Pre-CBS Strat

[wfreed22]

If I walked into a guitar store in 1975 how much would I have paid for a pre-cbs strat?

 

[Bob Pollock]

I bought one (63 or 64 sunburst) in that era (probably '73?) for $250, and let a black '66 get away in 1980, the guy wanted $100 for it. It sat in my living room for 6 months.

 

[treeofpain]

Keep in mind that there were very few guitar stores in 1975 - and anything remotely cool was very hard to find.

 

[OldSchool]

Keep in mind that there were very few guitar stores in 1975 - and anything remotely cool was very hard to find.

great point. I sued to buy sell 70's guitars all day long in the 90's for around $1000. Now they are 4x that. The net and the availability has driven everything crazy.

 

[wfreed22]

Keep in mind that there were very few guitar stores in 1975 - and anything remotely cool was very hard to find.

Were pre-cbs strats cool in 1975?

 

[small axe]

Were pre-cbs strats cool in 1975?

pre cbs were always the coolest fenders i would say

 

[Bobby D]

Were pre-cbs strats cool in 1975?

pre=CBS strats were already cool with the players i knew in 1981-1982.....we went "hunting them, and paid between $500-$1000 depending on the guitar.....and passsed on a LOT of refins and modded pieces.....

 

[StJimmy]

I swapped a Les Paul for a pre-CBS Strat back in mid-76 from a friend of mine. It was an early 1959 Strat when they still had maple necks. I had a 74-75 Gibson Black Beauty LP that I had purchased new the year before. I seem to recall it was a 2nd (although I never could figure out why). It cost me around $579 new out the door, I think. My buddy liked the Les Paul and i liked the Strat, so we did the deal one day while jamming. The body had been stripped to natural and refretted with larger frets, so it's no museaum piece. I had it refinned in the early 80s. Every thing else is stock. Fast forward 35 years and I've had guys offer me more for the pickguard than I paid for the entire guitar! I still own it today and have never thought twice about that Les Paul.

 

[dephazer]

I dont know about the '70's but I bought my first Fender stratocaster in '86 and I coudnt affort a new one so I bought an old one that wasoffered to me. I bought a '59 sunburst strat with rosewood board for about $400. It sounds weird nowadays but back then it was viewed as just an old guitar by the previous owner. It got stolen in 1991 and it was never recovered. Still sick about it to this day!

 

[SteveGaines]

Were pre-cbs strats cool in 1975?

If you had one with a three bolt neck.. The ones made by Leo were the "COOL" ones but they were cheap. I saw a 1957 Sunburst with the original "strap and even had the key for the case" go for 550 bucks in 1981...

 

[gmann]

I bought my '60 SB Strat with orig. case in '72 for $250. fm a Mcfayden's Music in Fayetteville, NC. The guy at the store threw in a Gibson Discoverer Amp. My friends att said George you got it backwards, you need a Gibson guitar and a Fender amp. I still have the guitar and amp.

 

[shane8]

ha i passed on a ~63 sunburst custom tele ~1980 for oz$350

 

[DoctorBob]

In 1973 at age 18 I bought a '52 Goldtop for about $250-needed some work, about $100 for refin and frets.Couple of years later traded for mint '54 SB strat and a Champ.Hated the strat, couldnt roar like Duane, so guy let me trade back . A buddy paid $100 for the #7 Strat! He would loan it to me and I would play it thru a blackface twin. He screwed the strat up-stripped it, shaved the neck, gave it away. I never liked it either-too clean for my Duane ears at the time though I expect I would now like it very much as my tonal likes morphed. Note:none of the above mentioned geetars sounded or played any better-by my recollection- to current versions I now own, such as my 290 for P-90 sound or Vinetto mapleneck strat-ish type

 

[bazooka47]

Around here, in the early-mid 70's it was not uncommon to see pre-cbs Fenders for sale in the $200-300 range, especially Teles. Everyone seemed to want Gibson Les Pauls.

I bought a '67 Strat in 1978 for $300.00, and that was from a dealer who specialized in the old stuff.

 

[mad dog]

When I got my '61 in 1975, it wasn't so easy to find used stuff. Want ads mostly. I bought a Buylines press, or whatever it was called, for northern NJ. Mine was the first one listed, and was close to where I was going to be that day. 300 bucks. No finish, guy had changed the bridge and tuners. Had I worked my way down that list, I probably could have found several of that vintage or earlier in better condition.

The cult of vintage was around I guess, but nowhere near the pop culture it is now. I remember stopping in at Gruhn's in Nashville, 1978, thinking what a cool idea it was to have all this old stuff in one place. So much easier than cruising classifieds.

MD

 

[Rex Anderson]

Snagged my used '61 Strat from an ad in the Chicago Tribune for $150. Must have been around '75.

It was stolen from my car around 1980. I got $1,200 from the insurance company after an appraisal from a knowledgeable local luthier.

 

[R13D]

I sold a 1955 Strat for $500.00 back in 1974.

 

[Baxtercat]

... Everyone seemed to want Gibson Les Pauls.

This was really true, from Frampton, Page, Walsh, etc., and all the Southern Rock bands.

Pre-CBS were cool, of course, but it really kicked into gear around '72 or so [for one thing, the Derek & the Dominos LP dropped and had this pic].

 

[Jon C]

I found one in '75 stripped to natural and in need of work, for $150. About $100 later (with master luthier work) it was the best Strat I've ever seen...

 

[straycat113]

It used to be everyone flipping through the Buy Lines which was a magazine in those days looking for used stuff or going to pawn shops. Today with the web it is almost impossible to make a score as everyone is on to checking what they find on Ebay including Pawn shops. I can remember this 17 yearold kid coming into my friends Mom and Pop store about 13 years ago and my friend was telling me the kids neighbor died and the guys wife had given him his guitars which included a pre-CBS Strat, Tele and a 60s Gibson ES335 that needed a bit of work. My friend asked him if he wanted to sell them and the kid said no way as he already sold the Tele on Ebay for 15K on an auction and was putting up the other two. I just hope he threw the guys wife something but considering he had a little entourage and the way he acted I doubt it.