Fender Stratocaster Solid Body Electric Guitar (1968)
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Fender Stratocaster Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1968), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 236903, sunburst finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, black hard shell case.
This is a really interesting "Hendrix Era" early-CBS Fender Stratocaster assembled in 1968 with some slightly unusual features. The original finish is an early example of what some Fender fans have dubbed "faux burst", an oddity occasionally found on Stratocasters in this period. The body was initially finished with a white poly undercoat then a typical sunburst finish was sprayed over top, sometimes with an attempt at a subtly painted woodgrain effect. This seems to have been one of the various finishing experiments going on at Fender at the time, as CBS management initiated a move to polyester finishing in place of the old Nitrocellulose lacquer. We have seen many sunburst Fenders from this period with a clear Poly undercoat, but these "Fauxs" are fairly rare. In both cases the finish did not wear as well as was likely hoped, witness the considerable flaking and chipping on this one as evidence!
Some other features illustrate the variety found in this period when a lot of changes were going down at Fender. This guitar's rosewood fingerboard neck is ink stamped OCT 66 B on the heel, with "SALES" die stamped in large letters on the underside indicating it was diverted from the production line for a sales office project. The finish is the transitional heavier lacquer used in 1967-8 with the larger decal that first appeared in summer 1968, indicating the neck was not finished out until then. The larger headstock is however still fitted with the older Kluson Deluxe pegs, not the "F" marked Fender-made tuners usually used in 1968.
Internally the guitar retains all original components; the pots are dated to the 13th week of 1966, the huge CBS pot order made that year was still being used up in 1968. The grey-bobbin pickups are leaded with cloth wire and carry matching coded stamps "1528" dating to 1968 on all 3. The white plastic pickguard is typical of the later 1960s, with a pearloid undercoat only seen around this time as Fender was using up overstock material intended for Mustang production by flipping it over!
The ultimate avatar of the Stratocaster Jimi Hendrix mostly played then-new models built at this time; that has given the guitars of this period a special appeal in the ensuing years. While no longer Pre-CBS in feel, transitional late 1960s Strats still hold a strong fascination for many players, redolent of what many feel was a special time in music and cultural history.
This "Real Relic" guitar plays well and sounds great, exactly as expected. Despite its rather scruffy look this Strat has survived the years better than many, with fairly heavy superficial wear but escaping the refinishes, jumbo frets, humbucker routs, locking trems and other pitfalls of the '70's and '80's. Overall lovely 55+ year old Stratocaster, retaining all the original character while played in enough to gig without worry.
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) deep. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.)., 7.5 lbs.
This is a guitar shows some fairly heavy finish wear but no major repairs or alterations. If you love "Relic" Strats here's a perfect naturally occurring example! The all-original "Faux" finish on the body has a lot of chipped through wear down to the undercoat, mostly on the back upper area of the face in the armwear position and along the body edges. There is also a decent sized deep buckle wear area down into the wood on the back. As noted this particular specific finish did not wear well so is prone to chipping and flaking, as is clearly evident here! The neck finish is also unaltered and shows small feelable dings and dents mostly behind the second-third fret area and wear through to the wood mostly along the treble edge.
This Strat remains all original inside "Under the Hood" with a matched set of three original '68 dated pickups, original '66 dated pots, cap and switch with the masking tape securing the leads loose but present and original solder joints intact. All hardware is original and shows some typical minor wear, most notably corrosion on the steel bridge saddles and screws. The pearloid-backed pickguard shows some light spotting around the control area and typical cracks through the neck pickup screws; guards with this underlayer are particularly prone to shrinkage. The lower front tip has been decently repaired where it cracked off some time ago. The trem cover on the back is intact with a couple of small splits at the upper screw holes.
