1965 Strat
In 1965 Leo Fender sold his companies to the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) for $13 million. During this ‘CBS-era’ Fender shifted to a more mass-production style of guitar making. Luckily for us this 65’ was build the old Fender way. Let’s check out some things that helped me reach that conclusion.
Verified
First thing was looking underneath the hood, I wanted to check how original it was and clean some of those scratchy pots as well.
Stackpole Pots
Fender used mostly Stackpole brand pots in the 1950's, and CTS brand pots in the 1960's. These pots are date coded and can help verify the authenticity and year of an instrument. The manufacturer code for Stackpole was 304. This number should be stamped on the pot then followed by the Year and Week. Here we got 304-6532 so that translates to 1965 and 32nd week (1965 Aug 9-15th). Interesting right???
Just a dab!
Ok since we have original pots I’d hate to replace them. These Stackpoles go for about $150 a piece and thats if you can find em. So we just needed to clean them a little. When using a cleaner like deoxit it literally just takes a little dab. Too many people over do it and soak parts in cleaner which can actually damage the part you’re trying to clean. Less Is more!
Evidence of the Past
Its cool to pop off a pickguard and find all the hidden clues one would hope for. Since these were part of the ‘transition’ period its great to see some sought after stuff in here. For example…
1. Rounded pickup routes (late 60’s and 70’s are more squared)
2. Nail holes (by neck and inside bridge route) were a byproduct of spraying the finish. They bolt it down and set it on a lazy susan.
3. The extra shelf in the control cavity also went away during the CBS era.
4. You can also see how much the color has faded compared to the finish under the guard.
2OCT65B
Dating a neck seems to be the easiest way to verify the age of a guitar but whats all that other stuff mean? One of my luthier friends finally explained it to me.
The number before the year actually stands for model designation.
2= strat 1=Jaguar 3= tele etc. (this has changed over time)
The letter stands for the neck profile
A" is the narrowest, "B" is normal, and "C" is the widest. (this has changed over time)
Not so original
This guitar isn’t completely clean, at some point someone created a scoop in the pickguard for the practical purposes. The Truss Rod adjustment on these necks were in the heel and the only way to adjust them is by removing the guard or taking the neck off. Stew mac has a cool little tool that made this adjustment a lot easier.
Full of Refret
Another thing this 65 had done was a refret. People always ask me if a refret devalues a guitar and I guess it kinda does but the instrument has to be playable as well. Most collectors will understand this and if the job was done correctly in my opinion I think its totally fine. Luckily, whoever did the refret on this did a pretty good job.
Filling dem slots
Bone nut on guitars are very much like tires on a car in that they will eventually need replacing. This is a replacement nut that was just cut a little too low by another tech. I usually only replace a nut when most of the slots are low but on this one only the E and the A needed raising. I ended filling the D slot just for good measure so we can get another year out of it before I replace it. I use this glue for all nut repair stuff and this accelerator if you can find it.
Vintage Tuners
I always get asked how much slack one should leave when restringing a guitar. Good rule of thumb is about 2 and 1/2 posts up. This will give you enough winds to keep it the string at a good angle from the nut to the tuner. For example, here im doing the Low E. See picture
1965
Here she is all dolled up, super fun project and turned out spectacular. Incredible that this is a 55 year old machine still going strong! I can tell you that id be surprised if some of the stuff people are making nowadays will make it past 10 years. Please feel free to comment and ask any questions you might have!