Fender Stratocaster Solid Body Electric Guitar (1966)
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Item # 10369
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Fender Stratocaster Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1966), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 191643, sunburst lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This is a bit of a "real relic" worn-in but nicely original early-CBS era Stratocaster, with some probably hard-earned wear but still looking and sounding great. This Strat was assembled right at the end of 1966; maybe somebody got it for Christmas this year, or more likely it shipped out in early '67.
This guitar shows typical features for 1966, with a few small differences from 1965 and earlier models. The neck is stamped 13 AUG 66B and features the most obvious, the new-for-'66 larger headstock with the gold "transition" logo. Supposedly this was re-designed at CBS' behest to make the headstock and logo show better on TV, but that may be simply a Fender fable. The dots in the thin-lam rosewood fingerboard are pearloid, as they had been since early '65. The bright sunburst finish is still sprayed with lacquer; the next year CBS would begin experimenting in earnest with harder coatings culminating in the infamous "thick skin" polyester of the 1970s.
The neckplate carries a large "F" stamp under the serial number, added in late 1965 when the 100,000 number series commenced. The pickguard is made of white ABS plastic, mounted over the scrap aluminum shielding plate used since 1959. The three pickups are a grey-bobbin set clear dated to December 10th and 19th 1966. The masking tape on the leads and the internal solder joints are all intact and untouched. The wiring is the original cloth-covered type; less than 2 years later, this would be replaced with thinned plastic-coated wire.
The other hardware is consistent with Pre-CBS instruments; steel stamped bridge saddles and trem block and the Kluson tuners CBS would replace the next year with their own in-house "F" plate machines. The weight is typical for this period at 8.12 Lbs. While PRE-CBS has been a watchword for Fender afficionados for decades, this early-CBS Stratocaster is simply a great-feeling and sounding guitar, a far cry from what the instrument would evolve into a couple of years down the line. This one has a super cool 1966-7 vibe; while Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix were taking many '60s Strats and sacrificing them for immortality, this one took a lickin' but kept on tickin'!
Overall length is 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm.), 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) deep. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This Strat is a well-played but really decently preserved example. It shows finish wear overall but no repairs or modifications, just signs of honest use. The colors in the sunburst are still bright; it never hung too long in the dealer window! There are dings, dents and scrapes overall, with the usual spots of missing finish along the body edges particularly the bottom. There is also typical belt buckle wear to the back and some rather random dings to the armwear zone of the top.
The headstock shows more lacquer checking than the body. The back of the neck has a large feelable wear mark and some attendant smaller dings behind the first fret area, probably from an old capo or something similar. This is fairly well into the wood but worn down relatively smooth and is not a major distraction when playing. The rest of the neck surface has less wear than one might expect, just down to the wood along the edges and thinned out in the lower positions with a few random scrapes and dings.
All wiring is original and untouched, even the masking tape wrapped around the pickup leads is fully intact. All hardware on the guitar is correct, complete and original; the trem backplate has a couple of corners chipped off. The pickguard has the typical tight crack in the thin zone just above the neck pickup. The bridge saddles, screws and springs have some minor corrosion but everything works as intended. The original small frets are crowned low with some wear but still quite playable; a player who prefers larger wire would likely want to indulge a refret before too long. As it stands this is a good playing, fine sounding Strat with some genuinely earned "relic" character, housed in a nice modern repro Fender HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
This is a bit of a "real relic" worn-in but nicely original early-CBS era Stratocaster, with some probably hard-earned wear but still looking and sounding great. This Strat was assembled right at the end of 1966; maybe somebody got it for Christmas this year, or more likely it shipped out in early '67.
This guitar shows typical features for 1966, with a few small differences from 1965 and earlier models. The neck is stamped 13 AUG 66B and features the most obvious, the new-for-'66 larger headstock with the gold "transition" logo. Supposedly this was re-designed at CBS' behest to make the headstock and logo show better on TV, but that may be simply a Fender fable. The dots in the thin-lam rosewood fingerboard are pearloid, as they had been since early '65. The bright sunburst finish is still sprayed with lacquer; the next year CBS would begin experimenting in earnest with harder coatings culminating in the infamous "thick skin" polyester of the 1970s.
The neckplate carries a large "F" stamp under the serial number, added in late 1965 when the 100,000 number series commenced. The pickguard is made of white ABS plastic, mounted over the scrap aluminum shielding plate used since 1959. The three pickups are a grey-bobbin set clear dated to December 10th and 19th 1966. The masking tape on the leads and the internal solder joints are all intact and untouched. The wiring is the original cloth-covered type; less than 2 years later, this would be replaced with thinned plastic-coated wire.
The other hardware is consistent with Pre-CBS instruments; steel stamped bridge saddles and trem block and the Kluson tuners CBS would replace the next year with their own in-house "F" plate machines. The weight is typical for this period at 8.12 Lbs. While PRE-CBS has been a watchword for Fender afficionados for decades, this early-CBS Stratocaster is simply a great-feeling and sounding guitar, a far cry from what the instrument would evolve into a couple of years down the line. This one has a super cool 1966-7 vibe; while Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix were taking many '60s Strats and sacrificing them for immortality, this one took a lickin' but kept on tickin'!
Overall length is 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm.), 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) deep. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This Strat is a well-played but really decently preserved example. It shows finish wear overall but no repairs or modifications, just signs of honest use. The colors in the sunburst are still bright; it never hung too long in the dealer window! There are dings, dents and scrapes overall, with the usual spots of missing finish along the body edges particularly the bottom. There is also typical belt buckle wear to the back and some rather random dings to the armwear zone of the top.
The headstock shows more lacquer checking than the body. The back of the neck has a large feelable wear mark and some attendant smaller dings behind the first fret area, probably from an old capo or something similar. This is fairly well into the wood but worn down relatively smooth and is not a major distraction when playing. The rest of the neck surface has less wear than one might expect, just down to the wood along the edges and thinned out in the lower positions with a few random scrapes and dings.
All wiring is original and untouched, even the masking tape wrapped around the pickup leads is fully intact. All hardware on the guitar is correct, complete and original; the trem backplate has a couple of corners chipped off. The pickguard has the typical tight crack in the thin zone just above the neck pickup. The bridge saddles, screws and springs have some minor corrosion but everything works as intended. The original small frets are crowned low with some wear but still quite playable; a player who prefers larger wire would likely want to indulge a refret before too long. As it stands this is a good playing, fine sounding Strat with some genuinely earned "relic" character, housed in a nice modern repro Fender HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.