Looking for a vintage guitar to match your hipster Walnut paneling? We have just the unit for you: This 1979 Fender Stratocaster was produced at the original Fender factory in Fullerton Caligfornia, U.S.A. It left the factory wearing this rich Walnut finish that has held up remarkably well for the last 47 years. The high contrast grain looks really cool under the warm Walnut hue. The rest of the guitar looks like a custom shop relic-especially the neck. The guitar is all original with the exception of a refret and some of the wiring that has been resoldered. The guitar is solid and ready to play, it needs nothing.
The body features the familiar double contoured, double cutaway shape that the Stratocaster first came with since 1954. Why mess with perfection? The walnut finish is nice and rich with a smooth aftertaste. There is playing evidence all over this guitar and the body has the typical rub wear marks, pecks and some line checking here and there. It looks nice and oozes vintage aura. The neck joint is solid and a good fitment-with original employee inspection stamps visible.
The neck itself is straight and very smooth. The truss rod and tilt-a-neck adjustments function as they should. The shape is best described as a vintage C shape. The nut measures 1 5/8" wide and the neck depth measures .879" at the 1st fret and .944" deep at the 12th fret. The original F-key tuners function smoothly. The headstock and logo look full-tilt vintage. The original lacquer clear coat has toned to a really vibrant shade of orange and just looks nicely baked. The fingerboard is very well broken in: it has lots of fingering wear that goes through the clear coat and just looks like a serious player's neck. The frets have been professionally regretted at some point-the current frets have an excellent height and look nice and crisp-see photos. The action is set low for an easy and fast playing experience. The string height measures .010" at the 1st fret and .050" at the 12th fret. The guitar plays great up and down the fingerboard.
The pickups all have an excellent signal and tone. They have the classic Fender "Bell" tone that we all love. The neck measures 5.70 ohms, the middle position measures 5.73 ohms and the bridge position measures 5.56 ohms. Very well balanced. The factory original grey bobbin pickups all have date codes stamped on the bottom ranging from 1977 to 1979. The 5-way switch functions well-as do all of the controls. The potentiometers date to the 22nd week of 1979. The pickguard is nice and flat-the tip has a crack that was repaired-see photos. The bridge and saddles are fully adjustable and in very good condition. The vibrato is smooth and functions as designed.
The guitar is a typical Stratocaster weight: 8.25 lbs. It's easy to wield and fun to play. The original Fender hard case is in great shape and it is included of course.
