Stratocaster Identity

[jalanampas]

This is a 1990/1991 MIA Strat I bought from Swee Lee Bras Basah back in the day. The guitar came with no manuals or any other case candy... In fact, there was no case, although I think there should have been (too late to make a claim...)

Its purple, so I imaginatively named her Purple Haze. She is very unique, but to this day, I dont know what model she is.

I recently emailed FENDER USA the serial number to ask them if they have any details of this Strat. I wanted to know if its a plain ol 'American Standard', 'Deluxe' or a 'Strat Plus' model. Strangely, they said they needed pics to confirm what model it is. Here are the pics I sent them.

I am posting the pics in case some Stat-aficionado here has a similar Strat and knows more about it that I do. A Google search led to a wild goose chase. At any rate, even if nobody has information, I just thought it would be cool to share.

I did no mods on the guitar and the specs are:
Fender Lace Sensors
TBX Tone control
Locking tuners
Metal roller nut (strings go over, then under)
Weird looking 'shock absorber' spring at the back
... and oddly, there is a large number '2' engraved on the back of the headstock

Just in case: I ain't selling this babe

Thanks for viewing

 

[Newbie]

Hi,

Just curious what is that middle spring at the back of the guitar? Or what does it do?

 

[Danelectrico]

That's a Strat Plus. The metal roller nut is the Wilkinson nut - the later (after 1993 I believe) Strat Plus + Strat Ultra guitars came with the far better LSR Roller nut as the earlier Wilkinson ones can only accomodate up to 9 - 42 strings.

It's definitely worth an upgrade - check these sites http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-LSR-Roller-Nut?sku=361268 and http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks.cfm?fuseaction=stringnut

The middle spring is the Hipshot Tremsetter - http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=115

BTW - The "2" I believe refers to grade 2 - back in the day I reckon Fenders stamped the back of the headstock with numbers to represent the quality of the guitar. a "1" would be the best, usually reserved for the American market - "2" the next best, for export etc. I think 4 pretty much meant "go buy a Made In Mexico" instead

Overall it's a very nice guitar - although I'm not too enamoured with the Gold Lace Sensor pickups. How do you find them?

 

[faekildare]

I think the spring absorber is a tremsetter..

 

[Newbie]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the response. Sorry to hijack this thread a little.

I read abt the product, so it basically holds the fixed bridge very well? Cause when I play around with my tremolo, it always go out of tune, not sure if its the springs or tuner problem. If I place one in the middle of my bridge, it'll solve the problem? Thanks.

Rgds,
Newbie

 

[Whitestrat]

That's a Strat Plus. The metal roller nut is the Wilkinson nut - the later (after 1993 I believe) Strat Plus + Strat Ultra guitars came with the far better LSR Roller nut as the earlier Wilkinson ones can only accomodate up to 9 - 42 strings.

Well done! That roller nut is a dead giveaway... whahahahaha...

 

[faekildare]

The 2 stamped behind means there is something wrong with the QC of the guitar, and is sold for a discount off the original price (usually 50%).

 

[Danelectrico]

I had one of these on 2 guitars - with one (a Strat Ultra) I ended up blocking the trem, pretty much converting it to a fixed bridge, as I didn't use the trem. On the other guitar (an early Jeff Beck strat), I don't have it anymore but I remember it kept in good tune. I think the Tremsetter's tension adjustable and I recall it was a bit troublesome to adjust, but once it was adjusted I think it performed fine for a long time.

Does your guitar have a strat style bridge? Do you use your trem for flutter, or big time dive bombing? Perhaps a more economical solution is to send it for a good setup. Maybe just adding a couple regular springs will solve your problem - maybe a change of the nut if yours is not a good one to begin with. Locking tuners might also help as well if you're considering other options.

 

[edder]

And I've gotta say this again, your strat plus with ebony fretboard is teh secks. lovely guitar.

 

[Danelectrico]

Thanks Edder dude! You the man who helped me block that bridge I recall! Yeah I love the neck and ebony fretboard of the Ultra. Once I changed out the crappy Lace Sensors, that is

 

[jalanampas]

Danelectro: Thanks. Strat Plus eh... I did notice the inability to string anything higher than a 9 - 42 gauge. All my other guitars have 10s. But I dont think I will change the nut. Thanks for the info on the '2' as well.

I love the Fender Gold Sensors. Looks strange on a Strat (cannot see pole-pieces) but they sound nice clean, especially the neck. Very nicely balanced highs and lows. With a touch of tubescreamer, the growl is wonderful. Not too crazy about the bridge sensor though as it sounds like an ice-pick when played wide-open. I have another Strat with American Vintage pups which I also like, but they are very different from the Lace Sensors in terms of overall sound, dynamics and response to overdrive. I dont prefer one over the other. They're just different.

 

[Danelectrico]

cool, glad that the lace sensors are working for you! i always liked the clean no-polepieces look actually, and thought they sound great through pedals. the golds do have a nice clean tone - the only thing about lace sensors in general is they didn't have that zing and "air" of true single coils - which leads some to describe them as sterile. which is kinda true to an extent. it's a trade off i guess, and if you're not looking for something completely and authentically strat-like they're actually pretty decent pups. i finally caved in and swapped them out because i decided i needed something with a little more of a traditional strat character and bite.

if you find the gold on the bridge too ice picky, you might want to try the lace sensor red (higher output, more mids, less highs) or hot gold (available in 2 options - same output as golds or higher output than golds, more bass and mids but with the same high end and characteristics of vintage strat pickups). i've had these on guitars and enjoyed them quite a bit.

 

[jalanampas]

Faekildare: Actually what you said about the marked down price of the '2' stamped guitar may be true in this case because as I recall, the salesperson at SweeLee took this guitar out from the back (it was not on display) and made me an offer I could not then refuse: $750 for an MIA Strat (the average price for an MIJ Strat in the 1990s was about $500). Add the fact that there was no gig bag let alone case, the evidence is thus pointing to a 'factory-outlet' Strat. This also explains why FENDER USA does not have the serial number in their database, and were puzzled enough to ask me to send photos of the guitar.

Still, this guitar has served me well, 'factory-outlet' status notwithstanding. Can't see what caused it to fail the QC: except for a grey blemish on the top of the neck, the guitar is perfectly fine.