What Year Is It? Fender Strat

[rockinangus]

I just got a brand new Fender Strat HSS QMM American Deluxe. How do you tell what year it is? I know you can tell from the serial number but I don't know exactly how. It plays and sounds like a dream. I just bought it last night and it is brand new got the tags and everything with it, custom case and all the accesories that come with an American deluxe. It says that it is a 50th anniversary on the back.
Thanks in advance guys.

 

[jeremy]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

then its 10 years old. the serial should start with N6 yes no?
starting in the late 70's the first digit is decade
S= seventys
E= eightys
N= ninetys
Z= 200X

the 2nd digit is the year
S9= '79
E4= '84
Z5= '05

only works for american guitars

 

[rockinangus]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

The serial # starts with DZ.

 

[Voxman]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

then its 10 years old. the serial should start with N6 yes no?
starting in the late 70's the first digit is decade
S= seventys
E= eightys
N= ninetys
Z= 200X

the 2nd digit is the year
S9= '79
E4= '84
Z5= '05

only works for american guitars

Jeremy,thats allmost correct. The second digit on many E series doesnt tell the what year it`s from. example: E4+5 digits = 1987
E8 or E9+5 digits = 1989-90
There is more

 

[jeremy]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

the d is for deluxe

 

[Voxman]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

The serial # starts with DZ.

the d stands for deluxe.

 

[rockinangus]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

So if it's DZ5 then it's a 2005? Why does it say 50th anniversary on the back of the guitar I wonder?

 

[ErikH]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

http://www.fender.com/support/dating/fender_us_dating.php

It says 50th because that model was actually made in 2004 when it was the 50th Anniversary of the Stratocaster. All American made Strats that year had some sort of anniversary thing on them, be it a badge on the headstock and/or engraving on the neck plate.

The store can sell it brand new because it was never bought by anyone else yet so it's not used.

The first number in the serial number crosses years and always has pretty much.

 

[rockinangus]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

Erik, Thanks a lot for the heads up. Much Appreciated. The guitar has a plate on the back of the head stock that says 50th anniversary. The guitar really plays great and sounds really nice with the noiseless pickups in it. I was playing that and my Les Paul the other night comparing them. The Fender is very crisp and clean and the Paul is a little dirtier or raunchier. Love them both but they are different.

 

[ErikH]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

You have a nice guitar there. Keep it forever. Those Deluxes are really really nice. I've got a '94 American Standard Strat with the 40th anniversary badge on the front of the headstock and it's one of my best guitars.

 

[Robbiedbee]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

Pics???

 

[rockinangus]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

Erik, My bad! The Strat is a 2004. It says right on the back 50th anniversary 1954-2004. I belive the HSS stands for Humbucker with 2 single pickups. QMM must be Quilted Maple something? Yeah I found this guitar at a music store it was brand new and the guy said he would deal on it because he had it for a while. It has the wider neck which I like because I have long skinny fingers and I can really shred with this guitar. It is amazingly clean and crisp sounding and I really like the noiseless pick ups in it. I think I have learned a lesson not to buy offshore guitars any more. Stick with American made that cost more money but they already have all the bells and whistles on them and the quality seems better. I had a 99 MIM Fender Strat and besides the buzzing pickups in it I could never make it play like this guitar. There is no comparison. I also have a 94 Gibson Les Paul Studio guitar and that plays and sounds great also and it is stock. I have a Jackson RR3 guitar that is made in Korea I think and it's not bad but it could use a set of SH6 Distortion Pickups. I wanted it for the Floyd Rose Bridge for shredding but I wish it was an American one now.
This Fender Strat will produce so many different sounds it is unbelievable.
Sounds good through my TSL100 Marshall and 1960AV cabinet.
I love this guitar!

The Serial number was DZ4. Thanks again for the info!

 

[ErikH]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

A good Strat will go a long long way. I'm surprised the shop still had one like that that was never purchased. Glad you're liking it.

I love HSS Strats, and HH Strats. That's why I have 2 pickguards to swap back and forth with. The stock SSS guard has a Little '59 in the bridge. I'd like another SSS one at some point and load it with a Texas Specials set.

Those early 90's Gibby's are sweet. I had a black Studio that I still miss sometimes. It weighed a lot but the tone was incredible.

