1964 Fender Stratocaster, Burgundy Mist Refin
Superb feeling, killer sounding Spaghetti logo 1964 Fender Stratocaster with super rare Mahogany body and Padouk fingerboard, restored and sympathetically aged by Clive Brown back to its original Burgundy Mist finish.
Featuring all the desirable Pre-CBS traits this early ’64 guitar has many of the features more often associated with 1963 guitars. It has a lightweight Mahogany body, a tone wood rarely seen on Fender instruments but during early 1964 Fender experimented with Mahogany and Korina as an alternative to Alder or Ash. The guitar was originally finished in Burgundy Mist Metallic, one of the original series of Custom Colours that was offered from 1960 -1965. Under inspection the original, preserved lacquer can be seen in the neck pocket and pickup routes including the bridge pickup worm route fuzz. The standard of the finish and ageing is excellent just as you would expect from a Clive Brown restored guitar.
The neck is a real pleasure to play, the mid-60s profile feels like home with a little more depth than the '60-'62 necks but with more of a taper than some of the 50’s examples. The lacquer to the back of the neck has been played through and is silky smooth in the hand, the fingerboard is punctuated with clay dots and has a nice degree of figuring. The finish and Fender decal are original to the 2APR64B ink dated neck. The guitar still retains its original celluloid guard that has naturally aged to the yellowed, minty hue associated with pickguards from this era, the pickguard has cracked in the usual place but is stable. Electronics comprise of three black-bottom single-coil pickups with staggered pole-pieces, neck and bridge have yellow ink stamps. Pickups all appear undisturbed with factory tape and winds. The original 3-way switch is still fitted with three CTS pots with the source code 137 6422. Tuners are matching single-line, Patent no. Kluson Deluxe. Plastics, bridge and saddles are all correct parts.
The guitar plays very well, featherweight at 7.2bs it has a lively acoustic voice that translates well when amplified. The neck has a fantastic profile with a 1st fret depth of 20.66mm filling out to 24.99mm at the 12th. The nut is the standard Fender nut width and measures 42.19m with calipers. The nut appears to be a well cut, polished bone replacement, frets are original to the guitar - they are low but the guitar plays well. Plugged in there are all the typical sounds you would expect from an early sixties Stratocaster. The pickups have a sweet, delicateness to them that suits all styles. They are well balanced from pickup to pickup and string to string. The neck is warm and rounded with just the right amount of rounded bass and the bridge pickup has a bite and presence with a rounded top-end that never feels overly bright.
All in all this is a fantastic player's vintage guitar, an original custom colour example that’s has been restored by one of the best in the business. At less than half of the price of an original sunburst example this is a great way into the Custom colour world of pre-CBS Fender Stratocasters.