'99 Stratocaster pickup query

[NickS]

Do these look right for a '99 USA Stratocaster?

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s-l1600.jpg (323.92 KiB) Viewed 2048 times

[Nick]

I’m not an expert but pretty sure only MIM standard and lower were using bar magnets on single coils. Doesn’t look right to me on a 99.

Edit: way back machine confirmed a USA standard strat back then would have “delta tone” system pickups, which were just Alnico 5’s

[Nick]

The controls also look sus.

[NickD]

As Nick says, the controls don’t look right too. TBH it looks like someone’s transferred the electrics from an import/copy.

[Nick]

How many Nicks does it take to spot a fake loaded pickguard?

[NickS]

I also think the last figure of the date looks dodgy.

[NickS]

Looks like it's disappeared from eBay.

[NickS]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145371276636
Best offer accepted at 20:30 BST. I hope the buyer knew what they were getting.

[MattK]

yeah that is some no-name off-brand bullshit there! The nerve.

[Nick]

Bridge is also clearly not Fender. Yikes.

Neck looks legit at least?

[MattK]

The hole routed in the body under the pickguard indicates Mexican made. Neck looks legit if the decal is real, but there is something odd about the gold in the logo that makes me wonder.

[paul_]

Might be an American Traditional neck with an MIM or Squier body, but it does have the US-specific microtilt route in the neck pocket. With prices these days it might not actually be that much of a rip-off.

[Dillon]

Not that it matters too much now that it's sold, but if you believe the site below (which personally I am inclined to do based on various other forum posts I found), this guitar is a bit of an oddball that was only sold for a couple years. Pieced together from MIM and "Eastern" parts...assuming Korean as I don't think Squier had quite yet moved to other countries. Only called "American" because it was assembled in the US, for export only. That's why it doesn't show up in US catalogs of the time.

http://www.fuzzfaced.net/american-trad ... aster.html

[MattK]

Wow. That must be rock bottom for USA Strats. Fascinating how bad the late 90s were for Fender.

[dots]

Wow. That must be rock bottom for USA Strats. Fascinating how bad the late 90s were for Fender.

mostly agree with this. the story of imported hardware getting assembled in the US checks out with my experience as the black, mid 90s mexican strat i have (maple neck) looks very similar. the pickguard has aged the same, and the logo/decal styling on the headstock line up as well. the paint job in the gut shots also looks a lot like mine.

a couple of things (before dillon's link) lead me to believe i shouldn't judge the strat buy its pickup covers either. the wiring/soldering work is pristine, like factory clean despite the guitar itself being anything but. judging by the beer stains on the underside of the guard, someone would had to have changed out the electronics early on in the guitar's life, and likely by swapping the entire wiring harness. i can't compare the electronics with mine since i did swap them (also early in its life) with EMG pickups, pots, and switching; the original parts are long gone.

the wear is what tells me regardless of its lineage and the choices made in hardware, someone(s) played the hell out of this thing for a while. it's also been abused which makes me think it ended up in a younger player's hands at some point who needed to be punk rock and go a bit crazy on it. despite all that (or any other stories i can pull from my ass), i bet it actually sounds pretty good.

[sunshiner]

Not really connected to this, but there was a batch of made in Korea Fender Strats at some time. I remember some Fender owners having a conniption because of it, after having spent a small fortune on a Fender there were Korean Fenders circling around. But those had a Made in Korea inscription on the headstock

[NickS]

Not that it matters too much now that it's sold, but if you believe the site below (which personally I am inclined to do based on various other forum posts I found), this guitar is a bit of an oddball that was only sold for a couple years. Pieced together from MIM and "Eastern" parts...assuming Korean as I don't think Squier had quite yet moved to other countries. Only called "American" because it was assembled in the US, for export only. That's why it doesn't show up in US catalogs of the time.

http://www.fuzzfaced.net/american-tradi ... aster.html

Fascinating trawling through the murky dealings and sharp practice of Fender in that era.