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FENDER STRATOCASTER, 1964 |
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Sunburst. "Carla",
as the original owner used to call her, is a good girl: 100% original,
in very nice shape and with a great sound. The guitar has full 1964 pre-CBS features: small headstock with Spaghetti Logo, clay dots, "green guard". And, by the way, the logo is very clean and the pickguard has NO cracks. Light alder body, maple neck with a thick curved rosewood board, never shaved or sanded. Original finish in very good overall conditions with honest signs of a life spent in the music: belt-buckle wear, many dings and scratches (some of them go down to the wood), some light checking, normal edge and arm-wear. Neck date September 1964. As we take off the pickguard, we se an all original circuitry with three pots dated 26th week of 1964 (one has no date), 3-way switch and three gray-bottom pickups stamped in yellow AY Nov 13 1964. This detail adds a lot of vibe and value to the guitar, since it shows that the pickups have been wound and assembled by one of the most legendary Fender workers, Abigail Ybarra. Ybarra has been winding Stratocaster pickups since the mid-'50s, building some of the most-revered and listened-to units of XX century music-history, including the pickups of the Stratocaster that Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock. The AY mark is one of the most desirable features you can hope to find on a vintage Strat, and it is no surprise that Fender - fully aware of the legendary status Ybarra has gained among the world guitarist community - has recently issued her custom-made signature pickups and has honored her with a special edition Strat. Well, no celebrations and no reissues here: these are real vintage pickups, built by the same hands that worked on Jimi's and other rock stars' guitars. Original bridge with Pat. Pend. saddles, original knobs, switch tip, string retainer, Switchcraft jack socket and everything else. Carla has also the original bridge cover and the back-cavity plastic cover (screws are missing). As we inspect the body cavities, we note that the neck-pocket area has been sanded in a one inch area to fine-adjust the neck angle, but the original paint-stick mark is still very clearly visible; we also note a very small crack in the wood, clearly shown in the detail picture, which runs from the bridge pickup cavity to one of the bridge-plate screws. This seam, probably caused by weather changes, is stable but we chose to glue and strengthen it anyway to prevent it from growing longer with time, and the job has been done with the greatest care by our luthier Salvatore Mancuso: the guitar is strong, solid and original, and ready to play for years to come. No more words about sound: you can try her in our shop. I'd never spent so many words about her if she didn't deserve it. Perfect neck and action, probable refret with correct fret-size, excellent fret condition. Original black tolex hardshell case, in good condition. This will be the last all-pre-CBS Strat we'll see under 20,000 euros, I guess....
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