"Blackie's Cousin"

Totally original, fantastic lightweight Stratocaster weighing only 7.60 lbs. Three staggered-pole pickups. Solid alder body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Fender "Synchromatic" tremolo tailpiece. Original hardshell case. This fine and original December 1963 Stratocaster has a neck date of 2 DEC 63B. The pots are all stamped 304 6403 (third week of January 1964). With the notable exception of a few months after Spring 1959 and the 1973-1981 period, Stratocaster necks were quite consistently dated at the heel from 1954 onwards. This date is revealed when the neck is removed or at least loosened from the body, so that it's bottom end can be examined. After April 1959, the dating procedure was temporarily suspended for several months and then resumed in 1960. Rumour has it that Fender stopped marking any date because someone complained about an obscene message penciled on the neck of his new guitar!! This explains why the latest maple neck Stratocasters from the 1950s and the earliest models with a "slab" rosewood fretboard do not feature a neck date, although they usually carry a body date. (A.M. Duchossoir, The Fender Stratocaster).