Head turning Fender Stratocaster from 1961 sporting an excellent aged re-finish in a very authentic looking Fiesta Red. A fantastic sounding players Stratocaster with a the traits that make these early-sixties Pre-CBS Fenders such desirable instruments.
Featuring a lightweight Alder body with the deep contours that are such a feature of earlier Stratocasters. The body has been refinished in a fantastically aged Fiesta Red finish applied over a white undercoat. There is no indication of the guitars original finish leading us to suspect the guitar was likely stripped previously. The body appearers free of repairs and modifications with nail holes and worm route evident. The neck has the correct ‘Slab’ Rosewood type used by Fender between 1959 and 1962 and like the body it has been refinished. The Lacquer is tinted and has been aged to match the simulated wear to the body. The pencil neck date is for August 61. The Fender decal is an excellent reproduction.
A peek under the three-ply ‘green’ celluloid guard shows 3 Fender Single coil Stratocaster pickups with black fibreboard and stagger polepieces. The pickups have dark copper coil wire and cloth covered lead wires with no indication of rewinds. Pots are a made by Stackpole with matching source codes of 304- 61-23. The Capacitor is the Phone book paper-oil type used before Fender transitioned to the ceramic Disc type. The switch is the period correct CRL 3-way. Hardware comprises of the afore mentioned three-ply ‘green’ celluloid pickguard, a set of aged reproduction Kluson Tuners and Fender Saddles and Tremolo block.
The guitar plays very well, featherweight at 6.8lbs it has a lively acoustic voice that translates well when amplified. The neck has a fantastically slim profile with a 1st fret depth of 19.84mm filling out to 24.63mm at the 12th. The nut is the standard Fender nut width and measures 41.77m with calipers. The neck has had the fingerboard skimmed and re-radiused to 9.5” and re-fretted with authentic fret wire. 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 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 rounded bass and the bridge pickup has a bite and presence with a rounded top-end that never feels too bright. The pickups measure 5.74K 5.8K and 5.83K neck to bridge.
In all a great playing, wonderful sounding early-sixties Stratocaster in one of the most iconic and sought after finishes for this period. The work that has been done to the guitar over the years has been completed to a very high standard, the aged finish in particular is incredibly authentic. The guitar comes with an early-sixties Brown case with burnt orange lining that is still functional if a little fragile.