Up for sale, a 1985 Fender Stratocaster ‘62 vintage reissue model ST62-70 in near-mint, 100% original condition and in perfect working order. This “Made in Japan” Strat was crafted at the Fujigen factory during the golden era of Fender Japan production with an A-prefix serialized neck plate, produced in the months following the Japanese Vintage (JV) series.

Hailing from the first quarter of 1985, this is a notable transitional model with premium electronics beyond what's usually found in the 70-suffix (70,000 yen) model tier. This guitar features a full suite of USA-made electronics which were otherwise only found in the most expensive Fender Japan offerings (115,000 yen price point). As such, this guitar boasts identical pickups and pots to a first-year Fullerton factory '62 Stratocaster reissue, with black bobbin pickups and CTS pots that date to 1982(!). This sort of anomaly can only be chalked up to a year when Fender was changing ownership and factories, using remaining stock from Fullerton to fulfill orders both Stateside and in Japan.

Tonewoods include an alder body, maple neck, and slab rosewood fretboard, and this Strat weighs 8lbs 3oz. The trio of gray bobbin single coil pickups are the same seen in Fullerton, USA production, featuring black bobbins, staggered alnico magnets and cloth-covered leads: these pickups deliver a bevy of quintessential sparkling Strat tonalities at each position on the three-way pickup selector switch, with gutsy spank at the bridge and fuller, bell-like chime at the neck. This '62 Stratocaster ST62-70 has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation.

Neck Specs:

-Wood: Maple
-Shape: Slender C, full shoulders, measuring .820” 1st fret, .905” 12th fret
-Fretboard: Rosewood slab, 7 1/4" vintage-spec radius
-Frets: Slender, virtually no wear
-Scale Length: 25 1/2”
-Nut: 1.650” (42mm), bone
-Tuners: Kluson-style, Gotoh
-Serialization: “Made in Japan,” A-prefix (neck plate), small “70” sticker on back of peghead denotes original model tier and price (¥70,000), neck heel pencil dated 2-6-85

Body Specs:

-Wood: Alder
-Pickups: USA Fullerton black bobbin single coil x3
-Harness: CTS 250k pots date to 26th week of 1982, Sprague Orange Drop tone cap
-Hardware: Vintage-Style vibrato (original arm)
-Plastics: Three-ply white pickguard (“Pick Up Made in U.S.A.” sticker intact), knobs, pickup covers

This is an exceedingly clean example, with cosmetic wear on the gloss Olympic White finish limited to a couple minor dings on the back. The smooth ambered gloss on the neck profile is flawless.

A faux leather padded gigbag is included.