Fender Strat identification help

Mortland

Hi all,

Some of you may have seen the NGD post regarding a job lot I acquired in early December. 

Trying to to clear up a few quirks and queries I’ve found in respect of a vintage looking  Fender Strat and wondered if anyone share some knowledge. 

Images at https://imgur.com/gallery/keLI4. 

Any dating, authentication etc much appreciated! I’ve got a few thoughts myself but want to see what others come up without me steering them in a direction.

Cheers 

Mortland

https://imgur.com/a/34r4v Some additional images of it back together, realised I didn’t send any of the head

Octafish

Assume it's meant to be 70s? Body doesn't look genuine Fender, pickup routes look too square, no micro tilt plate in neck pocket and why a truss rod access above the neck pickup on a guitar with truss rod at the headstock? Neck has an odd shaped headstock, maybe restyled/re-logo'd?

WezV

Partscaster with a real 70’s neck that’s been modded??

sweepy

Well, it’s a Bitsa that’s for sure, 3 screw 70’s replica neck minus the micro tilt and a Fender transfer . The body could be Japanese Antoria etc and the pickups look like Japanese Fender too are the saddles bent steel or solid Mazac ?

Mortland

My thought are as below:

- Genuine neck - head shaved and new logo. The lady I purchased the guitars from said her husband has one “shaved” as he didn’t like the larger headstocks. I’m guessing this one!

- Body - replacement due to missing tilt plate.

- Bridge, pick guards etc - Looks to be legit to me. 

- Pick ups and wiring  - genuinely unsure so further input welcomed! 

ICBM

Matsumoku body I'm fairly sure, the squared pickup routs are quite distinctive. A lot of them were that very grainy natural ash finish too - and also looks like it has the narrow Japanese bridge pivot screw spacing.

The neck appears to be a genuine 70s Fender from the heel and the round-lam fingerboard - actually an earlier 70s rather than later, from the style of the stamp on the end - as are the front two pickups and the controls - the headstock has been reshaped and so the decal isn't genuine. The neckplate is also not genuine, Fender never used that script for the serial number.

Mortland

ICBM said:

Matsumoku body I'm fairly sure, the squared pickup routs are quite distinctive. A lot of them were that very grainy natural ash finish too - and also looks like it has the narrow Japanese bridge pivot screw spacing.

The neck appears to be a genuine 70s Fender from the heel and the round-lam fingerboard - actually an earlier 70s rather than later, from the style of the stamp on the end - as are the front two pickups and the controls - the headstock has been reshaped and so the decal isn't genuine. The neckplate is also not genuine, Fender never used that script for the serial number.

Thanks, some serious knowledge there! 

I was highly suspicious in respect of the neck plate due to condition given age, so not surprised there. 

Re the pick ups do you believe them to be genuine or just of a similar era if you don’t mind me asking?

ICBM

Mortland said:

Re the pick ups do you believe them to be genuine or just of a similar era if you don’t mind me asking?

They're later 1970s Fenders - the date codes show the 9th week of 1978 - the middle pickup appears to have the code in the wrong order with the year first. The bridge pickup is something else, no idea what.

I was mistaken about the neck - I had the date code numbers the wrong way round - the last four digits are the code, but the first two are the week, the third one the year, and the last the day (not the first being the year as I thought) so it's a '77 neck not a '71 or a '74 (I can't see what the first digit is clearly, I think it's a 1 but it could be a 4) - made on Wednesday in the 11th or 41st week of 1977.

So it's just possible that if the neck is dated the 41st week of '77 and the two pickups are the 9th week of '78, that they *could* be from the same original guitar - there are often a couple of months difference for parts in the same guitar, they were made in bulk and stored before use. But if the neck date stamp is a 1 not a 4, it's unlikely.

I'm not that knowledgeable, I just know where to look . All the info is here:

http://www.strat-central.com/70sstrats/