As with any historic event, the sale of the Fender brand to CBS was not as simple as flipping a switch. As we all know, pre-CBS instruments are held in high regard but following the transition in 1965, instrument quality didn’t just slip off a cliff. Here we have a 1965 Fender Stratocaster to prove that point. 

The body only has been restored to its original colour by eminent repairer Clive Brown in a very fetching faded and aged Lake Placid Blue, reliced in his own imitable style to perfectly match the fade on the neck. There is a stamp in the jack cavity that informs us that the work was carried out in October of 2016. 

The neck thankfully has been left alone. The finish has worn comfortably on the back. The fretboard is in good shape, the original frets have some life left in them. 

The plastics as you'd expect have faded a little but there is not too much wear. Some of the pickup screws have been changed to allow for the slight warping in the pickguard. 

The correct grey bottom pickups are present as are the correct pots which are dated week 14 1965. The selector switch has been replaced with a five way which could be from the late 70s. 

The guitar comes with its correct Black Tolex case which like the guitar is in mighty fine condition.

Many of those classic Strat tones live in these mid-60's guitars. These guitars really deliver a fantastic tone that hasn't yet drifted too far towards the thinner end of the spectrum and still retains some of the fullness of the earlier incarnation Fender single coils. 

A great looking guitar with tone to match, if you're looking for that Hendrix tone, look no further.