| Body |
Ash, two-piece
centre join |
| Neck |
Maple, C profile, 324mm Scale |
| Fretboard |
Maple, 184mm/7.25in Radius |
| Frets |
21, Vintage Style |
| Nut Width |
42mm |
| Pickups |
Vintage (U.S.A.) x3 |
| Control&Switch |
1 Vol, 2 Tone, 3 Way Switch |
| Bridge |
Diecast Block S5D Vintage |
| Machine
Heads |
Kluson Style |
| Hardware |
Chrome |
| Pickguard |
1-Ply White |
|
| This is a 1991-92 Made
in Japan 'L' serial. It is in excellent condition. I could only
find a handful of miniscule marks to photograph. The small ding on
the back of the neck has been filled and polished very well
indeed, if I say so myself. There are
years of life in the frets, the hardware is in excellent condition
and all controls work smoothly and without noise.
In the neck pocket is a
hand-written order number (repeated on the neck) and a model
designation. This means it was one of a short run of guitars
outside of the normal catalogue range - possibly for a specific
retailer or chain of shops. The '93' in the designation relates to
the guitar's price point... 93,000 yen, which was a hell of a lot
of yen back in 1992, more than an alder-bodied 57 Reissue with
Texas Specials costs now!
The beautifully grained ash body is
two-piece centre-joined and I suspect the finish to be nitro. I
can't be sure because, as a limited model, I can find no list of
specifications on the internet. However, the finish has the look
of nitro, is certainly thinner than a poly finish and, at that
price point, you'd expect nitro.
The neck is a lovely piece of wood
and, although I can only really describe it as a 'C' profile,
there is just the smallest bit of a 'soft V' at the bottom around
about 1st and 2nd frets. I have to guess that the round string
tree you'd normally expect of a '54 has been changed at sometime
to a butterfly type. Everything else appears stock.
The ash body and maple neck have
mellowed to a wonderful honey shade.
|
|
I've restrung this with a set of
hybrid 9s and the acoustic tone is superb... resonant, well-mannered, just wonderful. Plugged in it
just as good... pure classic 50s Strat.
This is a gorgeous looking and
sounding instrument... almost 30 years old but in fantastic
condition. Highly recommended and bound to increase in value if
looked after.
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