What is this Strat?

pottolom

I've been looking for a cheap project guitar to work on during the lockdown. Something to strip and refinish and hopefully put into fettle. 

I spotted this Strat on eBay and decided to take a punt, and won the auction last night at £62 (+ £12.50 P&P). You might think I'm mad, but it looks like it might have some potential to me, but of course there's a risk that the truss rod is knackered, neck twisted, etc. (although the seller claims it's in reasonable working order).

Obviously I'll know more when it arrives in a few days and I start taking the neck off, looking at the pickups, etc. But in the meantime, just for fun, do any of you know what it is I've bought?! 

There are a few 'strange' things about it:

- Placement of the screw holes on the neck plate;
- "Made in Japan" printed on the pickguard. I've searched high and low online and can't find one like this anywhere;
- Single ply, 8 hole pickguard (so 1950s style) but with a rosewood neck (which is more 1960s);
- 2 string trees.

I'm thinking maybe it could be a partscaster of some description, with the neck and body from separate guitars? The 60s-ish neck and 50s-ish body might suggest this, and I wonder if the strange neck plate is part of this story?

Pickups look like they don't have the staggered pole pieces, so likely to be cheap ceramics?

I'm thinking that if everything works out, and it doesn't prove to be a total stinker (and there is of course a very real risk it will be) that it might clean up to be quite a nice 'genuine' relic if I can remove that 'decoration' from the body (acetone? Or wet sand it off with fairly fine grit?) and either stick with the original finish or refinish it (and clean up the hardware, assuming it isn't too far gone). The neck, tuners and bridge look quite authentic to me. It's hard to tell, but the body contours at the back look like they could be slightly 'off', but not too far away.

Thoughts appreciated! I realise of course that many on here are rocking £2k Custom Shop guitars and will turn their nose up at this! 

Here are the photos:

rico

A cheap one!

If the fretboard is rosewood and body is a proper wood (i.e not basswood or ply) then you've got a billy bargain. I've been thinking about building another parts guitar to keep me entertained during furlough but even with a modest spec i'm up to £500 already. I bought a US strat for that a couple of years ago...

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

pottolom

rico said:

A cheap one!

If the fretboard is rosewood and body is a proper wood (i.e not basswood or ply) then you've got a billy bargain. I've been thinking about building another parts guitar to keep me entertained during furlough but even with a modest spec i'm up to £500 already. I bought a US strat for that a couple of years ago...

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

The fretboard *looks* like rosewood to me, but I suppose it's only a bargain if it's straight, the truss rod works and the frets don't all need to be pulled!

Body-wood wise, it'll be interesting to see what the neck pocket and body routing reveals!

ICBM

I think you're right that it's a partscaster - the neck, with the quite nice Kluson-type tuners, looks like a fairly modern Jim Deacon or something out of the same factory. These often have the logo over the finish since several different ones were used for different distributors, and it was stuck on last - so easy to remove.

The neckplate is distinctively Japanese, earlier-70s probably. The pickguard is likely to be of the same sort of era. The bridge doesn't fit either the pickguard cutout or the body recess properly, and you may find the original screw holes have been filled and redrilled - apart from the low E one, which looks in the right place.

The backplate is cheap and modern. You will probably find more clues when you take it apart...

phil_b

bridge looks like the one on my old encore strat

pottolom

ICBM said:

I think you're right that it's a partscaster - the neck, with the quite nice Kluson-type tuners, looks like a fairly modern Jim Deacon or something out of the same factory. These often have the logo over the finish since several different ones were used for different distributors, and it was stuck on last - so easy to remove.

The neckplate is distinctively Japanese, earlier-70s probably. The pickguard is likely to be of the same sort of era. The bridge doesn't fit either the pickguard cutout or the body recess properly, and you may find the original screw holes have been filled and redrilled - apart from the low E one, which looks in the right place.

The backplate is cheap and modern. You will probably find more clues when you take it apart...

Thanks! That's some good detective work. Yes, I hadn't noticed that about the bridge. I can see now that it definitely looks non-original.

I've had a quick look at Jim Deacon Strats online, and all the necks seem to have truss rod adjustment at the headstock, whereas I'm assuming "mine" is at the heel......

JayGee

I actually rather like that just as it is...

pottolom

Well, it arrived. Photos below.

Can't decide whether to proceed with Plan A, which was to strip and refinish, or if it's a total non-starter! What say you?

Philly_Q

pottolom said:

Wow, I have never seen a tremolo "block" like that before!  Bizarre.

ICBM

Philly_Q said:

Wow, I have never seen a tremolo "block" like that before!  Bizarre.

They were quite common on very low-end copies in the later 70s and early 80s. They’re an absolute pain to restring.

The lengths manufacturers will go to in order to shave a tiny bit off the production cost is quite remarkable!

stephen.wood125

Frets looks err "interesting" were they cut with a hammer?

Philly_Q

ICBM said:

Philly_Q said:

Wow, I have never seen a tremolo "block" like that before!  Bizarre.

They were quite common on very low-end copies in the later 70s and early 80s. They’re an absolute pain to restring.

The lengths manufacturers will go to in order to shave a tiny bit off the production cost is quite remarkable!

That was my first thought.  Well, first thought after I'd got over the surprise of finding out such a thing exists.

Sassafras

Wow, looks like you've got yourself an original 1946 Stratocaster!