A Refinished Olympic White 1969 "Maple-Cap Hendrix" Strat

This "Hendrix" Stratocaster was made in June 1969. The serial number (between the top two screws on the four-bolt neckplate) is "271693" and the neck is dated "22 JUN 69B." It weighs 8.00 lbs. and has a nut width of 1 5/8 inches and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. Solid alder body, contoured on back and lower bass bout, and one-piece maple-cap neck with 21 frets and black dot position markers. Large headstock with decal with Fender logo in black with gold trim, "Stratocaster" in black beside it, "With Synchronized Tremolo" in black beneath it, and two patent numbers in black below that: "PAT. 2,741,146 3,143,028." "Original Contour Body Patented" on the ball end of the headstock. Fender "F" closed-back tuners with octagonal metal buttons. Three single-coil pickups with staggered polepieces and outputs of 5.48k, 5.68k, and 5.32k, respectively. Each of these "gray bottom" pickups is stamped in black on the underside "9529." Four-layer tortoiseshell over black/white/black plastic pickguard with eleven screws. Three controls (one volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch, all on the treble side of the pickguard. White plastic Stratocaster knobs. Fender "Synchronized Tremolo" combined bridge/tailpiece. The potentiometers are stamped: "137 6934" (CTS August 1969) and the three-way switch is stamped: "CRL 1452." There are a few minor dings and minimal wear to the back of the neck of the guitar. This guitar is in excellent plus (8.75) condition and is an exceptional player. Housed in its original Fender black hardshell case with orange plush lining (8.75).

This guitar has been expertly refinished and also the maple-cap neck has been re-capped. At one time there was an extra string tree (between the D and the G string), but this has now been removed. Also, the tuners were at one time changed as is evidenced only by one tiny hole on the back of the headstock just below the bottom E tuner. All of the parts on this wonderful sounding "Jimi" guitar are original and it is priced accordingly…AT ABOUT 25% OF WHAT A TOTALLY UNTOUCHED EXAMPLE WOULD BE!

"The Stratocaster was launched during 1954 [and was priced at $249.50, or $229.50 without vibrato]...The new Fender guitar was the first solidbody electric with three pickups [Gibson's electric-acoustic ES-5, introduced five years earlier, had been the overall first], meaning a range of fresh tones, and featured a new-design vibrato unit that provided pitch-bending and shimmering chordal effects. The new vibrato -- erroneously called a 'tremolo' by Fender and many others since -- was troublesome in development. But the result was the first self-contained vibrato unit: an adjustable bridge, a tailpiece, and a vibrato system, all in one. It wasn't a simple mechanism for the time, but a reasonably effective one...Fender's new vibrato had six bridge-pieces, one for each string, adjustable for height and length, which meant that the feel of the strings could be personalized and the guitar made more in tune with itself...The Strat came with a radically sleek, solid body, based on the outline of the 1951 Fender Precision Bass. Some musicians had complained to Fender that the sharp edge of the Telecaster's body was uncomfortable...so the Strat's body was contoured for the player's comfort. Also, it was finished in a yellow-to-black sunburst finish. Even the jack socket mounting was new, recessed in a stylish plate on the body face...the Fender Stratocaster looked like no other guitar around especially the flowing, sensual curves of that beautifully proportioned, timeless body. The Stratocaster's new-style pickguard complemented the lines perfectly, and the overall impression was of a guitar where all the components ideally suited one another. The Fender Stratocaster has since become the most popular, the most copied, the most desired, and very probably the most played solid electric guitar ever" (Tony Bacon, 50 Years of Fender, p. 18).