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1975 Fender Stratocaster - EX, Tuxedo < 8 lbs, Up-and-Comer! - $4,700 (Denver)
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Over 50 years old!
This might be one of the nicest looking and playing 50-year-old Strats you will find.... except for another '75 I own that has ZERO finish checking (extremely rare on these poly-coats) and sports a rare original Birdseye maple flame neck. Wanting to sell one of my two '75's, both have their strengths, but I am asking a premium for the flame-neck and EX+ condition since it is a rare bird (Fender rarely did flame necks in the 70's).
As for this gem, I am its long-time owner and it has been lovingly cared for, while it has been and fully "broken in". It is the perfect combination of "collector quality" and also a "player". It plays slinky and sounds fantastic, with lots of resonance acoustically (you can hear it when playing single notes). The only alteration was a 5-way CRL switch installed in the late 70's for extra tonal variations and some copper shielding added inside to eliminate hum while playing gigs with rheostats (dimmers) and poor grounding.
This CBS era, Fullerton Strat is in extremely clean 9/10 condition, this has slight relic’ing and a great vibe. It also plays like a dream with super slinky strings and recent setup (setup receipt is in case). Perhaps the most iconic color scheme for a Strat (and actually a bit rarer color than others), it is a Classic "tuxedo" and dressed to kill-- black w/ maple neck and desirable aged white plastic. More Clapton than Gilmour. The pickguard and matching backplate have gained an awesome “yellowed” patina. The only real "flaw", if you can call it that is there is some crazing in the body finish to add some character, common on these polyester/nitro finishes. Again, the only minor mods include thin copper shielding added in cavity, which can be removed and a late-70's CRL 5-way switch (swapped for the 3-way right after the 5-way came out in ’77, because it was a nice feature and change for added tone variations). The pots are stock CTS, dated 1975 #1377517. Guitar has original pickups: flat pole, grey bottoms with “xxx75” stamps. You also will find original tremolo and arm (nothing is stripped!), string trees, nut, "F" chrome tuners that are pristine, jack, strap pins and 3-spoke knobs with most their lettering and their own unique patina. As for dating the guitar, besides using the pots, the neck is stamped 0903 0954 (week 9, 1975, day 4) and is also in EX original condition-- there is some minor wear on the first 2 frets from someone who spent quite a bit of time playing 1st position "D" and "G" chords! The frets themselves are still in good shape, probably 80%. As a bonus, this particular guitar weighs less than 8 lbs (7.8 lbs, on my digital scale), which is a desirable medium weight and not that common during this era of heavier guitars. There is a very clean OHSC. No ashtray cover (is there ever?). Lastly, I've checked the finish and plastic with a black light and it all luminesces as you'd expect, with no "hidden" surprises (touch-ups, cracks, etc).
This guitar was just setup recently and fully checked out. It totally rocks, chimes and is a great up-and-comer for both a player and a collector.
I want to emphasize, after looking at the marketplace, that this guitar has NONE of the common "caveats" you often see on these:
* No heavy wear on the maple fingerboard and neck or on the lower bout
* No touch-ups, re-sprays or over-sprays on neck or body
* No cig. burns
* No replacement case
* No electronics, pickups or pot replacements (except the 5-way)
* No arm wear on the lower bout
* No stripped tremolo
* No "missing" neck stamp
If you check prices currently (January 2026) on Reverb and online, you will see lesser guitars for more than I am asking. I just noted prices of $5486, $4600, $5750, $5880, $3879, $3400, $4450 and $4995. Several of these are not in the USA, most are heavier, and in much worse condition with replacement parts. The most comparable one (in Japan) is listed for $5880.
*****