Original series, American Vintage, 1962 Stratocaster

Mercedes300

I'm selling my Fender vintage reissue Strat. This is the 1st reissue Fender did in the USA. they only made them between 1982 -1984, and all the electronics were made in a special run in 1982, so the pickups, and potentiometers are all dated 1982. although this guitar was built in 1984. It is a 1962 reissue, (they also built a 1950's reissue, which had a maple neck & fingerboard) so has the slab, rosewood neck, and is in the triple colour sunburst (which is correct for a 60's model). These guitars came into production as a result of the new management team, at Fender USA, headed up by Dan Smith, receiving the first examples of the JV guitars from Fender, Japan, for approval.  They were blown away by the quality of the JV guitars, and Dan Smith vowed that Fender USA would soon build guitars to the same standards that made them famous in the 50's & 60's. The first result of this quest was the 1982 'Dan Smith' Stratocaster, and the American Vintage series followed soon after. The guitar is in excellent condition, with no dings, scratches, or chips. The frets show minimal wear, and all the electrics function correctly.It even has he small chrome cover (ashtray!) over the bridge saddles! It's in the tweed case.
I'm looking for £2,000 for this guitar. I'm happy to send photographs to any potential buyer. I'm located in the midlands, near Stafford. I have a very economical car, so i might even be able to deliver personally within a reasonable distance - say 50 miles from Stafford. 
Many of the USA dealers refer to this model as the Fullerton vintage reissue, as they were built in the original, Fullerton factory in California - the only reissue ever to be built there. Later models were built at the new Corona plant. A USA vintage guitar dealer currently has one listed at over £4,000 !!

Mercedes300

bertie

@Mercedes300 ;   you might want to "edit" and stick it over in the "classifieds"  section   

Mercedes300

Thanks Bertie.
   Now moved.

Mercedes300

WITHDRAWN Due to the fact that an American specialist in these Fullerton vintage reissues, has advised me that it's worth twice what I am asking.

RickLucas

I have a Fullerton reissue. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have replaced its neck and body!

Dan_Halen

RickLucas said:

I have a Fullerton reissue. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have replaced its neck and body!

You replaced the neck and the body? I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it might not count as an original any more... 

RickLucas

Dan_Halen said:

RickLucas said:

I have a Fullerton reissue. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have replaced its neck and body!

You replaced the neck and the body? I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it might not count as an original any more... 

Yes, at different times. The original neck was twisted, so was replaced with a Warmoth neck. I sold the body later because I felt that the guitar didn't really ring. I know where that body is though, so could potentially buy it back. Like you say, it still would not be original though.

pluckbuddy

RickLucas said:

I have a Fullerton reissue. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have replaced its neck and body!

That's like Trigger's broom that has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles

RickLucas

pluckbuddy said:

RickLucas said:

I have a Fullerton reissue. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have replaced its neck and body!

That's like Trigger's broom that has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles

Correct!

Delaware_123

Mercedes300 said: 

WITHDRAWN Due to the fact that an American specialist in these Fullerton vintage reissues, has advised me that it's worth twice what I am asking.

People are asking crazy money for these guitars now but not sure what there selling for. There was an 83 on reverb for months at £1800 and it’s only just sold. If you have a fiesta red or a custom colour then your going to get better money for it. 

MaxA867

Hey all, I’m new here and just stumbled across this thread - I have an 1982 neck stamped, and 1982 pot dated Fullerton era AVRI in fiesta red. It’s in really good nick. I was wondering if you guys could help me value it for insurance purposes? Or point me in the direction of someone who could - no intention of selling it as it sounds absolutely incredible! Cheers 

Mercedes300

Hi  They were all fitted with 1982 dated pots, even the '83 & 84 models. Fender bought in a quantity of pots & pickups, all dated 1982. Their idea was that they would make the guitars until the components ran out. They were the last Strats to be made using the original Fullerton machines, Quite worn out by then , I believe!  Is your guitar a 50's reissue, or a 60's reissue? Values are about the same for both. There are a couple of dealers in the States that specialise in these guitars. They told me that my guitar (a sunburst 60's model)would be worth about $4,000. Custom colours, like yours, go for even more money. As you say, they sound terrific. Everyone who has played mine says it s the best Stratocaster they've ever played. Apparently, some big name guitarists in the USA, are buying them to use on stage, and keeping their original 50's & 60's guitars safely at home in their cases.  Kind regards. Jeff (Mercedes300) 

MaxA867

Hi Jeff, thanks for the info. Very interesting! Yes mine’s a 62 reissue, very good condition considering it’s 40 years old. Very thin neck carve on it, which I absolutely love, and by far the best sounding Strat I have, pure Knopfler in position 2. That figures, with the crazy prices of vintage pre-CBS Fenders I’d probably do the same! 

