Hey. I've seen a strat which is supposedly 1980s USA made. The serial number is A019497
It has a Kahler trem and a single gold humbucker with just a volume knob.
I can't identify it from Fenders dating guide...Can anyone help? :?
hmmm...I'm a tad suspicious.
Turns out to be a Japanese made strat.
http://www.fender.com/support/japanese_instruments.php
Now it could be the one near the top of the list.
But seeing as the serial ends in 97, you'll notice at the bottom it could also be a strat that was made from 97-98...Would I be correct in assuming the last 2 digits indicate the year? It can't be just a big fat coincidence...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250246784239&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:Watchlink:middle:uk#ebayphotohosting
But then again...the Kahler trem...Who uses those past the 80s??? Certainly not Fender right? Damn. Im confused. :cry: :?
IMHO, it is a modded Japanese Strat. The pickup and pickguard don't look like anything stock I have seen from Fender. Can't tell if the Kahler tremolo is original. But, none of that means the guitar is "bad." I would be careful though, since the seller has only one feedback.
The serial number itself has nothing to do with the date, it's simply where it came in the production, during a specific period, which is supposed to be denoted by the letter at the beginning. Prior to Fender introducing the 2 letter code (Country of manufacture/decade) there seems to have been some lack of coordination, shall we say, in issuing serial numbers - there have been a couple of periods when both Japan and the US were issuing the same numbers.
I think that Fender calls their Japanese production "Squier". The earlier models were called "Made in Japan" and the current stuff is called "Crafted in Japan" - I don't know the cut-off date, when the change took place, though (mid 90's?).
I also thought that Fender had dropped the 8-hole scratchplate in the early 60's, in favour of the 11-hole. If that is the case, it could be some kind of re-issue.
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Simon, post your question on the FDP; they'll know.
But I'll bet it's the first mid-80s serial, unless it specifically says "Crafted in Japan" on it, which would make it the late-90s serial.
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If it were me. I'd walk away from this one.
Only because to have a strat is to have a strat. Not just a hummer in the bridge position. I want three single's or an H-S-S configuration. Also, what's with the FR on that thing?
Naaaa, I'd walk. If I wanted a FR on a guitar I'd get a Jackson, Ibanez or something else, but not a Strat.
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Yeah. Think I am gonna pass on this one...I think it looks seriously cool. But I would want at least a modicum of tonal variation, and buying new pickups n pickguard...bah! If only I was stinking rich, I'd be pillaging ebay of unique, rare and fancy guitars all day long! :roll:
