1973 Fender® Stratocaster® Blonde, Good, Original Hard, $2,500.00

1970s Stratocasters having been surging in demand in the past few years and good original ones have been harder and harder to come across. The features of ‘70s Strats, such as the 3-bolt “Micro-tilt” necks with the wider headstock and bullet-style truss rod, differentiate this era from other Strat eras. This particular one sports a blonde finish that like many late ‘60s/1970s blonde Fender finishes has gradually faded to reveal the beautiful Ash green underneath. It has that “vintage vibe” that just cannot be duplicated even by the most skilled guitar relic’ing masters. The neck plate has a serial number of 421490 which technically would indicate 1974. However Fender serial numbers can be deceptive, especially during the ‘70s. The neck code of 0900 2053 would place its manufacture on Friday of the 20th week of 1973 (with 09 being code for Stratocaster) and the potentiometer codes also point to 1973. The pickup codes date to '73 as well. The neck has been nicely broken in and has a fantastically comfortable feel. It has a maple neck with a “skunk stripe,” maple finger board and a nut width of 1 11/16th”. The tuning machines have been swapped out for more recent Fender Strat tuners with the previous holes still visible surrounding the changed tuners. The three single coil Strat pickups sound gorgeous, with plenty of “spank” in the bridge position, a nice “quack” in the out-of-phase positions, and a thick rhythm sound in the neck position. The frets have some wear; there is still life left to them and the guitar plays great but those looking for modern higher frets may opt to change them out. There is a decent amount of natural wear in the finish, which coupled with the fade of the original blonde finish gives this guitar a perfect “lived-in” look. There are two small cracks at the base of the neck that look to us to be only finish deep and have no noticeable effect on the playability. It’s on the average side weight-wise for a ‘70s Strat, coming in at just about 9 ½ lbs. Early-to-mid ‘70s Strats have been rising in value and diminishing in availability, so this is a great opportunity to get your hands on a great playing one that just exudes tons of “mojo” (for lack of a better term). Don’t miss your chance because it won’t stick around for long! Includes original hard shell case (one latch is broken)