banner

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Vintage Strat Advice.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Vintage Strat Advice.

    Hi all I’ve recently been made an offer to buy a late 1979/1980 Fender USA Stratocaster.
    The guy who is selling it is my tutor at University and is the Original owner.
    He bought it brand new in 1982 when he was 18 years old it’s been all across Europe with him as well as being played in various bands and used in the studio.
    It’s pretty light for this era about 8.5lbs.
    It’s pretty original, the pickup covers and knobs have been changed to white plastics but he still has the original black parts, he’s tweaked the wiring so you can get the Bridge and Neck pickup together and he’s put schaller locks on it but has the originals still.
    Has a soft V shape neck, original frets which are very low due to multiple level recrowns but it plays amazing.
    Very resonant.
    It’s pretty beat up with finish cracks around the neck pocket and some chips in the finish.
    He wants £1900-2000 which is about $2500 USD.
    Haven’t had the chance to plug it in yet but I’m feeling good about this guitar and I love the history of it.





    Any comments, insight or questions would be greatly appreciate.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Guitars:
    Daemoness Atlantean (unknown Bareknuckles) D
    PRS SE Mark Holcomb (Alpha/Omega set) Drop C
    ESP LTD EC-1000 FR (EMG Het Set) D
    Jackson USA WR1 Absinthe Frost (EMG 81/85) D
    Ibanez MMM1 (Blackouts) Drop A
    Ibanez RGIT20FE-SBF (Loomis Blackout Neck/Mick Thomson Blackout Bridge) Drop C
    Ibanez SZ320 (ibanez/duncan pickups) Drop D
    Schecter Synyster Gates Custom (Invaders set) D
    Aristides 060 (Bareknuckle Aristides Customs) D

  • #2
    Hmm, I don't know. I don't think late 70s Strats, in any condition are worth that much. That kind of money can buy one hell of a modern Strat from many different boutique companies, and I don't think a 70s Strat is a better guitar.
    Administrator of the SDUGF

    Comment


    • #3
      I agree with Mincer
      that is a lot for an old guitar with what looks like huge cracks at the neck pocket

      EHD
      Just here surfing Guitar Pron
      RG2EX1 w/ SD hot-rodded pickups / RG4EXFM1 w/ Carvin S22j/b + FVN middle
      SR500 / Martin 000CE-1/Epiphone Hummingbird
      Epiphone Florentine with OEM Probuckers
      Ehdwuld branded Blue semi hollow custom with JB/Jazz
      Reptile Green Gibson Custom Studio / Aqua Dean Shire semi hollow with piezo
      Carvin Belair / Laney GC80A Acoustic Amp (a gift from Guitar Player Mag)
      GNX3000 (yea I'm a modeler)

      Comment


      • #4
        those finish cracks are pretty common for that era. i have no idea what they go for these days but that seems a little steep. look around and see what they are actually selling for

        Comment


        • #5
          Nice strat. I'd play it. $2k sounds like a lot for what it is. If you like it and it's worth it to you, then it's worth it.

          Funny it's called 'vintage' now. They were just the new model when I was starting out. In 1979 I thought they were weak sounding and limited in what music I could get out of them. The 3 bolt was considered not as good as the 4 bolt for stability/resonance, though I thought the built-in tilt/shim was a cool, useful feature.

          Comment


          • #6
            No

            No frets, DEEP and expanding pocket cracks on both sides, 70s spec > sub $1k

            If it weren't fairly pretty looking, I'd be saying offer $400
            "New stuff always sucks" -Me

            Comment


            • #7
              I agree with what everyone else has said. But there is this one little "fly in the ointment."

              Originally posted by 6stringerguy View Post
              Haven't had the chance to plug it in yet but I'm feeling good about this guitar and I love the history of it.
              It's your money. If you love it . . . get it. But it won't be an investment. It will be your guitar.

              Comment


              • #8
                You really need to go look at Reverb for value on these. He's charging a premium for sentimental value on this.

                However, I definitely agree with Artie about buying it if you love it.

                “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

                Comment


                • #9
                  A custom built relic just like it
                  would cost about the same

                  EHD
                  Just here surfing Guitar Pron
                  RG2EX1 w/ SD hot-rodded pickups / RG4EXFM1 w/ Carvin S22j/b + FVN middle
                  SR500 / Martin 000CE-1/Epiphone Hummingbird
                  Epiphone Florentine with OEM Probuckers
                  Ehdwuld branded Blue semi hollow custom with JB/Jazz
                  Reptile Green Gibson Custom Studio / Aqua Dean Shire semi hollow with piezo
                  Carvin Belair / Laney GC80A Acoustic Amp (a gift from Guitar Player Mag)
                  GNX3000 (yea I'm a modeler)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I think you could build a better Strat from parts for a lot less money. It might not say Fender on the peghead but you could use Duncan Antiquity pickups, a Calaham bridge/vibrato or Fender Custom Shop model, a neck shaped the way you want with the fret size you want, a lightweight ash body...on and on.

                    There's nothing special about a 79 or 80 Strat. Unless that's one of those rare 1 out of 100 that IS special.
                    “Practice cures most tone issues” - John Suhr

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Lewguitar View Post
                      .There's nothing special about a 79 or 80 Strat. Unless that's one of those rare 1 out of 100 that IS special.
                      When I was 16 or 17 (25 years ago), I had the opportunity to buy a '73 for $150. I'd been playing long enough to know when I liked a guitar, but not to know why I didn't like one. I hated that Strat, and my dad bought it. A few months ago, I inherited it, and let my brother take it to hang on the wall at his house.
                      “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by JB_From_Hell View Post

                        When I was 16 or 17 (25 years ago), I had the opportunity to buy a '73 for $150. I'd been playing long enough to know when I liked a guitar, but not to know why I didn't like one. I hated that Strat, and my dad bought it. A few months ago, I inherited it, and let my brother take it to hang on the wall at his house.
                        Well you know, those are the guitars that created the vintage market. Because most of them were dogs and people started searching for the older ones.

                        But there are a few I've played from that era that seem to have acquired some mojo over time. Maybe they were the 1 out of 100 that were always special.
                        “Practice cures most tone issues” - John Suhr

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Looks awful

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            It's worth half that, at best. Unless you are talking about the early vintage reissues, the late '70s to early '80s is about the least popular period for Fenders in terms of collectibility/desirability/value. It'd be one thing if it was like new and never modded...but it isn't. It's a beater copy of a guitar that isn't sought after, and likely never will be. It's a $1,000 guitar on the market IMO...and even that is too high to pay for it IMO, even as a user, because you need to immediately put $250 to $350 into a fret job, which will make it playable...but only devalue it more. So you buy a $1,000 guitar...immediately turn it into a $1,300 guitar...which is now worth only $800 or $900. You're already behind $400 to $500 on a guitar that might not even keep up with inflation in the next 20 or 30 years.
                            Last edited by ItsaBass; 10-08-2020, 07:45 PM.
                            Originally posted by LesStrat
                            Yogi Berra was correct.
                            Originally posted by JOLLY
                            I do a few chord things, some crappy lead stuff, and then some rhythm stuff.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              The dude selling it shoots for making fat profit after 40 years of abuse and misuse of a crap CBS-era Strat with notoriously unstable neck joint. He probably got it for less than he's asking for.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X