Here is a remarkable vintage Fender Stratocaster that was made in November 1971 at the Fullerton California USA Fender plant. It wears its original custom-ordered “Blonde” finish and yes it looks killer. It was purchased shortly before Christmas in 1971 and has had only 1 owner. It is the last of the single-string tree strats and the first of the 3-bolt neck plates. It has the major 60’s appointments like grey bobbin stagger pole pickups, Patent Pending saddles, steel trem block, 3-way switch and deep contoured body.
The body is in great condition and was well-cared for. Incredible for a 50-year old piece. The blonde translucent finish appears nice and glossy and looks almost like a toned Olympic white-just like JIMI’s Woodstock guitar! There is mild handling evidence and a little arm runabout 2” long on the top edge. There are tiny line scratches here and there and light scratches on the backside-barely noticable-see photos. The neck joint is solid.
The neck has the old style-ink stamp on the end of the heel which identifies it as November 1971 with a standard "B" width. The neck slot has a Fender employee inspection ink stamp along with the batch number 1 from the factory. The neck itself is super smooth and straight. It has the classic vintage C profile and the neck measures 8.94" deep at the 1st fret and 9.69" deep at the 12th fret. The truss rod turns smoothly. The back of the headstock is clean. The tuners were changed to 60’s style klusons-but now the original F-keys are back in place and work smoothly. It stays in tune nicely. The front of the headstock and awesome big CBS logo both display excellent. The string height is set very low for an easy and super-fast action. It can easily be raised if so desired. It is .010” high at the 1st fret and .050” high at the 12th fret. It has the standard “B” neck width: 1 5/8” wide at the nut. The maple fingerboard is clean. It has new frets that are super clean and crisp. The refret was done professionally and you can not tell that it was done from looking at the sides of the neck-it’s that good. The best refret I’ve ever seen on a maple neck.
The pickups are the aforementioned staggered pole piece, grey bobbin units and they are all original as are the potentiometer’s which are CTS units that date to the 12th week of 1971. The pickups all function-the neck reads 5.55 ohms, the middle position reads 5.76 and the bridge reads 5.58 ohms. The original three-way switch and harness is all there, it appears that the tone cap has been replaced with a newer unit. At some point, the original owner routed the middle position pickup cavity for a humbucker pickup. Wisely-he kept all of the original parts and they were put back on the guitar as you can see. There is also some additional copper shielding that is on the backside of the pickguard-which can easily be removed. The original shielding under the controls is still intact. The pickguard is in excellent shape and nice and flat. I can not say for sure that it came from this guitar originally-but it fits perfectly and looks to be correct. The bridge is also super clean. The trem cavity cover on the backside has a small piece missing from the edge of a screw hole. Original owners manual is included. Guitar is fairly comfortable and feels great in your lap or on a strap. It weighs 9.34 pounds. The case is a 1966 Fender hard case, which the owner said the guitar came in when he purchased it new. This is a very rare color and a very desirable year Stratocaster. I can’t remember the last time I saw 71 blonde stratocaster, but I can’t remember the last time I saw unicorn. So it must be more rare than a unicorn. That’s what I’m going with. Anyway, you know what to do…
I have taken several photos to show how it looks in different lighting. Draggin’ Guitars has been collecting, buying, selling and trading as well as repairing and restoring vintage guitars amps and effects for 30+ years. Our descriptions of items are honest and forthright. In fact, we got our start in mail-order back in 1989 so you can count on our detailed descriptions. We want you to get exactly what you expect-so read thoroughly and please ask questions prior to purchase. There will be a 15% restocking fee plus the full amount of our outgoing shipping charges on any return for any reason-no exceptions. If you have any technical questions just call us on the Draggin’ Guitars hotline: 785-766-8906 Again, we welcome your call with any questions-we want your experience to be the best it can be. But don’t take my word for it-view our feedback and see for yourself.
