Should I buy a '65 Fender Strat ?!

RevDrucifer said:
I love vintage Strats. A lot. I hate the radius and small frets but being a history geek and a huge fan of Strats, I just love them. I’ve been lucky enough to play quite a few over the years, including some really nice (and a couple horrible) ‘54 Strats at Mandolin Bros in NYC when I was a teenager in the 90’s. They’d just let me hang out in the vintage room and not even check on me when I was taking them off the walls!

Whenever I get to play one I usually just stare it down for a few minutes and think about where all the dings came from and how many gigs it‘s played. When you’re in a room with several from the 50’s and get to see/feel the changes they were making to them it’s really a treat. Going from a ‘54 to a ‘57 to a ‘58 and feeling the differences in the necks or body contours and getting to see such an iconic guitar taking shape in pivotal years gives me a crazy history boner.

Some pics from my Nasvhille trip a few years back, can’t remember all the years but damn I was in heaven!

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(I think that one was a ‘57 AVRI)
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You would think the tech would have discoloured the nut replacement a bit :tearsofjoy:
No substitute for playing a few (or even better disassembling them.)
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Andy Eagle said:
You would think the tech would use discoloured the nut replacement a bit :tearsofjoy:
No substitute for playing a few (or even better disassembling them.)
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Hahaha I didn’t even notice it until you said something. All the legit parts had me staring at them too much to notice!

And damnit man, ya gotta give some details for these things!!!!!!!!! I figured the star’d headstock you posted at TGF was a Sambora Strat! I’m guessing this is a pickguard from a 50’s Strat??

I don’t know if I trust myself to disassemble a vintage guitar, but I’d LOVE to be in the room while someone else with insurance did it!
 
I jumped into the new/vintage Strat thing recently. Until now, I've had an '89 sunburst Strat since it came out and that's been my touchpoint with Strats. I recently got a new Fender Vintage II '61 Strat and have been having a blast with it. It's a change from most of my more modern guitars since it has a 7.25" radius, 21 frets, high action, nitro finish, etc. I'm no expert, but the Vintage II line has great reviews everywhere and it's been a fun way to check out vintage specs without the vintage price.
 
RevDrucifer said:
Hahaha I didn’t even notice it until you said something. All the legit parts had me staring at them too much to notice!

And damnit man, ya gotta give some details for these things!!!!!!!!! I figured the star’d headstock you posted at TGF was a Sambora Strat! I’m guessing this is a pickguard from a 50’s Strat??

I don’t know if I trust myself to disassemble a vintage guitar, but I’d LOVE to be in the room while someone else with insurance did it!
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Yes it was Richies main stage guitar mid 80s (the one in the" living on a prayer" video. ) And yes the inside of a 59.
 
Andy Eagle said:
If you have found your "ideal" vintage strat and your happy with the provenance and the price it won't let you down on holding it's value.
As for replicas; I build quite a few for touring artist who don't want to take out there vintage gear but also want very specific details. Most are happy with the fender custom shop these days but there are things that I can get closer if that's what people want . A typical request would but ; "I have a 61 strat I love the tone of but want it to play exactly like my Suhr."
I can do that.
Here is an NOS 61replica with compound radius and Jescar 57110 stainless frets.
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This one is mine. It was going to be a relic but I decided against it during the build.
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And here is a nice 64 I had in to keep on the thread.
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Wow great job man !! And that sunburst looks awesome too !!
 
DJD100 said:
Sounds good, as guitars are meant to be played IMO!

Here's my "obviously damaged" Dec 65 Strat, one of the first big headstocks and likely three colors, along with an early March 69 LP converted with real 59 PAF's and Faber H/W, who's previous owner stripped the gold-top and stained the center-seamed two piece book-matched maple top (which was somewhat common back in the 70's, as I also have a 76 Strat that was stripped and stained by it's previous owner).

This late 65 Strat ws lost by Air Canada for a week once back in the 80's, so I suggest a gig bag and carry on if you fly (or a guitar coffin and air freight etc)!

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Awesome !! Thanks for sharing and they look lovely together…… now I will need to look for a vintage LP too I guess ;)
 
RevDrucifer said:
I love vintage Strats. A lot. I hate the radius and small frets but being a history geek and a huge fan of Strats, I just love them. I’ve been lucky enough to play quite a few over the years, including some really nice (and a couple horrible) ‘54 Strats at Mandolin Bros in NYC when I was a teenager in the 90’s. They’d just let me hang out in the vintage room and not even check on me when I was taking them off the walls!

