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1974 Fender Stratocaster
- Thread starter axe4me
- Start date
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George Dickens
Well-Known Member
You got rid of the hardtail but the one you kept is nice looking and the right color.
250.00 that was a great deal even then I think. The hardtail will be lucky to see that asking price.
I could have bought one 15 years ago for 600cdn, but I didnt like it. It was brown.
250.00 that was a great deal even then I think. The hardtail will be lucky to see that asking price.
I could have bought one 15 years ago for 600cdn, but I didnt like it. It was brown.
Wildeman
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I see '70s Strats for 2-3000.00 all the time and not selling, are they rare all the sudden?
They are still just used guitars to me, i don't hate them, they are professional quality Fenders after all but they dont push my vintage/ covet button like a '71 (4 bolt= Jimi) and before.
They are still just used guitars to me, i don't hate them, they are professional quality Fenders after all but they dont push my vintage/ covet button like a '71 (4 bolt= Jimi) and before.
I see '70s Strats for 2-3000.00 all the time and not selling, are they rare all the sudden?
They are still just used guitars to me, i don't hate them, they are professional quality Fenders after all but they dont push my vintage/ covet button like a '71 (4 bolt= Jimi) and before.
I recall years ago when Matt Umanov had 74/75 Fender guitars for $4995.00.
IMO, not worth it.
Dealers have a special place in their heart (wallet really) for 25+ year old gear.
They don't care about your wallet.
Use your ears and forget the price of vintage.
Unless you find the "right one".
El Gringo
Well-Known Member
Super great advice !
Valvelust
Well-Known Member
My original '73 mom and dad bought me along with this Peavey 6X10 for my 14th birthday!
El Gringo
Well-Known Member
Love that beautiful Stratocaster !
I know this Italian shop and I know they usually keep their second hand prices quite high.
The production of these guitars in the 70's was quite troubled with many changes and some quality problem on woods and hardware. I don't know if I'd spend all that money on that guitar.
The production of these guitars in the 70's was quite troubled with many changes and some quality problem on woods and hardware. I don't know if I'd spend all that money on that guitar.
KidBlast
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I had a 73 sunburst that I bought new when I was still in Jr High,
it had that "micro tilt" neck.
yea... not one of their best ideas..
Valvelust
Well-Known Member
Please explain? Not familiar with micro-tilt and printed bridge and paint?
Wish it had been 1 year earlier though.... I also had my choice to choose between the strat and a black Les Paul standard.
RLW59
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Please explain? Not familiar with micro-tilt and printed bridge and paint?
Wish it had been 1 year earlier though.... I also had my choice to choose between the strat and a black Les Paul standard.
The original Strat trem is a steel plate with a steel block bolted to it. In '72 CBS switched to a 1-piece cast Zamac trem. Zamac is a zinc casting alloy.
I've got an early '70s catalog where they copyrighted the phrase "Thick Skin finish" to tout the thicker more durable finish. Finishes were already pretty thick poly in the late '60s but got even thicker in the '70s.
Micro-tilt is still a feature on many American Strats, but it's an improved 4-bolt version. In '72 CBS switched from the original 4-bolt non-micro-tilt to the 3-bolt micro-tilt. The two front bolts were traditional wood screws that screwed into the neck wood, but the center rear bolt was an actual bolt. It went into a metal disc that was screwed to the neck wood, with a set-screw to allow changing the angle of the neck. To allow it to tilt the neck without binding or stressing the screws and bolt, they made the holes in the body larger diameter, so many '70s Strats had necks that could shift side-to-side in the neck pocket.
MarshallDog
Well-Known Member
Dam, one hell of a bday present Bro!
KidBlast
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Kind of randomly, like while you were playing... didn't matter where, or what you were doing either. get a little too rambunctious at a gig, and well.. yea,, not a good thing.
Valvelust
Well-Known Member
Yes it was, and my parents didn't have a lot of money at the time either. They knew I had the gift for music and loved the guitar over other instruments.
I cherish it for that very thought as I lost them both at 30 and I'm almost 63 now.
RLW59
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Yeah, my '75 would shift if I sneezed or jumped around. I got good at yanking it back to the right position. But eventually I got tired of that and used Elmer's glue in the neck pocket.
(I was young and stupid, but in my defense white glue doesn't make a strong bond with glossy finished surfaces. It would have been easy to tap the neck out and peel the Elmer's off if the neck ever needed to be removed -- it was more like a filler for the huge gaps.)
DaDoc
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I see '70s Strats for 2-3000.00 all the time and not selling, are they rare all the sudden?
They are still just used guitars to me, i don't hate them, they are professional quality Fenders after all but they dont push my vintage/ covet button like a '71 (4 bolt= Jimi) and before.
Yup, I have a '74, along with a '75. Both have changed P-ups and vintage reissue bridges (the two-piece ones with the steel saddles), and they sound pretty darned good now.
IMO, the weak p-ups and crappy pot metal bridges were far more responsible for the problems with the 70's Strats than the three-bolt necks were, although they sure didn't help things tuning-wise! I've considered changing mine to four bolt configurations, as they've been so butchered up over the years it wouldn't much matter anyhoo value-wise.
But as far as the OP, the 70's guitars are overpriced as hell these days, just because it's "old" don't mean it's worth the price being asked..Personally, I wouldn't give over a grand for any 70's era Strat, if that much..Blue Book be damned!
I have my two 70's Strats, along with my original '63 and mid-80's '62 Reissue, but if I were looking to buy another I would go with a Custom Shop before I would throw that much money down for a '70's model!
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