'74 Stratocaster

[octagon]

I got this yesterday. The serial number is 65xxxx so it must be one of the last of the 70's strats with white hardware and staggered-pole pickups .

[Len]

Nice! I love that 70's headstock and logo best of the Stratocasters.

[winston]

I have a heavily modified 1971 Stratocatser with a maple neck. The only thing left original on it is the body and the neck. The body was sunburst but now it is natural. They are nice guitars. The case on mine is still in decent condition too. I love the orange plush liner that they used to use back then.

Congrats on yours Mitch!

[octagon]

I have a heavily modified 1971 Stratocatser with a maple neck. The only thing left original on it is the body and the neck. The body was sunburst but now it is natural. They are nice guitars. The case on mine is still in decent condition too. I love the orange plush liner that they used to use back then.

Congrats on yours Mitch!

Thanks Brian.I'd love to see a picture of your strat if you have one. I love the natural strats from the 70's.

[winston]

Here it is Mitch. Sorry about the quality of the photograph. This is a tough colour to capture.

[Ric-O-Buc]

That's a beaut!

I had Chris at K-Line guitars make me a replica of my old '66 I lost years back.

[winston]

I guess I should have mentioned Mitch that the original pickups and wiring harness are still in my guitar. It has that typical 70's Strat sound too.

[octagon]

That's a beaut!

I had Chris at K-Line guitars make me a replica of my old '66 I lost years back.

Thanks Steve. Your Strat is a beauty.Sheryl Crow had a '64 like that.It was for sale at Willies American Guitars for $26,000.

[octagon]

I guess I should have mentioned Mitch that the original pickups and wiring harness are still in my guitar. It has that typical 70's Strat sound too.

Your guitar looks awesome Brian! Is that an anodized gold aluminum pickguard? I love that original case you have. I want to get one but I think they are pretty expensive now.Do you like the '74 pickups? I really like them alot.That is why I got the guitar.

[winston]

I guess I should have mentioned Mitch that the original pickups and wiring harness are still in my guitar. It has that typical 70's Strat sound too.

Your guitar looks awesome Brian! Is that an anodized gold aluminum pickguard? I love that original case you have. I want to get one but I think they are pretty expensive now.Do you like the '74 pickups? I really like them alot.That is why I got the guitar.

Yes that is a Fender CS gold anodized pickguard on the guitar. The pickups sound very cool. They have lots of clean sustain as well as the "quack" that I have always associated with Strats of this vintage. Btw the guitar also sports Sperzel locking tuners so it is rock solid with respect to tuning. The intonation is also spot on so the guitar just shimmers when you play a chord.

I suspect that you will love your guitar.

[octagon]

I guess I should have mentioned Mitch that the original pickups and wiring harness are still in my guitar. It has that typical 70's Strat sound too.

Your guitar looks awesome Brian! Is that an anodized gold aluminum pickguard? I love that original case you have. I want to get one but I think they are pretty expensive now.Do you like the '74 pickups? I really like them alot.That is why I got the guitar.

Yes that is a Fender CS gold anodized pickguard on the guitar. The pickups sound very cool. They have lots of clean sustain as well as the "quack" that I have always associated with Strats of this vintage. Btw the guitar also sports Sperzel locking tuners so it is rock solid with respect to tuning. The intonation is also spot on so the guitar just shimmers when you play a chord.

I suspect that you will love your guitar.

Thanks Brian,that gold guard looks really great on your strat. Yes,I really love how the pickups sound on this guitar. I used to have to use a comp pedal to to get that sound with other guitars that I had.

[octagon]

I got an age appropriate case for my strat.It's a little roadworn,but so is the guitar.

[winston]

I got an age appropriate case for my strat.It's a little roadworn,but so is the guitar.

Very nice Mitch. Congrats.

[FretlessOnly]

I realize that age dating Fenders is a wobbly task, but a serial # on the neck plate of 65xxxx dates it to early '76 according to the Fender website. The neck may be butt-stamped '74, but apparently they pulled necks (and just about everything else) off the shelf somewhat at random in the late 60s and 70s. I'm not sure how consecutively the neck plates were handled.

Honestly, I'm not too sure of any of it, but just going on the information available.

But very nice photos in here!

[octagon]

I realize that age dating Fenders is a wobbly task, but a serial # on the neck plate of 65xxxx dates it to early '76 according to the Fender website. The neck may be butt-stamped '74, but apparently they pulled necks (and just about everything else) off the shelf somewhat at random in the late 60s and 70s. I'm not sure how consecutively the neck plates were handled.

Honestly, I'm not too sure of any of it, but just going on the information available.

But very nice photos in here!

Thanks for your question. I have seen on the Fender website that 65XXX dates it to 1976. A couple of other pages like this one dates it to 1975 On the CBS '70s strat page of the Strat Central website there is another 1974 Stratocaster with a 65xxxx neckplate.

The 1974 date of my guitar is based on the dates of the pickups and pots.It has the stagger pole pickups and I haven't seen those on strats made after 1974. I bought this guitar from a friend so I am confident that nothing has been changed on the guitar besides the frets and a later trem handle that was given to me.