Whenever I get to play one I usually just stare it down for a few minutes and think about where all the dings came from and how many gigs it‘s played. When you’re in a room with several from the 50’s and get to see/feel the changes they were making to them it’s really a treat. Going from a ‘54 to a ‘57 to a ‘58 and feeling the differences in the necks or body contours and getting to see such an iconic guitar taking shape in pivotal years gives me a crazy history boner.

Some pics from my Nasvhille trip a few years back, can’t remember all the years but damn I was in heaven!

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(I think that one was a ‘57 AVRI)
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Love the story dude !! Really nice , vintage strats with vintage stories…. Man that guitar looks killer ! Which year did you prefer ?
 
pauly said:
I have to agree with Rick here. I had an American Strat for years that just never did 'it' for me, so I sold it recently. I picked up a Silver Sky (SE - The cheap one) a few weeks ago and OMG there is the Strat sound I've been after all these years.
Thanks
Pauly
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Yes Paul says the Silver Sky sounds like a 60's strat. I personally have no idea what a 60's strat sounds like but Paul and John certainly do.
 
If by 'Paul' you mean me, you're incorrect. I have never owned a 60s strat so am not intimately familiar with them. What I was saying was that the strat sound I'd always had in my head was not possible with my Fender USA strat, whereas it is with the Silver Sky.
Hope I cleared that up.

Pauly

prb70 said:
Yes Paul says the Silver Sky sounds like a 60's strat. I personally have no idea what a 60's strat sounds like but Paul and John certainly do.
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One thing to remember is vintage guitars are not consistent at all. If you like a particular years speck there is still a lot of room within that for change from one instrument to the next. The most constant thing is generally the pickups of day ( hard to explain but the in-between revisions things are reasonably constant in as much as anything was, ) and the least is the neck profile. The hand sanding that was involved it the final neck shape was far greater back then so the variation is large.


The main difference between a vintage Fender and a modern replica is the wood available back then was generally slow growth and seasoned naturally. This gives quite a different internal structure to the fibre and affects the acoustic properties, this intern can translate to the sustain properties of the guitar and affect the likelihood of dead spots. I'm not saying dead spot don't occur in slow growth wood but I am saying I find them far less often.

Now add 60+ year old nitro finish that is glass hard and very thin. I personally find that a very thin very hard finish seems to bring a piece of wood to life ( a nice even grained dry one anyway) by helping with the reflection of the string energy and contributing to a lively full even sound.

And some vintage guitar porn from my bench ;:tearsofjoy:
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Note the nail hole from the paint job.
 
Jigging holes on originals used to be the things to look for but all the best fakes have them too.
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Look at these tuners;
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Best replica. They are near identical and reliced by someone who can actually do it you need to be good to spot them. These are easily commercially available but it won't be long before you get some with the pat numbers added underneath.
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Early 50s strat trems didn't have the baseplate edge polished and all the reissues do but somebody made some in the exact same way.
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This repro bridge is impossible to tell from the original ones because it is literally a copy of the process on the same machine with the same materials 65 years later. Every tooling mark and micrometer measurement is within original tolerance.

I am not saying that most fakes are anything like this good ( I can spot most from the other side of the room ) but they are all out there.
If you do get in to this electrics dirt and the smell of it are your friends (but you need to be totally familiar with how they should be).
Don't walk through a minefield without a metal detector .
 
In the movie "Backdraft" the arsonist Bartel played by Donald Sutherland asks the question "Did the fire look at you?". If you know the scene you know why I cite it here.

Now ask yourself the question "Did the Strat talk to me?" You can feel it in your gut when you happen to come across the right axe for you. I think you already know the answer though..... Vintage Strats and LP's can be really "talkative" that way.

Looking forward to your first vids breaking in this stunning 65 :)
 
Anand Mahangoe said:
Love the story dude !! Really nice , vintage strats with vintage stories…. Man that guitar looks killer ! Which year did you prefer ?
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I’ve never gotten to spend enough time with them to figure out which year I dug the most, but ’54 are really awesome just to hold onto because of the whole first-year of production thing. For some reason I want to say I dug the neck on a ‘58 more than previous years but I can’t remember exactly why.

I know the first time I picked up a ‘54 I almost shit myself at how big the neck was. I want to say I’ve played 4-5 ‘54’s now and they all had some pretty big necks, but one in particular I believe had water damage that expanded the wood. That thing felt like it was dried out after being found on a pirate ship at the bottom of the ocean. I didn’t dig them back then but I’d LOVE to try one again now that I’ve been initiated into the big neck club.
 
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