DESCRIPTION:
This Fender American Stratocaster with Sienna Sunburst and Rosewood fingerboard is not only in excellent condition, it is a very good example of the changes Fender was making to improve sales in the early 1980's. This version is also known unofficially as the 'Dan Smith Stratocaster'.
This example is in excellent, clean and all original condition with only the slightest wear throughout; it appears to have hardly been played.
The original black rectangular hard shell case is included.
By 1980 sales of many top American brands including Fender were significantly deteriorating in the face of increasingly high quality offshore competition.
In 1981, the management of Fender with its corporate parent CBS Musical Instruments hired three people away from Yamaha's USA division and tasked them with reworking the Fender lineup into products musicians would prefer over imports. Those three people were Bill Schultz (President), John McLaren (Managing Director), and Dan Smith (Director of Marketing).
Changes began promptly, with the first and most visible target being a reduction of the production line output to improve quality control, and the second the introduction of the 'Standard' Stratocaster.
The initial 1982 'Dan Smith' Standard Stratocaster reverted the headstock shape to the original small profile and a new logo, shifted the truss rod adjustment back to the body end, restored the four-bolt neck plate with no Micro-Tilt function, and the addition of a hotter 'X-1' pickup in the bridge position - this pickup came from 'The Strat'. The bodies were either Alder or Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), a native tree that can grow to 130 feet.
The next iteration of the Standard Stratocaster simplified the wiring to a single volume, single tone control setup with the output jack taking the place previously used for the second tone control. That version also featured the new 'Bi Flex' rod with head-end adjustment as used on the Elite models. The original Strat trem was replaced by the 'FreeFlyte' model which uses a long knife-edge bevel and short, top mounted springs, removing the need for routing the back.
While some of these efforts met with better reception than others, in 1985 CBS Musical Instruments sold the Fender name and certain assets - not the Fullerton plant or fixtures - to Bill Schultz's management group. Because production facilities were not included, the new management contracted with several high-end Japanese builders to make Fender electrics until the Corona, California premises were obtained and developed. In 1987, the 'American Standard' line was launched, lasting until 2017.
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |
DETAILS:
- Instrument Model: Standard Stratocaster
- Instrument Manufacturer: Fender
- Instrument Year: 1982
- Instrument Finish: Sienna Burst
- Instrument Class: Solidbody Electric Guitar
- Instrument Serial Number: E205736 Built during 1982 at Fullerton CA
- Country of Origin: USA
- Instrument Condition: Excellent
- Playing Condition: Excellent
- Right-handed
- CITIES Documentation Required: No
- Instrument Weight Imperial: 9.584 lbs
- Instrument Weight Metric: 4.34 kgs
- Scale Length Imperial: 25.5 in
- Scale Length Metric: 647.7 mm
- Nut Width Imperial: 1.672 in
- Nut Width Metric: 42.48 mm
- Case included: Yes
- Case original: Yes
- Case Type: Hard Shell Rectangular
- Items in Case: N/A
- Consignment: Yes
- Product ID: 190516
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |