A friend of mine is thinking about getting this...He's not a vintage guitar buff, and frankly I'm at a loss as to how to help on this. So I figured I'd post this photos and see what the TGP crew thinks. Real or fake?
If it was an OG '62 - it was obviously a sunburst that has been refinished black. I do see the usual nail holes in the right spots - but that can easily be faked. I can see the indention in the neck pocket from what could have been a shim.... How much is the guy asking?!
Why would the person refinishing this leave the date alone? Obviously the refin looks like it was done a long time ago, when pretty much NOBODY cared about such things. It's a little fishy. Or it's a relic job.
if it was a burst, and refinned black, why would there be a white undercoat UNDER the orig. burst? did fender ever do that?
The wood with the date in the trem cavity looks a little too smooth. Most originals seem to have a rougher finish in the cavities. Also the pencil looks too thin. Overall it looks suspect to me. here is a 63 refinished by RS guitarworks with the cavity. See how much rougher it is.
Look at the router bit diameter in the trem cavity vs. a real one (corner radius). Compare the belly cut/upper horn intersection location vs. a real '62.
Yes you do. The (apparently real) refinished sonic blue Strat in this very thread. Look at the corner radius of the trem rout compared to yours. For the belly cut you'll have to search pics on the net. Once a vintage guitar has been refinished all bets are off. Do your homework..
Thanks Hogy- I'm just trying to help my friend not get ripped off. This is not mine. I saw the one above after I posted, and I guess I can track the other stuff down. Thanks for the heads up. Stay happy- Jack
I'm not a vintage expert but for what it's worth I've played and been a part of some 60's strat dismantling and this one looks a bit fishy. This is mainly because of the refin so from the pics it makes it a little hard to tell. My opinion (again for what it's worth) would be to stay away from it. Unless it's real cheap if all he wants is the body there are a lot of better options out there.
This statement says it all and I hold the same belief. There are too many out there to try to convince yourself about authenticity on a particular one.
Take it to someone and get it appraised. I have a refinished 60 but the date is on the neck. The only reason I know mine is real is I have had it for 25 years.
