Sweet Baby Jesus.... This is probably the most powerful Strat I have ever played! When plugged into my Marshall, it is just as warm, loud and punchy as my Les Paul, but with additional bells and rings. And I'm not just saying...
And except for a strap pin screw hole on the lower bout, this beast is 100% original. And if that's not all: it has all 3 of the legendary holy grail 1964 Abygail Ybarra yellow stamp (AY MAY 1964) pickups!
This guitarists dream has been it's entire life in and around Arnhem where it was purchased in 1964 by the first owner who lived in Rhenen.
Somewhere in the early 70's he sold it to Albert Veldkamp who played in the symphonic prog rock band Panthéon, based in Arnhem. Panthéon played as opening act to Focus (with Jan Akkerman) and The Steve Miller Band (to name a few) and released 2 pretty cool albums.
In 1972 Albert sold the guitar to the lefthand playing Paul Keultjes, who played in the Arnhem based bands Barock, Silverstone and The Lolly's. Paul played the Strat lefthand, without changing anything but adding an extra strap pin to the lower bout! Even the nut is still the original nut, he didn't flip it, Paul just strung the guitar as a lefty. The wear on the back could lead to some serious investigation until you understand it was played upside down for most of it;s life :-)
After years of playing the guitar life on every stage in The Netherlands, Paul put it in the case and left it untouched for a couple of decades before he sold it to Jan Prins, nicknamed "The King of Blues" from Arnhem. Jan is still an active guitarist and played this Strat in several of his bands like Bluessum, Jan Prins & The Good Old Bluesboys, Driftin' Soul, Baton Rouge, Kind of Blues, Slide um Easy, Band of Hope and Glory, Jaberto Blazz etc. Jan was the first one to open up the guitar and checked the guitar's originality for documentation. The guitar was never opened up before and is, as said, 100% original with untouched solder, down to the last screw. Even the backplate and pickguard don't have a single crack in it!
There's one thing which is a bit peculiar, although not unseen. At the bottom end of the heel and fretboard a small repair can be seen. This seems to be a factory repair and after the repair Fender spraypainted it black to mask it up. Jan painstakingly removed the paint to have a better look at the repair and date, revealing the 2 MAY 64 neck stamp. The repair has been there all it's life and is perfectly stable.
The case is not the original case (first owner couldn't afford the Fender case and has the guitar in some sort of cheaper tear drop case) but later on this 1966 Fender rectangular hardshell case Cheney England "No Tail no R" Logo was added to the package.
So there you go. An amazing 100% original Stratocaster with a very cool history that sounds like a Les Paul. It just won't get any better soon...
