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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 10:29 am
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The more I look at this guitar, the more I'm thinking that this is a parts-o-caster (some Fender/some non-Fender parts or Fender aftermarket parts)
Fender parts:
Neck
body (mostlikely)
Bridge

Non-Fender
Strap Buttons

Possible Fender Parts but not original to the guitar
Pickguard and knobs (Fender has in the past sold guitars with these parts, but American Stds. of this ilk should be white).

If you go online, you can find photos of 40th Anniversary American Std. Stratocasters.


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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 2:21 pm
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According to the spec sheet the OP got from Fender this was a special run of 1,200 in 1994 - 600 with rosewood boards, 600 with maple boards, lipstick red, black pearl pickguard, black plastic hardware, and it should have Texas Specials.

I believe the only change has been to swap out the factory Schaller locking strap buttons (remember, American Standards back then came with the strap buttons but not the clip parts for your strap) with old-style Dunlop straplock buttons.


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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 3:02 pm
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Did the American Standard have block saddles at the time?

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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 3:08 pm
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stratmangler wrote:
Did the American Standard have block saddles at the time?

The saddles would be block. According to the price guide, there was no set number produced.


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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 3:17 pm
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I haven't found this American Special model.

The neck is definitely for a 40th Anniversary neck. Does the guitar have one of the neck plates I listed earlier?


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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 4:59 pm
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paris wrote:
stratmangler wrote:
Did the American Standard have block saddles at the time?

The saddles would be block. According to the price guide, there was no set number produced.


The Fender spec sheet notes 600 maple neck and 600 rosewood.

I agree the strap button's look odd but otherwise it looks as per the spec sheet, and the picture of the alternate maple neck version.

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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:26 pm
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John Sims wrote:
paris wrote:
stratmangler wrote:
Did the American Standard have block saddles at the time?

The saddles would be block. According to the price guide, there was no set number produced.


The Fender spec sheet notes 600 maple neck and 600 rosewood.

I agree the strap button's look odd but otherwise it looks as per the spec sheet, and the picture of the alternate maple neck version.


The neck is throwing me off. Does this mean that all '94 Strats (except for specific model such as Clapton Strst) have the little 40th Anniversary thing on the headstock? I'd love to learn more.

Once in a while I'll come across a Stratocaster I've never seen before. It's rare, but happens. The rarest Strats I've ever seen were in 1993 and had "Made in the USA etched into base of neck just above the neck joint. There was a whole rack of them. I have never seen them since, and no one else has heard of them.


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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:44 pm
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paris wrote:
John Sims wrote:
paris wrote:
stratmangler wrote:
Did the American Standard have block saddles at the time?

The saddles would be block. According to the price guide, there was no set number produced.


The Fender spec sheet notes 600 maple neck and 600 rosewood.

I agree the strap button's look odd but otherwise it looks as per the spec sheet, and the picture of the alternate maple neck version.


The neck is throwing me off. Does this mean that all '94 Strats (except for specific model such as Clapton Strst) have the little 40th Anniversary thing on the headstock? I'd love to learn more.

Once in a while I'll come across a Stratocaster I've never seen before. It's rare, but happens. The rarest Strats I've ever seen were in 1993 and had "Made in the USA etched into base of neck just above the neck joint. There was a whole rack of them. I have never seen them since, and no one else has heard of them.


No, I think the name "Special" is throwing you off - the spec sheet says it's an "American Standard Special" - as several of us have said this is something that Fender would now call an FSR. I suspect it was made for only a handful of dealers (probably GC or Sam Ash here in the USA and some European dealer).

Of course Fender has a tendency to recycle names - as Chromeface said they also had an American Special line at one time - it included the Floyd Rose Strats, the "68 Reverse Strat Special" (i.e. the Hendrix VooDoo Strat without the Hendrix name), and eventually the Strat-o-sonic was part of that. Then they recycled the "special" name for the American Special models in 2010.

All 1994 American Standards were supposed to have that "40th Anniversary" medallion on them.


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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:59 pm
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Confirmation from a fender rep via phone call, the strap buttons are not stock but the rest of the guitar is as it should be. The model was limited to one year of production, 1994, and 600 guitars in maple neck and 600 guitars in rosewood neck configurations. Bizarre guitar I must say as far as lack of info. The question remains, value compared to standard issue 1994 American Standard?


