NGD: Strat

[robthemac]

Picked this up from Voxshall in part of a trade a couple of months back, but haven't had a chance to post it since.

This is a 1996 Fender Custom Shop, 1960 Stratocaster. Alder body, fiesta red finish (not nitro unfortunately), rosewood board, birdseye maple neck. It's been through a few hands over its lifetime. Modifications include new pickups (Don Mare's), an aged mint green pickguard and some very old plastic switches (Voxshall might know how many decades). The wiring has been changed to master volume, master tone and a blend, which I'm actually really enjoying. Some decent cracks in the finish, but nothing that's caused any issue.

I'm really picky when it comes to Strats. I've only had a handful that I've got on with. Thankfully this is one of them.

Apologies for the upsidedown pictures.

[robthemac]

More pictures

[KNNZ]

That’s a loverly neck!!

[Lyle]

Nice. I've got a CS Tele from the same era, similar levels of birdseye on the neck.

[robthemac]

Nice. I've got a CS Tele from the same era, similar levels of birdseye on the neck.

One of the reasons I wanted this era. Fender really went to town on their wood selection.

[Voxshall]

Glad you’re enjoying it Rob, that Tele of yours is amazing as well, it actually fits in with my current band better than any other guitar I own and it’s by far the least expensive. Hope you don’t mind I ended up getting rid of the sunburst so it’s now Dakota red, I think it looks really cool.

[GrantB]

I can tell that neck is a cracker. Congrats.

[StrummersOfThunder]

Not that it really matters, but what are fender doing putting a poly finish (I'm assuming that's what it is if it's not nitro ) on their custom shop instruments ??

[robthemac]

Glad you’re enjoying it Rob, that Tele of yours is amazing as well, it actually fits in with my current band better than any other guitar I own and it’s by far the least expensive. Hope you don’t mind I ended up getting rid of the sunburst so it’s now Dakota red, I think it looks really cool.

I was never attached to the finish, don't worry! Glad to hear your enjoying it. Did you switch out any other parts?

[robthemac]

Not that it really matters, but what are fender doing putting a poly finish (I'm assuming that's what it is if it's not nitro ) on their custom shop instruments ??

One of Fender Custom Shop's builders was on a forum talking about this.

"In my opinion, nitro is not the best finish for a guitar body.
We'll shoot whatever you want though."

I like nitro for the look, but it's not without its problems.

[sunburster]

You can order a poly finish from the CS, but most people do not do that, so they are rare. Always make sure to check the body cavities for proper CS stamps, to make sure the body is authentic. Whenever someone says "poly finish CS body" to me, I get suspicious because it's easy to swap in a MIM body or something like that.

You can also email the serial number to Fender customer service, and they will confirm if the body was ordered as nitro or poly.

I love the neck on this one! Absolutely gorgeous.

[jeremyb]

Not that it really matters, but what are fender doing putting a poly finish (I'm assuming that's what it is if it's not nitro ) on their custom shop instruments ??

One of Fender Custom Shop's builders was on a forum talking about this.

"In my opinion, nitro is not the best finish for a guitar body.
We'll shoot whatever you want though."

I like nitro for the look, but it's not without its problems.

In practical terms nitro isn't the best, but who cares about that, we want it cracking and rubbing off where we play it for cred

[MrDINO]

That 95 CS 54 Strat I had was a poly finish as well. Might have been a 90s thing...

[Lyle]

My tele is 97 and has a poly finish I didn't some googling when I purchased it and it looks like it was pretty common at the time.

[StrummersOfThunder]

Owned plenty of each finish, and I prefer nitro by a large margin. I just love how it ages, wears, checks etc.it has a silkier/softer feel. Not 'plastic' or 'tingy/tacky'. Nothing wrong with a poly finish mind.