SOLD! - 1963 *player* Fender Stratocaster refin Fiesta Red L-series Pre-CBS

1963 *player* Fender Stratocaster refin Fiesta Red L-series Pre-CBS

First and foremost let me tell you what this is not. If you are looking for a stunning collector grade original guitar that would be the ultimate show-off in the display cabinet in your living room, you better move along ;-) This guitar has seen some action, mods and changes. To say the least...

But hey: Pre-CBS Stratocasters are probably the most sought after Strats in the world and this 3.36Kg lightweight L-serial Stratocaster might just be the ultimate player for you to sneak away with!

It has a lovely bell tone, smooth feel, well balanced melodies and lots of harmonics. This guitar just plays so easy you can pick it up and play it all day long.


So let's break it down a bit. The original alder body has all correct '63 marks, pinholes, nail holes, shoulder control cavity and body shape, although the body was sanded quite a few times and refinished as many times as well. Underneath the pickguard the pickup cavities had been routed for humbuckers but the routing was repaired and restored to the original size and then refinished and aged in Fiesta Red with a white nitro undercoat, nitro Fiesta Red top coat, vintage tinted gloss nitro lacquer finish, faded and aged with a nice craquelé.


It has original 1963 black bottom pickups in the bridge (6,75k Ohm) and middle (5,95k Ohm) position that have the lead wires replaced so most likely they are rewound as well. The neck pickup (5,26k Ohm) is an original 1970 grey bottom staggered polepiece Strat pickup with original wire. The pickup covers seem original as well. The volume pot is original and dates to week 47, 1963. The disk capacitor is also original. The switch is a 5-way and both tone pots and the cloth wire have been replaced.

It has a high end repro nitrate aged vintage correct pickguard and shield, and the tremolo bridge, saddles and most screws are also high end reproductions. The trem arm and knobs seem to be 80's Fender. The backplate is missing but the jackplate, output jack and neckplate with the L-serial number are original.

The maple neck with beautiful dark figured Brazilian rosewood veneer fretboard feels extremely smooth and still has the original nitro finish, worn off on the back. The Fender spaghetti logo decal is a repro, the single string tree is original but at some point it had another string tree on there which was removed. On the top of the headstock the wood turns black and it looks like the tip burnt off at a gig when it got too close to the pyro... The Kluson Deluxe single line tuners are high end repro's except for one, which is an original for some reason :-) It was refretted and the frets are in good condition. The fretboard was planed during the refret and 3 dots are replaced: both at the 12th and the one at the 21st. The neck feels super smooth (did I already mention that?) and has that typical dec '63 C shape that feels very comfortable, just as we want it.

The guitar comes in a recent Fender rectangular tweed case with orange/red plush lining.


 
All in all this is an amazing player Strat for a price you wont see a lot anymore these days!