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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 2:59 am
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I'm not sure it would have a value significantly greater than any other Strat of the same period.

If there were one of these and one of a year earlier or later on a rack in a guitar shop would the price tag on this be much different. Would it be $100 more desirable?

I can see that a collector might plum for anniversary models, just by way of having something to link a collection. This being the case, assuming this is missing from said collectors horde, and such a collector knew of one for sale, they would likely pay over the odds for such a guitar.

I have a hankering for a 25th Anniversary because I almost bought one when new, didn't, and have regretted it ever since. Immaculate 25ths certainly command a premium but are by no means silly money compared to similar Strats of a similar period in similar condition.

As I said previously, a guitar is only worth what someone is willing to pay.

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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 3:15 am
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There are more than a dozen 40th Anniversary Strats listed on ebay currently, with a good number of less Marmite colour scheme. Very few of these are showing a particularly inflated price, over a similar Strat a year older or younger. So your Anniversary collector has plenty to choose from.

This is potentially a good thing as, assuming you like playing the guitar and didn't buy it as an investment, you can continue to enjoy playing it without worrying about devaluing it.

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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 3:38 am
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Thanks to everyone for the info on this model. I'm inclined to agree about the value of this guitar.

There's a general feeling that because a guitar is an anniversary model, or a limited number, that it should be very valuable. From everything I have seen, (price guides and online sales) anniversary model guitar do not fare any better than any other guitar of the same model. For instance, my 2004 50th Anniversary American Series has approximately the same value as any American Series Stratocaster of this period. Even though the guitar offers a special run 2-color-sunburst ash body, CS '54 pickups, commemorative neck plate and tweed case, the only way that guitar will gain higher value is if suddenly lots of people want it, or Fender stopped producing guitars and all other Stratocasters were suddenly placed into a pit and set on fire. It’s a matter of numbers.

There are basically two issues here:

First, it’s just a Stratocaster. Even with all the extra coolness, beauty and quality that went into it, in the end my 50th Anniversary Strat is just one more Stratocaster among millions. This leads to my next point.

2. There were so many produced that the guitar isn't rare enough. In general, modern instruments aren't going to gain too much value because there are so many produced. I realize that the guitar in question is out 600, but so what? Unless it was built in the Custom Shop, (and even then it may not matter) it’s just one more Strat amongst millions just like it. I could buy all the same parts and build this exact guitar down to the screws. Besides historical significance, the reason old Fenders and Gibsons are highly sought after is that there were a limited number produced in the early days.

The only way modern guitars are going to gain greater value is that older guitars become more difficult to come by. For instance, back in the day, no one wanted '70s era Stratocasters. This kept prices low. In the mid-'90s a person could still purchase a 1971 Strat for about $1K. Today, that guitar is worth 10 -14 times as much. Why?

I suspect that it's 2 reasons. First, inflation. 20 years ago, $1K had a lot more value than it does now. Second, availability of '50s and '60s Strats to the average buyer. Collectors are not parting with their Strats and the guitars that are being sold out are way outside of most people's price range. We just can’t afford it. We can still however purchase a ’79 Strat for about $1400 - $1900. This in-turn has driven up the price 0f ‘70s era Srats. This means that a '77 Strat which was once valued at $700-$800 in the early 2000s is now valued at $1400 - $1900. One last thing to keep in mind. After about 2008, the guitar collecting bubble burst and prices fell, greatly. a lot collectors who saw their collections as nest eggs lost a great deal of money.

The bottom line: Enjoy the guitar. Forget its value. And if you really want the guitar to gain more value: Shutdown Fender and destroy the millions other Stratocasters out there.


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Post subject: Re: Hard to identify Strats.
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 5:48 am
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John Sims wrote:
There are more than a dozen 40th Anniversary Strats listed on ebay currently, with a good number of less Marmite colour scheme. Very few of these are showing a particularly inflated price, over a similar Strat a year older or younger. So your Anniversary collector has plenty to choose from.

This is potentially a good thing as, assuming you like playing the guitar and didn't buy it as an investment, you can continue to enjoy playing it without worrying about devaluing it.


+1


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