 

[rockinangus]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

Yeah this Strat is a Tobacco Sunburst color but it has no pick guard on it. It shows the wood grain and it has like a black line that runs around the outer part of the body a sweet color. I love the SL switching on it to.
The Gibson is heavy but I don't notice the extra weight at all when I'm playing it but it sounds awesome it is that wine color. I'm lucky because my Dad is into my playing and he loves buying all this cool equipment for me. With a good guitar I find you don't really need a ton of effets pedals like I had with the cheaper guitars I had. Plus The TSL100 has the power to get the different sounds you want with the clean,lead and crunch channels. The Fender still sounds really crisp even on the crunch channel.

 

[ErikH]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

Yup, you're finding the kiss theory is working better for you, and at your age, that's a good thing. Not many 15 year olds go with the "less on the floor" approach. That's cool that you are.

When I was using my Marshall head all I'd run out front was an overdrive or a booster and maybe a wah, then a delay in the effects loop, and that was it. Now with my Valvetronix combo, I run an overdrive out front and that's it. I don't really need the OD there but it gives me some extra sounds on some of the low gain models. Just a little more diversity there but I could get away without it if I had to.

There's not a better feeling than having solid sounding/feeling guitars that sound great plugged right in or with just one or two pedals.

That's really cool that your dad is in to it. You're benefiting from that.

 

[rockinangus]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

I started playing when I was 12 and all I used was Distortion everything. I had distortion pedals and played my old AVT150H Marshall amp on full distortion and I liked that sound at first. My dad always said I used to much distortion but I still liked it. Now after playing awhile and listening to different things I started to dislike the distortion, to fuzzy sounding. Now with the Fender and my Gibby and big Marshall I like the cleaner sound better. I have a cry baby wah and a Bluesbreaker pedal that adds just a bit of raunch and that's about it. I make the guitar sing instead of trying to make up sounds through effects pedals now. I am into all the older classic rock and the newer bands that have similar sounds which my Dad likes as well. My dad loves Hendrix, Stevie Ray, Randy Rhoads, guys like that. I think the guitar players from that era were the best.

 

[ErikH]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

Very cool. I started when I was 15 and went through that "all distortion" phase as well. I still play with too much gain sometimes but trying to work on that. Not the insane levels of today, but more like Maiden, newer Priest, Wylde. I'll still play with that much for the heck of it sometimes but I'm trying to back off the gain knob some. I am using less that I was 10 years ago that's for sure.

I like all those guys you mentioned. Add Ace Frehley, EVH and Sambora to the mix and you pretty much have my main influences.

 

[rockinangus]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

I'm into EVH myself. Sambora is great as well. I've listened to some Kiss but I also love Angus Young. How about Ingwie Malmsteen? He's crazy! Ritchie Blackmore is good, Tony Iommi, Clapton there are so many good ones.

 

[ErikH]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

I'm not a big Ynqwie fan myself. He's got chops, that's for sure, but his weedly weedly wee doesn't do it for me. The only "shredder" that plays similarly that I can actually listen to, and enjoy, is Paul Gilbert. He can do all those arpeggious and string skipping and all that stuff, but he does it in such a way that it come across tasteful. Plus, he's a freakin' clown..LOL. Iommi = king of the metal riffage. Can't forget him. You've got some good musical taste and some good influences. I never thought I'd see a 15 year old in to the same music I grew up with. Yes, it's strange...LOL....but it's cool. My 3-year-old loves Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bon Jovi.

 

[rockinangus]

Re: What Year Is It? Fender Strat

I forgot about Lynard Skynard. I play in 2 bands. 1 band with kids all my age and I just started playing in a band with some 50 year old guys. In that band we play Sweet Home Alabama. It took me like 2 days to get that down and I still am working on it. That band we play a lot of oldies Doors, Hendrix, CCR, Skynard, Beatles, stuff like that. My band we play some, Lit, Green Day, Three doors Down, as well as some classics like 867-5309, Purple Haze, Johnny Be Good. and some originals that My singer and I wrote. I love playing with the older guys because they are serious and down to bisiness. I've only practiced with them 3 times and I've probably learned 30 songs. My guys, we play a few songs and they want to play video games. I want to learn songs that's what it's all about.