From our one of our favourite years for Fender, we give you this early 1964 Fender Stratocaster at a bit of a bargain price...! 

As with Gibson, 1964 seems to have been a good year for Fender, reaching another peak in the development of the Stratocaster, producing a guitar that should rightly be seen as the archetype. A magic combination of tone and neck profile makes it a very popular choice. Oh and Jimi had one…

The guitar has been around the block a few times. The original finish has worn so wonderfully from hours of playing. There have been a few minor touch ups to the black around the edge which is only visible under blacklight. The celluloid pickguard is in good shape having only shrunk a little with no sign of cracking. Elsewhere the finish still retains its vibrant colour. The back has seen its fair share of a belt buckle which only adds to the character.

The neck has had an old, clear lacquer overspray but the original finish and decal is very visible and has also worn comfortably all over, thankfully the rich brown rosewood fretboard has not worn too extensively. There is some life left in the original frets. It has at some point had an extra string tree but the hole has been filled.

The hardware is in good condition with the expected amount of corrosion on the saddles and tuners.

Electronically, the switch has been replaced for a NOS correct switch as when the guitar arrived here with  us it had a new replacement. The volume pot has also been changed and both the tone controls read as week 9 of 1962 so must be later additions. The capacitor is correct for the period. One of the pickups have been rewound but all three sound superb.

The guitar comes with a correct Black Tolex hardshell case with no logo.

This guitar certainly delivers tonally. Those classic mid-60’s Strat sounds can be found here, all three pickups are well balanced and blend well in the in-between settings. It takes an instrument like this to remind us how versatile the Stratocaster and how iconic those tones are.

Here’s your chance to get your hands on an iconic instrument from a classic year with a great look that the Custom Shop can only dream of. Don’t let it get away.