1968 Fender Stratocaster

1968 Fender Stratocaster

It’s hard to consider that by 1967 it was Fender’s view that the Stratocaster had reached the end of the line and should be deleted from the catalogue and concentrate on newer models. You find plenty of 1966 examples and plenty from 1969 but hardly any from 1967/8 However a new musical presence was on the horizon that would change all that in the form of JHX! This guitar is from a transitional year at CBS Fender as they continued to gear their factories up for mass production. To speed the finishing process up Fender switched to using polyester lacquer as a wood body sealer at first and then expanded that to include the reverse of the neck and clear coat. The headstock face continued to be shot in nitro to accept the decal. Right up until stocks were exhausted in 1974, Fender continued to use nitro for the body finish, shooting over the polyester sealer resulting in a thin skin finish in 68 that gradually grew thicker through the years but proved to be more robust, but more importantly quicker and easier to apply. This guitar is smack bang in the middle of this transition and is still cloth wired with the colour scheme typical of the period (PVC wiring will shortly be introduced) with grey bottom pickups ink stamped 9109, which i suspect would date to early 1969, and a neck date of December 1967! Plus pots dating to 18th week of 1966 demonstrating the low output of these guitars from the period with a stock pile of parts on the shelf to complete any orders. The neck is now fitted with the new Fender “F” tuners and has received the thin polyester clear to the back of the neck. The  pick guard features the pearloid finish to its reverse correct for the period. It weighs 7 lbs 4oz and the pickups measure a healthy 6.1k ohms at the neck 6.3k ohms in the middle and 6.2k ohms at the bridge. Its worth noting that these late 1960’s guitars have a distinct sound that is different from earlier pre CBS era instruments and can be described as being “very Jimi!” The guitar is completely original with just the addition of an added earth strap across the 3 pots which i have left in, and it was once used left handed! and as such there is a filled strap pin hole on the bottom horn and the high E nut slot has been enlarged which we will fill and cut for right handed. To sum up this is a fabulous rare Fender instrument that nails the period and holds it own with anything that went before it and is complete with its original tremolo arm, tremolo back plate and case.

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phil@philsvintageguitars.com