Fender Stratocaster Solid Body Electric Guitar (1961)
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Fender Stratocaster Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1961), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 60689, Blonde lacquer finish, ash body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original brown tolex hard shell case.
This is a lovely rare original Pre-CBS "slab Board" Fender Stratocaster with a blonde finished ash body played in and well loved for decades, a real find for the Strat connoisseur! Telecaster-style blonde was a Fender custom order option on higher-grade models, but ONLY blonde guitar bodies were carved from ash, making this Stratocaster part of an elite club sonically as well as visually. This finish was an extra-cost option at the time and few of these were ordered compared to the standard sunburst models. We find ash-bodied Fenders from this period often have an extra level of resonance compared to their common alder-bodied brethren, and this Strat certainly bears this out.
This guitar dates to mid-1961, just as the surf rock era was beginning. It shows typical period features, different in a number of ways from its 1950's ancestors. The rosewood fingerboard is the now-prized "slab board" used from mid-1959, inlaid with the "clay" dots that would be phased out at the end of 1964. The neck has a perfect-feeling round backed profile and carries the original smaller Pre-CBS style headstock. This carries the older "single line" Kluson Deluxe tuners with the older gold "Spaghetti" logo decal on the face.
The finish on the body is a deeper, less see-through blonde than the 1950s styler that has yellowed a bit further over the decades. The pickguard is a beautiful example of the lovely thick greenish-hued nitrocellulose that would also disappear in 1965, replaced by plainer white plastic. It has no cracks or splits and shows less shrinkage than most. The neck is pencil dated 4/61 on the heel, while the body is more abstractly marked 4-61 in pencil in the trem cavity. All visible pots dates are to the 14th week of 1961.
All three single coil pickups have a strong well-defined tone, and the "in between" settings offer up a "Stratty" quack without sounding as glassy as many earlier or later models. These early 1960s slab-board Stratocasters have become a player's favorite over the last few decades, often offering up a meatier tone than either the earlier maple fingerboard guitars or the later CBS period examples. Blonde ash examples like this are particularly rare.
This fine example of prime Fender mojo carries a few interesting stories: it was bought in the early 1980s from famed Jazz singer Arthur Prysock, who was not known to play guitar but probably acquired it along the road. It also carries an anecdotal tale of having been played at an informal rehearsal session at Montana Studios in Manhattan by Bob Dylan for about 1/2 hour with singer Wrecia Ford, also in the 1980s. It has been in one owner's hands since that time and can be heard on soundtrack cues from the "Sex and The City" TV and movie franchise.
Overall length is 38 15/16 in. (98.9 cm.), 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This blonde beauty has some typical authentic play wear for its age, a "real relic" not an artificially induced one! It remains all original except for an old refret 40+ years ago. The finish is all original with typical light checking to the body with dings, dents, chipping and scrapes in the typical spots. The back shows less belt buckle wear than many, but there are more heavily worn spots along the bottom edge of the body. The face is relatively well preserved with dings and dents mostly around the edge and a couple of deeper case lid dinks. The neck is less worn down than the body with a few random dings and scrapes and some finish worn off in a odd spot on the upper side in the 7-12th fret area. The headstock including the original tuners and original decal remains relatively clean.
All hardware inside and out is original except possibly some or all of the often-replaced bridge height adjustment screws. There is a some corrosion to the original bridge saddles; the still-intact bridge cover has more plating wear than most so was perhaps actually in use for some time. The original pickguard and pickup covers have only minor scratching and scuffing and the knobs are cleaner than many. The beautiful green guard shows less shrinkage than many and has no broken or cracked corners. The trem plate on the back is quite old but does not appear original.
The original thin frets were replaced long ago with wider wire but not the oversized "metal era" frets popular in the '80s; the bone nut is original. The guitar is set up with the original five trem screws and the original arm. All three original pickups and the full wiring rig are complete and undisturbed and sound fantastic in any combination. This guitar is a great example of why the slab-board Stratocaster has become ever more of a favorite over many decades. The original brown case is included, moderately heavily worn but still fully functional with a collection of old string packets and our favorite pick holder EVER in the pocket, along with an old sock we have dubbed the "Pry-Sock". Overall Very Good + Condition.
