Lets look at our guitars thread

[JaseB]

I seem to have just 'won' this CIJ Strat, picking up this evening which I'm quite excited about

How does one know if it's a real one?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Stratocaster-C-I...

[rsbmw]

Serial number makes it a late 90's CIJ

https://support.fender.com/hc/en-us/articles/21434...

I think it would be difficult to tell if it's fake. Probably unlikely. If it plays well, who cares?

[JaseB]

rsbmw said:

If it plays well, who cares?

There is certainly that, I was wondering (being new-ish to all things guitar) if there was anywhere that could tell what components it should have? I did Google around and found some old catalogues, they don't quite match what I'm seeing, tuners, truss rod adjustment, string guides etc I had a slight panic and thought I'd ask you lot

[smn159]

JaseB said:

There is certainly that, I was wondering (being new-ish to all things guitar) if there was anywhere that could tell what components it should have? I did Google around and found some old catalogues, they don't quite match what I'm seeing, tuners, truss rod adjustment, string guides etc I had a slight panic and thought I'd ask you lot

The bridge looks like the one that was on my late 80's CIJ before I changed it for a Callaham vintage one, and those tuners look similar if not exactly the same - although it's a 70's reissue, so that probably explains the difference.

Assume that the neck needs too come off to adjust the truss rod?

Looks nice though - a black or even tortoiseshell pick guard would set it off a treat (IMO)

[Evangelion]

Everything looks fine to me, I used to have a 1997 CIJ Strat with a serial number starting with A 016 so we're probably in the ballpark.

One thing that has occurred to me is that a '70s Strat would have the bullet truss rod adjuster at the head end, so this is probably a late '60s reissue. (I believe they did a '68). This would also explain the headstock logo which is gold with a black outline, as opposed to black with a gold outline which a '70s Strat should have.

Rest assured, these Japanese Fenders are very highly regarded. I have a '50s one in Shell Pink which is absolutely fantastic.

[Stan the Bat]

JaseB said:

rsbmw said:

If it plays well, who cares?

There is certainly that, I was wondering (being new-ish to all things guitar) if there was anywhere that could tell what components it should have? I did Google around and found some old catalogues, they don't quite match what I'm seeing, tuners, truss rod adjustment, string guides etc I had a slight panic and thought I'd ask you lot

Put a pic on website 'Strat Talk'.

A lot of experts over there.

[OldSkoolRS]

Stan the Bat said:

A nice pair you've got.

Thanks.

I see what you did there.

[JaseB]

smn159 said:

Assume that the neck needs too come off to adjust the truss rod?

Looks nice though - a black or even tortoiseshell pick guard would set it off a treat (IMO)

I was hoping just the pick guard needs to come off...

And I agree, black for me

Edited by JaseB on Tuesday 9th April 08:10

[JaseB]

Thanks for the info chaps, got there in the end and found an identical one on Xhefri's page, the '68 re-issue at the bottom...

http://xhefriguitars.com/page9.html

I'm now confident it's a real Japanese copy

[smn159]

JaseB said:

smn159 said:

Assume that the neck needs too come off to adjust the truss rod?

Looks nice though - a black or even tortoiseshell pick guard would set it off a treat (IMO)

I was hoping just the pick guard needs to come off...

And I agree, black for me

Edited by JaseB on Tuesday 9th April 08:10

If you do need to take the neck off to adjust the truss rod it's not hard to do. By the way - the SSL1's on the guitar that you've just linked to are superb. I have them on my '87 MIJ Strat in the middle and neck position, with an SSL-5 in the bridge, which works really well.

[Evangelion]

Said it was, you can thank me later! (I used to have a CIJ '71 reissue that looked a bit like that, it eventually got sold back to the original owner, after he saw my photos on eBay and recognised the grain pattern. It was a 2-piece body, but was so well-matched it looked like a 1-piece.)

Chinese fake Strats are actually quite easy to spot. Errors include:

Incorrect headstock shape
Incorrect fonts on the front'back of head
Incorrect spacing on the 12th fret position dots
Incorrectly stamped bridge saddles (or cast saddles where they should be stamped and vice-versa)
Insufficient body contouring, particularly on the front

Fakes tend to be of American Standards (if you're going to fake something, might as well be something expensive) with the small headstock and 'made in USA' next to the serial number. Serial number on the one I had said it was a 2001 - don't worry, I knew it was fake when I bought it and paid accordingly. It played fine after a setup including a fret level and reprofile but the electronics were useless. The pickups had a DCR of about 2K, tone controls didn't do a thing and you could hardly tell the difference between the selector positions. It looked nice though, it was white with a rosewood neck and I put a tortoiseshell scratchplate on it.

[6th Gear]

[/quote]

Very envious. If you ever want to sell please PM me
[/quote]

Hi Bosshog

A similar one has just come up for sale - FYI

https://www.sellmyjem.com/store/p26/Stunning_Condi..._Hard_Case_Tremolo_Arm.html

[mattnovak]

Almost finished building this:

[Stan the Bat]

mattnovak said:

Almost finished building this:

What wood is that ?

[mattnovak]

Stan the Bat said:

What wood is that ?

Swamp ash body, flame maple bound neck and rosewood fingerboard. The hardware is aged, and teh body has a white base coat with an 'aged' lacquer finish. It looks more realistic in teh flesh. This will eventually be for 5 string open G tuning; we play a few Stones songs and I'm not always happy leaving my Zemaitis laying around.

[RichTT]

Accidentally on purpose bought a new guitar. Was wanting an acoustic for the living room and after a few hours noodling at the local guitar ship walked out with this rather splendid electro-acoustic Taylor. The sound out of it is just incredible.

[OldSkoolRS]

I saw an Esquire for sale and wondered if I'd really find a use for one (despite thinking how cool they look). As a test I've done a temporary mod to my MiM 50s Classic Telecaster; took the neck pickup out completely and re-wired the control panel as per an Esquire (with the more modern 'Eldred' mod for the front switch position, which gives a sort of 'cocked wah' tone).

I really like how it's worked out, so I think I'll buy the Esquire if it's still for sale after the weekend. If not I may just buy another MiM Classic 50s, perhaps in sunburst for a change and mod that into an Esquire and put my White Blonde back to standard (except for upgraded Fender OV pickups).


With the 'ashtray' bridge cover I bought recently:


Sans ashtray:

[Stan the Bat]

Can't beat a Tele/Esquire for a bit of character.

Lovely.

[Bullett]

Chaps, it really on topic but how and how much to ship a guitar and hard case across the uk? Berkshire to Manchester?
It’s a Jack Casady Epihone bass.

[Lucas CAV]

Bullett said:

Chaps, it really on topic but how and how much to ship a guitar and hard case across the uk? Berkshire to Manchester?
It’s a Jack Casady Epihone bass.

Depends on your level of risk aversion and how well it's packed.

Anything from a few quid (8/9?) with Hermes up to maybe 25 quid Parcelforce 48 ?