A great feeling, killer sounding, Pre-CBS Stratocaster with an old, naturally aged black refinish. A killer players Strat with all the traits that make these early sixties Fenders so desirable. Lightweight at 7.5 lbs it features an Alder body, a perfectly played in neck with Rosewood fingerboard and clay dots, a green celluloid guard, three excellent sounding pickups and a fresh refret.
This guitar's neck is a real pleasure to play, the mid 60s profile feels like home and is comfortable to anyone used to playing these guitars or the reissues that Fender make from this period. The lacquer to the back of the neck has been played through and is silky smooth in the hand, the Rosewood fingerboard is punctuated with narrow spaced clay dots. The finish and Fender decal are original to the May 64B dated neck. The black finish has been on the guitar body for some time and has aged itself with an area of buckle wear to the rear of the guitar the most prominent. The black coat is over a grey primer with yellow faintly visible where the primer is missing. The body has nail holes in the correct location for a ’64 with all routes and markings as expected for this period with the exception of a deepened bridge pickup route and empty screw hole behind the tremolo arm location. The guitar still retains it's original celluloid guard that likewise has naturally aged to the minty hue associated with pickguards from this period. The pickguard has cracked by the pickup selector but does not affect its function. Underneath the guard the aluminium shielding plate is still present with red signature. Electronics comprise of original neck and bridge single-coil pickups with a later 1978 middle pickup. The bridge pickup is dated July 1964, pots are CTS manufactured with a date code of 28th week of 1964 and the caps is the correct ceramic disc type. The electronics were not factory stock when the guitar arrived with us - the middle pickup was replaced and sported some non-original hookup wire and the bridge and neck pickups had their pole pieces pushed flat eliminating their stagger. A trip to Matt at House of Tone and everything is looking much tidier. It was decided to keep the pole pieces as they are with a view to preserving the windings on the original pickups. The pickups have measurements of 5.83K, 5.54K and 6.38K from neck to bridge. Tuners are single line Kluson Deluxe. Tremolo and block are correct, as are the saddles. Plastics are worn alluding to the amount of playing the guitar has had.
The guitar has a comfortable neck, perfectly played in with a profile and measurements that are slightly bigger than those from the very early ‘60s. With a standard B width, the nut measures 41.92mm with measurements at the first fret of 21.21mm and filling up to a large 25.01 by the time you're at the 12th fret. A great sounding guitar it benefits from a fresh refret with medium jumbo wire. Acoustically the guitar is lively and loud. Plugged in the pickups have a sweetness to them that will suit 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 plummy bass and the bridge pickup has a bite and presence with a rounded top-end that never feels too bright.
All in all an excellent pre CBS player grade Strat in a super cool naturally aged Black finish.