Mercedes300

The thin neck carve that you describe makes sense, as the '82 Dan Smith Strats that were in production at the same time had very thin necks (I've owned 4 Dan Smiths). The thin neck you describe would work Ok with a 60's reissue, but I feel it would be totally wrong with a 50's reissue, which should have a much clubbier, V-section neck.

firepaulmusic

I had a '62 AVRI Start in sunburst, great nick with natural lacquer checking etc. It was on here for sale for ages and I was asking around £2500 based on what I thought was the going rate. Mine also had a very wide, flat and shallow neck carve. I took it to the Bristol Guitar Show around 3/4 years ago and the guy on Guitars4You told me it was worth around £1200. All very confusing. I eventually sold it on EBay to a guy in Spain for £2K.

Gilly

firepaulmusic said:

I had a '62 AVRI Start in sunburst, great nick with natural lacquer checking etc. It was on here for sale for ages and I was asking around £2500 based on what I thought was the going rate. Mine also had a very wide, flat and shallow neck carve. I took it to the Bristol Guitar Show around 3/4 years ago and the guy on Guitars4You told me it was worth around £1200. All very confusing. I eventually sold it on EBay to a guy in Spain for £2K.

A dealer tried to lowball you? God forbid,

Delaware_123

firepaulmusic said:

I had a '62 AVRI Start in sunburst, great nick with natural lacquer checking etc. It was on here for sale for ages and I was asking around £2500 based on what I thought was the going rate. Mine also had a very wide, flat and shallow neck carve. I took it to the Bristol Guitar Show around 3/4 years ago and the guy on Guitars4You told me it was worth around £1200. All very confusing. I eventually sold it on EBay to a guy in Spain for £2K.

As much as people will claim they’re worth 4K and above, 2k is much more realistic and is closer to what they actually sell for. 

Mercedes300

I'm not making any claims. It's what I was advised by 2 USA dealers who specialised in them. They wanted to buy it or sell it on a  commission basis.  The original poster wanted some advise on value, so I merely passed on my recent experience. Of course, it could be that the USA dealers have realised there potential value much earlier than we have in the UK. However, to the best of my knowledge, there are none for sale in the UK at the moment, so talk of ''what they usually sell for'', is not really relevant. It's easy to rush around trying to buy 1959 Les Paul standards, after the news has broken that an example has just sold for £250,000, Not so easy to assess & predict what will be valued in the future, and buy ahead of the curve.

Delaware_123

Mercedes300 said:

I'm not making any claims. It's what I was advised by 2 USA dealers who specialised in them. They wanted to buy it or sell it on a  commission basis.  The original poster wanted some advice on value, so I merely passed on my recent experience. Of course, it could be that the USA dealers have realised their potential value much earlier than we have in the UK. However, to the best of my knowledge, there are none for sale in the UK at the moment, so talk of ''what they usually sell for'', is not really relevant. It's easy to rush around trying to buy 1959 Les Paul standards, after the news has broken that an example has just sold for £250,000, Not so easy to assess & predict what will be valued in the future, and buy ahead of the curve.

These guitars have been on the rise for quite some time and I’m sure they will get to the 4K eventually and maybe it’s a different market in the USA but they sure haven’t reached anything like that here yet. Unless it’s a custom colour then 2-2.5k is a very realistic selling price. I purchased a fiesta red 62 reissue from 1983 in completely original conditition for £2400 this year from a dealer. I saw a sunburst one sell on marketplace for £1600 this year. At the end of the day people can ask what they want but they’re only worth what people are willing to pay. 

NCo

Delaware_123 said:

Mercedes300 said:

I'm not making any claims. It's what I was advised by 2 USA dealers who specialised in them. They wanted to buy it or sell it on a  commission basis.  The original poster wanted some advice on value, so I merely passed on my recent experience. Of course, it could be that the USA dealers have realised their potential value much earlier than we have in the UK. However, to the best of my knowledge, there are none for sale in the UK at the moment, so talk of ''what they usually sell for'', is not really relevant. It's easy to rush around trying to buy 1959 Les Paul standards, after the news has broken that an example has just sold for £250,000, Not so easy to assess & predict what will be valued in the future, and buy ahead of the curve.

These guitars have been on the rise for quite some time and I’m sure they will get to the 4K eventually and maybe it’s a different market in the USA but they sure haven’t reached anything like that here yet. Unless it’s a custom colour then 2-2.5k is a very realistic selling price. I purchased a fiesta red 62 reissue from 1983 in completely original conditition for £2400 this year from a dealer. I saw a sunburst one sell on marketplace for £1600 this year. At the end of the day people can ask what they want but they’re only worth what people are willing to pay. 

Pretty much all of this. There's a 1987 Fiesta Red 62 Reissue listed on Reverb for £3200 for over 2 years now. Not entirely sure where the £4k evaluation comes from, but I suspect it's down to sellers 'predicting' what will be valued in the future as the poster says.

Roland

Can we have some pictures please? A guitar of this value isn’t going to sell without.