Up for sale, a 1974 Fender Stratocaster in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with a hardshell case and the original inspection hangtag. Featuring an alder body and one-piece maple neck, this Strat has a natural acoustic tone that offers an overarching balance and liveliness with a glassy treble cut. Plugged in, the trio of staggered pole gray bobbin single coil pickups excel at delivering a range of traditional Strat tonalities. The bridge pickup offers bite and sparkle, the middle has a certain honk and cut, and the neck single coil delivers a smooth, yet detailed tone that’s ideal for solos and lead work. Weighing 7lbs 13oz and professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar, we’ve dialed in this Strat with fresh 10-46 strings, low action and accurate intonation.
The maple neck has a slender, fast-feeling profile carve, splitting the difference between a slender C and a soft V, measuring .820″ deep at the 1st fret and .865″ at the 12th. The maple fretboard retains the original medium fretwire which has been leveled and crowned, currently only showing light wear beneath the plain strings on frets 1-5. This Strat plays cleanly up the 25 1/2″ scale with a straight neck and responsive, optimally adjusted truss rod. The nut measures 1 5/8″ in width, and on the headstock, the original Stratocaster logo with one patent # is intact. The guitar is fitted with an era-correct set of Fender’s “F” tuning machines, and these tuners have a smooth, reliable response. There are faint halos around the current tuner bushings, as a different tuner set was installed in the guitar’s lifetime. The neck heel has a bold ink stamp, dating to 1974, with a few additional original factory stamps on the heel and in the neck pocket.
All of the electronics work as they should, with the original staggered pole neck and middle position single coils, and an identical vintage bridge pickup sourced to return this guitar to stock. All pickups have clean gray fiber bobbins and ink stamps from between 1973-74. The wiring harness features the original trio of 250K CTS pots (one visible date code from the 45th week of ’72) and a later five-way pickup selector switch. Hardware comprises the original vibrato bridge and jack cup, both of which have bright chrome plating, and the vibrato arm is a modern replacement. Plastics comprise the original knobs, pickup covers, and three-ply white pickguard.
The original three-tone Sunburst gloss finish is particularly bold, and cosmetic wear is limited to some finish chipping from a shallow impact on the treble-side lower bout edge, a few smaller finish chips on the body perimeter, and some minor marks from careful use. The neck profile retains its smooth gloss, with light palm wear through the finish on the fretboard edges.
A modern Fender molded hardshell case is included, along with the original inspection hangtag.