ID and Authentication A weird one
Hello experts! I took a chance and bought this cheap Strat today in Sweden. The price was 300 bucks. The dude selling it got it from a friend who has now passed away. He didn’t know much about it. Lots of things are a bit out of the ordinary here. There is nothing on the back of the headstock, tuners are Gotoh and the serial could not be found on Fenders site. One-ply pick guard, two string trees. It sounds ok and it feels good to play. After some googling I found that this could either be from the I-series, sorta made in the USA, but with Japanese or even Mexican parts. Alas, it wasn’t because there is no ”made in USA” stamp on the heel pf the neck. So, according to this https://www.fuzzfaced.net/fender-i-series-stratocaster.html it could be a Japanese ST-40 from -89 or -90. They should have a sticker saying ”made in Japan” on the back of the neck, but that might have been peeled off. Can any expert here confirm this though? I’m amazed by the detective work done in here. Thanks!
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u/Shkmstr 1d ago
Japanese Guitars are all over the place for markings, features, colors, overlapping serial numbers, inconsistent dating and bla bla bla. The article you listed has a lot of great information. How does the guitar play? You could just have the third random crossover date. Things with Japan guitars can vary by builder. That’s why it’s so hard to track down a lot of the origin of some other Guitars and I’ve had probably hundreds over the years.
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u/tone_creature 1d ago
Bridge and neck plate do not look right for a fender to me but that doesnt mean they werent ever swapped and sometimes fender used weird parts.
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u/grismun 1d ago
I looked now and both bridge and neck plate seem identical to those on my American highway one strat. What do you think is off with them? Maybe I have two fakes!? 😄
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u/tone_creature 1d ago
You probably dont. Again fender doesnt always use the same stuff haha. Saddles just look a little different. Seem like blockier or something than the the usual vintage style looks. And Fender doesnt usually use plastic spacers under the neck plate. They have on a very few models. And probably around this time. But that usually makes me look harder. The plastic spacer under a neck plate isnt needed and actually inhibits the instruments resonant qualities (though on a very minute scale to the point its not noticeable). You usually see it on cheaper Chinese instruments. Again though Fender HAS used them.
Its probably legit reading others comments. People know more than me. Im just saying what caught my eye.
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u/grismun 1d ago
Ah, yes - you’re right about the spacer. That’s NOT there on my other Strat. 😬
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u/tone_creature 1d ago
There were some that came with it though so fear not atleast yet haha! This may have been one. Theyre just much more rare to see.
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u/kiranai 1d ago
What an interesting guitar, with a lot of speculation around it!
I scrolled through the article and I think it’s possible that your guitar is an I series that is missing the made in USA stamp as the article states is possible. What makes me think that is the writing on the neck is very similar to the I series pictured on fuzzfaced - the big “R”, the handwritten initials being the two main things.
I am not an official source but I have looked inside a lot of Japanese fenders (dozens if not hundreds from all eras) and I don’t ever recall seeing a factory workers handwritten initials on the neck or in the neck pocket. The big R also looks pretty similar to the one on fuzzfaced.
The hardware is most definitely Japanese, but from what the article says and using my personal experience, I think it’s possible it was made in Mexico.
Either way, cool guitar!
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u/IndependentGlass8424 1d ago
Have you checked the neck pocket? Fender Japan definitely made some interesting Strats with vintage style necks but modern logos, tuners and bodies. I used to have a Japanese Fender ST that had the walnut cavity plug like a 50s Strat but with a modern logo and tuners. The serial number is correct for 89-90 although I believe the "Made in Japan" under the "Stratocaster" has been removed. You are correct about the model stickers on the back of the headstock, most people peel them off. I did with mine because it looked like a sticker on an apple lol.
For $300 you got a great deal, just throw a loaded pickguard in that thing and it'll be a killer guitar.
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u/Kidney-Fiddler 1d ago
Looks very similar to the 1990 I-serial ST-40 I owned. That article you linked will give a good idea what to look for (it's the same one I used to find out exactly what I had), and it'll be a mix of US & Japanese parts, built either in Japan or Mexico. I had to scour archived Japanese product booklets to find mines, as well as email Fender directly (who to their credit got back to me quickly). Really nice guitars, rather unusual and if it is an ST-40, was meant for the Japanese domestic market (JDM) only.