When I first bought this guitar it needed some serious love. It had been owned by an 80's rocker who had sanded off all the finish and routed it for two Dimarzio humbuckers. Good news was that the neck and body were in great shape. Upon removing the pickguard, I realized that the original finish was Surf Green and my heart sank. When I decided to have it refinished, I decided I wanted something close to the original finish. This was finished by the amazing Joe Yanuziello of Yanuziello guitars.
The original frets were quite low so I decided to have it professionally refretted with 6105 wire. This seems to be the top choice of Fender Master Builders. Vintage Fender guitars can be known for having humps/twists in the neck where the neck joins the body and this issue was corrected with the refret. A couple of inlays became a little thin after the refret so there are two that have been replaced by Joe Yanuziello.
The pickguard is pearloid-backed 69 replica pickguard from Crazy Parts. This is the best quality one I could find. The pickups are original grey bottom pickups from a 1974 Stratocaster. The pots are from 1969 and I believe them to be the original pots from the guitar.
When I received the guitar, it had Schaller tuners which was a common mod among 80's rockers. I purchased a set of original period-correct tuners from 1969 Stratocaster and installed conversion bushings. These tuners are in great shape and hold tune well. The tremolo assembly is original to the guitar.
This guitar will include a Vintage Fender case. I don't believe it to be original to the guitar, but it is the one that the guitar came in.
The guitar weighs just 7.08lbs.
This guitar turned out amazing and sounds incredible. For less than the cost of a Masterbuild, you can get a real 1969 Stratocaster. There was no expense spared in this restoration. Not easy to part with, but this one has to go to fund the purchase of a new Yanuziello guitar.
The original frets were quite low so I decided to have it professionally refretted with 6105 wire. This seems to be the top choice of Fender Master Builders. Vintage Fender guitars can be known for having humps/twists in the neck where the neck joins the body and this issue was corrected with the refret. A couple of inlays became a little thin after the refret so there are two that have been replaced by Joe Yanuziello.
The pickguard is pearloid-backed 69 replica pickguard from Crazy Parts. This is the best quality one I could find. The pickups are original grey bottom pickups from a 1974 Stratocaster. The pots are from 1969 and I believe them to be the original pots from the guitar.
When I received the guitar, it had Schaller tuners which was a common mod among 80's rockers. I purchased a set of original period-correct tuners from 1969 Stratocaster and installed conversion bushings. These tuners are in great shape and hold tune well. The tremolo assembly is original to the guitar.
This guitar will include a Vintage Fender case. I don't believe it to be original to the guitar, but it is the one that the guitar came in.
The guitar weighs just 7.08lbs.
This guitar turned out amazing and sounds incredible. For less than the cost of a Masterbuild, you can get a real 1969 Stratocaster. There was no expense spared in this restoration. Not easy to part with, but this one has to go to fund the purchase of a new Yanuziello guitar.