Rare, E4 serial number Fender Strat Plus from the first full year of production in one of the rarest finishes offered.
Debuting at the June 1987 NAMM show the Strat Plus was an entirely new model for Fender for whom the mid-eighties had been a significant time of regeneration and growth. The company had been bought from CBS by a team headed up by Bill Shultz and as a result a new factory in Corona had been built, the Fender Custom Shop had been established and the successful partnership with Fender Japan was in full swing. The Strat Plus was developed to be an upgraded version of the American Standard Strat and as a showcase for the newly designed Lace Sensor Pickups. The Strat Plus was a great success for Fender and would remain in the catalog until early 1999 when the model was succeeded by the American Deluxe Stratocaster.
This 1988 example is one of the nicest Strat Plus' we have had in the shop for quite a while, especially given that it’s from the first full year of production. It features all of the traits expected from these very early, desirable examples including: an E4 serial number neck, Willkinson nut and Sperzel locking tuners. The Strat Plus was offered with both Maple and Rosewood fingerboards and came in a large range of colours, some of which were only available for certain periods of production. Bahama Green is considered an extremely rare finish for the Strat Plus, only offered until 1989 - collectors and experts consider it, alongside Ice Blue, as one of the rarest options found today. The Maple neck bears a SEPT 88 date and is ink stamped Herbie Gastelum, one of Fender's longest serving Fender employees at the time. With the exception of a replacement bridge pickup the electronics are correct and untouched with three Lace Sensor pickups, TBX tone control and pot dates dating to 1988.
The Strat Plus has become quite a collectable guitar in recent years, in part due to the large number of finishes the model was offered in, it’s place as one of the first post CBS models and in part due to being woefully undervalued in the market for years. Now the earliest guitars are 35 years old, and good examples in rare finishes are getting harder to find with guitars like this one being perfect for collectors and player alike.
The guitar comes with an aftermarket hardshell case.