FENDER STRATOCASTER, 1964-65

A very fine transitional Stratocaster, both great sounding and 100% original, assembled and shipped in early 1965 with late pre-CBS features: transition-logo, L serial number,  white pickguard and Brazilian rosewood fretboard with pearl dots. The neck is dated March '65, but all the other parts have late '64 dates: pots are stamped 22nd week of '64, grey-bottom pickups are dated September 17th and 18th 1964. Just like the other '64 we currently have in our inventory, pickups show both the old style yellow ink-stamped date and the new style hand-written date. Basically, when this guitar left the factory in early '65, CBS had already acquired Fender but hadn't changed anything yet in the production process.

Alder body with beautiful three-tone sunburst finish, almost unfaded and very well-kept, with normal playing wear on the edge of the body - especially under the player's right arm -  and some pickwear on the cutaway, a few dings and scratches here and there, a light checking but nothing else.  The maple neck with rosewood board is nicely worn from playing and has a fantastic feel and shape. Really a "musician's guitar", made to be played, that's what you'll first think when you hold it. But its complete originality also makes of it the perfect "collector's guitar": everything is untouched, from the Kluson Deluxe "double-line" tuners to the Pat. Pend. saddles of the bridge, from every part of the electric circuitry (wires, selector, pickups, potentiometers, capacitor, jack) to the gold transition logo, including all the plastic parts (knobs, pickguard, pickup-covers). Everything is OK.

What a great sounding guitar, it's really hard to put it down. It has a perfect action and plays effortlessly. It has the original vibrato arm but both the bridge cover and the spring-cavity plastic cover are missing. The original case is a very early black-tolex case with the "no-underline" Fender logo, and except for a broken latch it's in great shape both aesthetically and functionally. 82 pictures on line for you guys!