely accurate to the time period; even the pickguard s/n matches the guitar s/n.

I'm not sure of the year because Fender used S7 s/n's for both '77 and '78. The green neck heal stamp is so faded that I can't read it. With that number I would be able to tell the day, month and year the guitar was made.

After setting if up and playing it a bit, I'm pretty impressed with the tone and neck shape, which is small, similar to my '79 Strat. The guitar ways about 10lbs.

My '76 Strat weighs about 1/2lb less and the neck is big and chunky.

I purchased this guitar to sell it, but I don't know, I'm getting attached to it. It's a very clean guitar. My guess is that was a studeo guitar. Plenty of fret wear on the lower frets and normal age cracks in the finish, but over all, one of the cleanest vintage Strats I've seen in a while.


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Post subject: Re: '77/'78 Strat History
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 6:05 am
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I have a '79 like new with case but it is a non tremolo :(


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Post subject: Re: '77/'78 Strat History
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 10:58 am
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stratele52 wrote:
I have a '79 like new with case but it is a non tremolo :(


I had a Black '77 Hard Tail (non-tremolo) Strat. I could never get into that guitar. It has more to do with the neck than the sound. Some hard tails sound really nice. Different than a regular Strat. Nile Rogers made some really wonderful hits using a hard tail Strat.


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Post subject: Re: '77/'78 Strat History
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 11:03 am
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I don't like mine too , I bought it for an invest .


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Post subject: Re: '77/'78 Strat History
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 4:34 pm
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paris wrote:

The green neck heal stamp is so faded that I can't read it.


Try reading it under a black light, you would be suprised what shows up!! :D

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Post subject: Re: '77/'78 Strat History
Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 3:57 am
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omar59 wrote:
paris wrote:

The green neck heal stamp is so faded that I can't read it.


Try reading it under a black light, you would be suprised what shows up!! :D


Thanks! Now I need to find a black light.


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Post subject: Re: '77/'78 Strat History
Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 7:36 am
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paris wrote:
omar59 wrote:
paris wrote:

The green neck heal stamp is so faded that I can't read it.


Try reading it under a black light, you would be suprised what shows up!! :D


Thanks! Now I need to find a black light.


Your local pawn shop is guaranteed to have one - they use them to look for UV registration numbers to avoid buying stolen goods.


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Post subject: Re: '77/'78 Strat History
Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 10:02 am
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Try reading it under a black light, you would be suprised what shows up!! :D[/quote]

Thanks! Now I need to find a black light.[/quote]

Your local pawn shop is guaranteed to have one - they use them to look for UV registration numbers to avoid buying stolen goods.[/quote]

Thanks! I'll need to check that out.


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