70s Strats

Si_

Does anyone have any experience of late 70s strats? Looking at buying a '78 strat which is selling for a reasonable price.

guitars4you

What do you need to know 
what is  a reasonable price
is it all original
any info on case
trem or hard tail
colour
any pics

thermionic

You forgot weight...

Si_

It's a 78, black with maple neck, all original apart from a refret (but he kept the original frets), none original case. 

I have a few pictures, will post them here once I get some more. 

Not sure of the weight, but it's a good question to ask him

I'm really just interested to know what there like? Are they good VFM? It's difficult to compare prices given it's in Australia, but it's selling for 2500aud which is about 700aud cheaper than a custom shop I'm also looking at. 

bbill335

Try and find a Tokai silver star instead. Or, for the price of a 78/79 strat, three.

ICBM

Si_ said:

but he kept the original frets

lol… that really is taking "keeping original parts" to a new level of stupidity. I always used to say "why keep knackered pots and switches - you wouldn't keep old frets, would you?" Clearly I underestimated the idiocy of the vintage market.

Although a '78 Strat is not "vintage", it's just old. These are the very guitars that really got the vintage market properly going, because they were all so poor. You *can* occasionally find a fairly nice one, if you look long and hard… supposedly. I don't think I ever have.

Si_

I don't like the sound of that..

He's since told me its "quite heavy", so I might skip it anyway. 

mark123

Leave/ heavy, crap pick ups ,1 inch of yatcht varnish finish,get a 70s mex reissue better playability and sounds and save £££££

Si_

I've got a nice strat already, just had a bit of cash so wanted something "special" 

sweepy

I can't remember ever playing a late 70's Strat that could be described as light, they usually were as heavy as a les paul and had all the charm of a slop bucket

Si_

I've discounted the '78, but I've now found a nice '72.

It's not all original, but I can get it for 3000aud.

https://reverb.com/au/item/2794821-fender-american-stratocaster-1972-sunburst

What are peoples thoughts on this?

koneguitarist

If you can get 2 Aussie dollars to pound, it's not too bad

SNAKEBITE

I have always hankered after a '71 as it was the year I was born.

ICBM

Most early-70s Fenders, especially up to '72, are pretty nice. Obviously they do vary just like any guitars, but the ratio of good to bad is far higher than it became only a few years later.

They're starting to fetch - or at least be advertised at - quite high prices now, and anything around £1.5K for a mostly-original, decent-condition one is probably starting to look fairly cheap.

Si_

It works out about £1800 But you can't really compare prices as things are a lot dearer here.  

I know it's not a collectors guitar, but how much does the tuner replacement impact the value, plus the other Mods. 

guitars4you

That 72 should be a far better option - should have the grey bobbin pick-ups on it as per the late 60's model, as used by Hendrix etc - If original then sounds a good deal - overall and on paper, you'd expect it to be a better option than the late 70's Strat

chromatuna

A quick shout in defence of 70s Strats - well good ones anyway. I have had mine since 1980 when I bought it SH for about £180. It's still my 'home' guitar and has had more use than anything else I have owned. Various folks have commented favourably. Yes it is quite heavy but very resonant and with a very fast neck. I wouldn't ever pay a lot for one as a 'vintage' instrument but I think discouting them all as dogs is an error. Mine has a rosewood board, vibrato, Wizard pickups and I stripped the off-white back to natural 30 odd years ago on a whim which I *think* opened up the sound some. So don't go bad mouthing my old lady, man ;-)

guitars4you

ICBM said:

Si_ said:

but he kept the original frets

lol… that really is taking "keeping original parts" to a new level of stupidity. I always used to say "why keep knackered pots and switches - you wouldn't keep old frets, would you?" Clearly I underestimated the idiocy of the vintage market.

why not keep the original strings whilst you are at it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - You can't imagine his thought plans regarding keeping those frets can you

ICBM

chromatuna said:

I stripped the off-white back to natural 30 odd years ago on a whim which I *think* opened up the sound some.

That might be why! It's not the original pickups that are crap and shrill on these, or at least not the main problem, I think the ridiculously thick, hard finish is a major factor.

I had a '77 or '78 once which I acquired cheaply in a very poor state, so I decided to strip the finish off - everything apart from the headstock face - when it was done I thought I would also re-contour the body to more like a 60s one, lined the neck pocket with veneer to make it a good fit, and redid the whole thing in a simple oil finish… well it was the early 90s, this was fashionable! All that took about a pound off the weight too - we didn't weigh guitars back then, but at a guess it went from about 9.5-10lb to around 8.5.

I kept the original pickups, although I replaced the bridge block - the old one had a broken arm stump more or less cold-welded into it, which was too difficult to get out - with a steel one. From memory it had Schaller minis already fitted.

After all this it was a really nice, resonant and full-sounding guitar, and I sold it for a good profit in those days - I think I got £500 for it. Of course in modern terms I had roughly halved its 'value'…

guitars4you said:

why not keep the original strings whilst you are at it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - You can't imagine his thought plans regarding keeping those frets can you

It's the same with amp parts - I recently had someone ask me to keep the knackered resistors I'd taken out. I'd already binned them. I can *just about* understand it with guitar pots and amp electrolytic caps, which have date codes that are sometimes not present anywhere else, so you need to keep them to 'prove the date' (although once they've been removed, they could belong to any other one, so it doesn't really…) but anything else is just worn-out scrap and belongs in the bin.

Sassafras

Ah, but those old frets could be carbon dated to prove they were removed from a highly valuable and collectable '78 guitar of some description.

NPP

Over the years, I did much the same to my late-70s Strat as @ICBM, and just as @chromatuna I find it is actually a good instrument (now that the finish is off, and the pickups and tremolo unit have been replaced). It feels more solid and much nicer to play than affordable modern instruments (that is, the rather limited number of them I got to play, given that I'm a lefty). Or maybe it's just that is is well worn in and I'm used to it, having had it as my main guitar for over 30 years now. 

Would I buy one now for the prices asked for them? I don't think so.