2002 Fender American Vintage '62 Stratocaster Ocean Turquoise, 100% Original & Near Mint

Up for sale, a 2002 Fender American Vintage '62 Stratocaster in near mint, 100% original condition and in perfect working order. Stunningly clean with the clear protective factory plastic on the pickguard and original Fender sticker on the tremolo cavity cover, this custom color Strat is finished in Ocean Turquoise Metallic nitro lacquer and complete with a Fender-branded hardshell case and factory paperwork.Tonewoods include 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 8lbs 1oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with 9-42 strings, low 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 .825" deep at the 1st fret and .895" at the 12th. The thick slab rosewood fretboard has a 7 1/4" vintage-spec Fender radius, and the nut measures 1.650" in width. The original slender vintage-style frets have their fully factory height and well-rounded crowns, showing only light wear beneath the plain strings on frets 1-3. The guitar plays cleanly in every register, the neck is straight, and the truss rod is responsive and ideally adjusted. 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 and pocket have numerous factory stamps, with a 3-27-02 pencil date on the neck heel, and an additional stamp from April 24th, 2002.The electronics include a trio of Fender's 57/62 black bobbin pickups with beveled alnico pole pieces and cloth-covered leads, wired to original CTS pots which date to the 39th week of '01. The inspection sticker on the aluminum shielding plate beneath the pickguard is dated 4/24/02. Plastics include the three-ply mint green pickguard paired with ivory pickup covers and knobs, and all are like-new. The chrome plating on the hardware is positively gleaming, including the neck plate with V-prefix serial number. The vibrato works very smoothly with three springs and responds quickly and reliably for quick shimmies and deeper dives.The gloss nitro lacquer Ocean Turquoise Metallic finish is the most pristine example we've seen on an American Vintage Fender of this age, and there's just a singular faint finish scratch in the clear coat between the neck plate and tremolo cavity cover. The gloss finish on the neck profile is flawless.A circa-1980s Fender molded hardshell case is included, along with a few pieces of factory paperwork.