Strat Identification Help

Rkphilpot

Good Evening.
I've had this Strat for 16 years, I bought it exactly as it is for £500 and I adore it, I will never sell it, but Id like to know more about it.
I've figured its an 88/89, its been heavily modified but I have no idea what the pickups are. If anyone has any idea id love to know.
Thanks all.

https://imgur.com/gallery/vygUbnQ

Whistler

All I see is: {"data":{"error":"Imgur is temporarily over capacity. Please try again later."},"success":false,"status":403}

Funkfingers

Fender American Standard Stratocaster. Pre-2002 Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pickups.

BC = SHR-1B, wound by Catalina Dadilla.
NO = SHR-1N, wound by Oti Mora.

It is possible to interpret the neck position pickup sticker as reading 3N but that would normally indicate an SM-3N Mini Humbucker.

Rkphilpot

Funkfingers said:

Fender American Standard Stratocaster. Pre-2002 Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pickups.

BC = SHR-1B, wound by Catalina Dadilla.
NO = SHR-1N, wound by Oti Mora.

It is possible to interpret the neck position pickup sticker as reading 3N but that would normally indicate an SM-3N Mini Humbucker.

Wow, thats incredible, I've been trying to work this out for years, thank you so much. I didn't know they were SD, I thought they might be lace sensors, shows what I know.

ICBM

An E4 serial number "should" indicate 1984, but in fact Fender continued using those decals until about 1989, since that was the period in which Fender USA basically ceased production for some time, apart from a tiny number of vintage reissues (which didn't use those decals). I had an '89 USA Standard with an E4 serial. Slightly surprising that there aren't any date stamps in the neck pocket or on the heel - I don't know what the pencilled numbers mean, but they aren't a date.

The only other date I can see is on the volume pot, which is the 25th week of 1987 - R1378725, 137 is the code for CTS - the neck tone pot is mostly obscured with solder, the bridge/middle TBX may have a readable one, but failing that I would say it's an '87 guitar since that's the only definite date.

The pickups are earlier-type Duncan Hot Rails as Funkfingers said.

I wouldn't describe this guitar as 'heavily modified', by the way - it's just the pickups and switches. It's only a replacement pickguard and a set of Fender USA Strat pickups away from being 'original', if you ever want that.

Rkphilpot

ICBM said:

An E4 serial number "should" indicate 1984, but in fact Fender continued using those decals until about 1989, since that was the period in which Fender USA basically ceased production for some time, apart from a tiny number of vintage reissues (which didn't use those decals). I had an '89 USA Standard with an E4 serial. Slightly surprising that there aren't any date stamps in the neck pocket or on the heel - I don't know what the pencilled numbers mean, but they aren't a date.

The only other date I can see is on the volume pot, which is the 25th week of 1987 - R1378725, 137 is the code for CTS - the neck tone pot is mostly obscured with solder, the bridge/middle TBX may have a readable one, but failing that I would say it's an '87 guitar since that's the only definite date.

The pickups are earlier-type Duncan Hot Rails as Funkfingers said.

I wouldn't describe this guitar as 'heavily modified', by the way - it's just the pickups and switches. It's only a replacement pickguard and a set of Fender USA Strat pickups away from being 'original', if you ever want that.

Thanks for the info, I had the date discussion on the Strat forum and someone said on there that, because the 2 point tremolo has flat poles and bronze housings on the body it is an 87 onwards. We cam to the conclusion its likely an 87-89. I've looked at the pencil on the neck so many times and I agree, its certainly not a date of any sort. Which is frustrating but the mystery of it is alluring. I worried for a while that it might be a really good parts caster thats had decals applied but ive had a lot of people look at it and they've all seemed confident its not.

Appreciate what you mean about the mods, i have no idea what the original pickups may have been though, just Fender std American i expect.

ICBM

Rkphilpot said:

Thanks for the info, I had the date discussion on the Strat forum and someone said on there that, because the 2 point tremolo has flat poles and bronze housings on the body it is an 87 onwards. We cam to the conclusion its likely an 87-89. I've looked at the pencil on the neck so many times and I agree, its certainly not a date of any sort. Which is frustrating but the mystery of it is alluring. I worried for a while that it might be a really good parts caster thats had decals applied but ive had a lot of people look at it and they've all seemed confident its not.

No, I'm certain it's a genuine late-80s USA Standard Strat.

Interestingly, it appears that it may have been sunburst originally, going by the neck pocket - but the black looks like a Fender factory finish so it's possibly one that was rejected due to a finish or wood grain fault and oversprayed. (I could be wrong, if you know it's been refinished later.)

Rkphilpot said:

Appreciate what you mean about the mods, i have no idea what the original pickups may have been though, just Fender std American i expect.

Yes - cheap if you want to buy them, because they're not well-regarded and a lot of people take them out to replace with others. To be fair, they aren't great - they're the ones with the non-traditional plastic bobbin construction, and to me sound a bit thin. The combination of them and the TBX tone control seems to be a real tone-sucker. Unless you're really keen on getting it back to original I probably wouldn't bother.

Rkphilpot

ICBM said:

Rkphilpot said:

Thanks for the info, I had the date discussion on the Strat forum and someone said on there that, because the 2 point tremolo has flat poles and bronze housings on the body it is an 87 onwards. We cam to the conclusion its likely an 87-89. I've looked at the pencil on the neck so many times and I agree, its certainly not a date of any sort. Which is frustrating but the mystery of it is alluring. I worried for a while that it might be a really good parts caster thats had decals applied but ive had a lot of people look at it and they've all seemed confident its not.

No, I'm certain it's a genuine late-80s USA Standard Strat.

Interestingly, it appears that it may have been sunburst originally, going by the neck pocket - but the black looks like a Fender factory finish so it's possibly one that was rejected due to a finish or wood grain fault and oversprayed. (I could be wrong, if you know it's been refinished later.)

Rkphilpot said:

Appreciate what you mean about the mods, i have no idea what the original pickups may have been though, just Fender std American i expect.

Yes - cheap if you want to buy them, because they're not well-regarded and a lot of people take them out to replace with others. To be fair, they aren't great - they're the ones with the non-traditional plastic bobbin construction, and to me sound a bit thin. The combination of them and the TBX tone control seems to be a real tone-sucker. Unless you're really keen on getting it back to original I probably wouldn't bother.

I love the sound of the Rails, especially with the coil tap so i wont be reverting it. I was just interested. In the few places I have scuffed it the guitar seemed to have a thick white basecoat that has a chalky polyfiller consistency and then a red undercoat before being sprayed what i think could be sherwood green or some sort of midnight blue.

maltingsaudio

Whistler said:

All I see is: {"data":{"error":"Imgur is temporarily over capacity. Please try again later."},"success":false,"status":403}

Slight derail I had this problem cured it by deleting app and reinstalling it

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/220668/imgur-down#latest

https://i.imgur.com/HlQjcH5.png

Funkfingers

Rkphilpot said:

Funkfingers said:

Fender American Standard Stratocaster. Pre-2002 Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pickups.

BC = SHR-1B, wound by Catalina Dadilla.
NO = SHR-1N, wound by Oti Mora.

It is possible to interpret the neck position pickup sticker as reading 3N but that would normally indicate an SM-3N Mini Humbucker.

Wow, thats incredible, I've been trying to work this out for years, thank you so much. I didn't know they were SD, I thought they might be lace sensors, shows what I know.

Not incredible. SD website / Support / FAQ.