The guitar was refretted some time ago with period-appropriate wire showing some subsequent wear but still quite playable. The fingerboard show noticeable wear spots mostly just in the lower end with a couple of filled divots in the rosewood in the first position. This Strat plays well, sounds great and is cool and slightly unusual survivor of the just-pre Woodstock era, well used but not abused with lots of stories still to tell. It is housed in a later black Tolex HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
This is a really interesting "Hendrix Era" early-CBS Fender Stratocaster assembled in 1968 with some slightly unusual features. The original finish is an early example of what some Fender fans have dubbed "faux burst", an oddity occasionally found on Stratocasters in this period. The body was initially finished with a white poly undercoat then a typical sunburst finish was sprayed over top, sometimes with an attempt at a subtly painted woodgrain effect. This seems to have been one of the various finishing experiments going on at Fender at the time, as CBS management initiated a move to polyester finishing in place of the old Nitrocellulose lacquer. We have seen many sunburst Fenders from this period with a clear Poly undercoat, but these "Fauxs" are fairly rare. In both cases the finish did not wear as well as was likely hoped, witness the considerable flaking and chipping on this one as evidence!
Some other features illustrate the variety found in this period when a lot of changes were going down at Fender. This guitar's rosewood fingerboard neck is ink stamped OCT 66 B on the heel, with "SALES" die stamped in large letters on the underside indicating it was diverted from the production line for a sales office project. The finish is the transitional heavier lacquer used in 1967-8 with the larger decal that first appeared in summer 1968, indicating the neck was not finished out until then. The larger headstock is however still fitted with the older Kluson Deluxe pegs, not the "F" marked Fender-made tuners usually used in 1968.
Internally the guitar retains all original components; the pots are dated to the 13th week of 1966, the huge CBS pot order made that year was still being used up in 1968. The grey-bobbin pickups are leaded with cloth wire and carry matching coded stamps "1528" dating to 1968 on all 3. The white plastic pickguard is typical of the later 1960s, with a pearloid undercoat only seen around this time as Fender was using up overstock material intended for Mustang production by flipping it over!
The ultimate avatar of the Stratocaster Jimi Hendrix mostly played then-new models built at this time; that has given the guitars of this period a special appeal in the ensuing years. While no longer Pre-CBS in feel, transitional late 1960s Strats still hold a strong fascination for many players, redolent of what many feel was a special time in music and cultural history.
This "Real Relic" guitar plays well and sounds great, exactly as expected. Despite its rather scruffy look this Strat has survived the years better than many, with fairly heavy superficial wear but escaping the refinishes, jumbo frets, humbucker routs, locking trems and other pitfalls of the '70's and '80's. Overall lovely 55+ year old Stratocaster, retaining all the original character while played in enough to gig without worry.
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) deep. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.)., 7.5 lbs.
This is a guitar shows some fairly heavy finish wear but no major repairs or alterations. If you love "Relic" Strats here's a perfect naturally occurring example! The all-original "Faux" finish on the body has a lot of chipped through wear down to the undercoat, mostly on the back upper area of the face in the armwear position and along the body edges. There is also a decent sized deep buckle wear area down into the wood on the back. As noted this particular specific finish did not wear well so is prone to chipping and flaking, as is clearly evident here! The neck finish is also unaltered and shows small feelable dings and dents mostly behind the second-third fret area and wear through to the wood mostly along the treble edge.
This Strat remains all original inside "Under the Hood" with a matched set of three original '68 dated pickups, original '66 dated pots, cap and switch with the masking tape securing the leads loose but present and original solder joints intact. All hardware is original and shows some typical minor wear, most notably corrosion on the steel bridge saddles and screws. The pearloid-backed pickguard shows some light spotting around the control area and typical cracks through the neck pickup screws; guards with this underlayer are particularly prone to shrinkage. The lower front tip has been decently repaired where it cracked off some time ago. The trem cover on the back is intact with a couple of small splits at the upper screw holes.
The guitar was refretted some time ago with period-appropriate wire showing some subsequent wear but still quite playable. The fingerboard show noticeable wear spots mostly just in the lower end with a couple of filled divots in the rosewood in the first position. This Strat plays well, sounds great and is cool and slightly unusual survivor of the just-pre Woodstock era, well used but not abused with lots of stories still to tell. It is housed in a later black Tolex HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.