An Exceptionally Fine Pre CBS 'L Series' Custom-Color Stratocaster

1964 Fender Stratocaster

This late 1964, pre-CBS 'L Series' custom-color Stratocaster weighs just 7.50 lbs. Solid alder body, contoured on back and lower bass bout. One-piece medium-profile maple neck with a nice, fat nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches, a scale length of 25 1/2 inches and a wonderful medium profile. Brazilian rosewood fretboard with 21 original medium-thin frets and pearloid dot position markers. Small headstock with 'Transition' logo with "Fender" in gold with black outline with two patent numbers "2,741,146" & "3,143,028" and one design number "169,062".  Single "butterfly" string tree with large nylon spacer. Individual double-line Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons and "D-169400/Patent No." stamped on the underside. The end of the neck is stamped "02 NOV 64B." Four-bolt neck plate with serial number "L60046" engraved between the top two screws. Three gray-bottom white plastic-covered single-coil pickups with staggered pole-pieces and outputs of 6.14k, 6.18k, and 6.22k, two with "CA 1-15-65" and one with "RR 1-16-65" written in pencil on the underside. Three-layer "minty" white over black plastic pickguard with eleven screws. Three controls (one volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch, all on pickguard. Two of the potentiometers are stamped "137 6510" and the third is stamped "304 6450" (CTS, January 1965 and Stackpole December 1964). White plastic knobs with green lettering. Jack socket in body face. Fender "Synchronized Tremolo" combined bridge/tailpiece. The Candy Apple Red finish is bright and vivid (the earlier version over silver) and shows none of the usual fade associated with this color. The original frets and fretboard show very little signs of wear. When we acquired the guitar the electrics were not working properly so we sent it to our master luthier, Scott Lentz who has expertly re-soldered the original pickups and potentiometers. There is a miniscule amount of 'belt-buckle' rash on the back (nothing through the finish) and a few small surface chips on the body edges (three of which have been 'touched-up' with matching color), otherwise this forty-nine year old custom-color Stratocaster is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition. Complete with the original tremolo arm, bridge cover, black leather guitar strap and original  eight-page Fender Fine Electric Instruments 1964/1965 catalog. Housed in the original Fender three-latch rectangular cream hardshell case with black leather ends and dark orange plush lining (9.00).

Candy Apple Red, introduced in 1963, "could be described as Fender's only true Custom Color as it was an original Fender 'mix' and not -- like most of the others -- a colour adopted from an existing automobile paint shade" (Tony Bacon and Paul Day, The Fender Book, p. 34). The undercoat on the body of this guitar is the earlier silver version, which gives a much brighter red color.