Up for sale, a 1987 Fender American Vintage '62 Stratocaster in near-mint, 100% original condition and in perfect working order, complete with a hardshell case. Stunningly clean, this early Corona, CA factory example of the American Vintage '62 platform features an alder body, maple neck, and thick slab rosewood fretboard, yielding a balanced, smooth natural acoustic tone.
This Strat can chime, sparkle, and quack with the best, delivering an array of classic Fender tones. Whether it's the biting twang of the bridge position, the extra warmth and girth that comes from the neck single coil (ideal for lead work), or the thinned-out quack on the "in-between" positions on the three-way switch, this Strat is simply a delight to play. The guitar weighs 7lbs 15oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, slinky action and accurate intonation.
The maple neck has a slender, fast-feeling C-shaped profile carve with moderate shoulder and lightly rolled fretboard edges, measuring .800" deep at the 1st fret and .850" at the 12th. The thick slab rosewood fretboard has a 7 1/4" vintage-spec Fender radius, and the original slender vintage-style frets are practically perfect with their fully factory height and well-rounded crowns. The guitar plays cleanly in every register up the 25 1/2" scale, the neck is straight, and the truss rod is responsive and ideally adjusted. The nut measures 1 5/8" in width. On the headstock, the Fender Stratocaster waterslide decal is flawless, and the Kluson-style Gotoh tuners turn smoothly and hold pitch as they should. The neck heel is pencil dated 10/2/87, and the four-bolt neck plate has an early V-prefix serial number.
The electronics have untouched solder joints, comprising a trio of Fender's 57/62 black bobbin pickups with unbeveled alnico pole pieces and cloth-covered leads, wired to original CTS pots which date to the 17th week of '87 and the original three-way switch. Plastics include the three-ply white pickguard and knobs and pickup covers that show light uniform yellowing. The chrome plating on the hardware is bright and clean, and the vibrato works very smoothly with three springs, responding quickly and reliably for quick shimmies and deeper dives.
The gloss nitro lacquer Sunburst finish exhibits just a few tiny nicks and faint finish scratches on the body as a whole, largely relegated to the back lower bout body edge and to a lesser extent behind the bridge on top. The ambered gloss finish on the neck profile is flawless.
The original Fender molded hardshell case is included (an uncommon option paired with some early Corona, CA factory American Vintage models).