This is a lovely rare original Pre-CBS "slab Board" Fender Stratocaster with a blonde finished ash body played in and well loved for decades, a real find for the Strat connoisseur! Telecaster-style blonde was a Fender custom order option on higher-grade models, but ONLY blonde guitar bodies were carved from ash, making this Stratocaster part of an elite club sonically as well as visually. This finish was an extra-cost option at the time and few of these were ordered compared to the standard sunburst models. We find ash-bodied Fenders from this period often have an extra level of resonance compared to their common alder-bodied brethren, and this Strat certainly bears this out.
This guitar dates to mid-1961, just as the surf rock era was beginning. It shows typical period features, different in a number of ways from its 1950's ancestors. The rosewood fingerboard is the now-prized "slab board" used from mid-1959, inlaid with the "clay" dots that would be phased out at the end of 1964. The neck has a perfect-feeling round backed profile and carries the original smaller Pre-CBS style headstock. This carries the older "single line" Kluson Deluxe tuners with the older gold "Spaghetti" logo decal on the face.
The finish on the body is a deeper, less see-through blonde than the 1950s styler that has yellowed a bit further over the decades. The pickguard is a beautiful example of the lovely thick greenish-hued nitrocellulose that would also disappear in 1965, replaced by plainer white plastic. It has no cracks or splits and shows less shrinkage than most. The neck is pencil dated 4/61 on the heel, while the body is more abstractly marked 4-61 in pencil in the trem cavity. All visible pots dates are to the 14th week of 1961.
All three single coil pickups have a strong well-defined tone, and the "in between" settings offer up a "Stratty" quack without sounding as glassy as many earlier or later models. These early 1960s slab-board Stratocasters have become a player's favorite over the last few decades, often offering up a meatier tone than either the earlier maple fingerboard guitars or the later CBS period examples. Blonde ash examples like this are particularly rare.
This fine example of prime Fender mojo carries a few interesting stories: it was bought in the early 1980s from famed Jazz singer Arthur Prysock, who was not known to play guitar but probably acquired it along the road. It also carries an anecdotal tale of having been played at an informal rehearsal session at Montana Studios in Manhattan by Bob Dylan for about 1/2 hour with singer Wrecia Ford, also in the 1980s. It has been in one owner's hands since that time and can be heard on soundtrack cues from the "Sex and The City" TV and movie franchise.
Overall length is 38 15/16 in. (98.9 cm.), 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This blonde beauty has some typical authentic play wear for its age, a "real relic" not an artificially induced one! It remains all original except for an old refret 40+ years ago. The finish is all original with typical light checking to the body with dings, dents, chipping and scrapes in the typical spots. The back shows less belt buckle wear than many, but there are more heavily worn spots along the bottom edge of the body. The face is relatively well preserved with dings and dents mostly around the edge and a couple of deeper case lid dinks. The neck is less worn down than the body with a few random dings and scrapes and some finish worn off in a odd spot on the upper side in the 7-12th fret area. The headstock including the original tuners and original decal remains relatively clean.
All hardware inside and out is original except possibly some or all of the often-replaced bridge height adjustment screws. There is a some corrosion to the original bridge saddles; the still-intact bridge cover has more plating wear than most so was perhaps actually in use for some time. The original pickguard and pickup covers have only minor scratching and scuffing and the knobs are cleaner than many. The beautiful green guard shows less shrinkage than many and has no broken or cracked corners. The trem plate on the back is quite old but does not appear original.
The original thin frets were replaced long ago with wider wire but not the oversized "metal era" frets popular in the '80s; the bone nut is original. The guitar is set up with the original five trem screws and the original arm. All three original pickups and the full wiring rig are complete and undisturbed and sound fantastic in any combination. This guitar is a great example of why the slab-board Stratocaster has become ever more of a favorite over many decades. The original brown case is included, moderately heavily worn but still fully functional with a collection of old string packets and our favorite pick holder EVER in the pocket, along with an old sock we have dubbed the "Pry-Sock". Overall Very Good + Condition.