Non ADA Gear > Guitars
NGD - Like I needed another Strat, right?
Harley Hexxe:
Hey Gang,
Here I am again, bracing for the upcoming winter storm, and I already bought all the essentials, (Beer, Bacon, and Guitars).
Speaking of guitars, that's right, I bought another one, but definitely not new, or new to me. May I introduce my latest acquisition,
a 1983 Elite Stratocaster with the FTLN included, and the original whammy bar. (Usually, those two items are missing and cannot be replaced).
I know it's a 40-year old guitar, not made anymore, and really doesn't look like anything impressive, and that's what everyone thinks. The truth is, this is the final innovative offering from Fender while under CBS ownership, and it's really a Hot Rod disguised as a family car. It's meant to look like funny version of a Strat, but it hides several secrets.
The low impedance pickups in this beast are pretty quiet but there is also another pickup coil hidden under the pick guard that comes into play with whatever pickup you've already selected.
As you can see in the picture, you can choose any combination of pickups you want with the three buttons (push-on, push-off). You have three knobs like any Stratocaster would have, but only one is what you expect, that's the volume. Under that is the TBX control. This is the first guitar to offer that tone circuit, which later became Eric Clapton's favorite addition to his signature model guitar. This is sort of the only actual tone control on the guitar. There is a center detent on this stacked pot which leaves the guitar sounding like a stock Strat, but rolling it CW gives an increase in Presence frequencies so you can get more Strat than Strat type of tones. This is kind of interesting with a few different pickup combinations, but not so much with just the bridge pickup IMHO. Rolling the knob back from the center position works like a normal tone knob.
Under the TBX control is the MDX knob. With this pot rolled all the way off, you have all your standard Strat tones with whatever pickups you have selected, and this includes the combinations you can't get with a stock Strat 5-way switch. When you roll this pot on, it brings in the above mentioned hidden coil by way of a preamp, also hidden under the pick guard. This essentially turns this guitar from a stock Strat, into a Superstrat. There are a lot of tonal possibilities with this guitar.
Also the bridge is the only one Fender ever designed to sit flush against the body of the guitar as opposed to the floating bridges which preceded and succeeded it. It's a top loading bridge because there is no access to it from the back of the guitar. The springs and claw are also under the pick guard underneath the pickups.
There is also the Fine Tuning Lock Nut, (FTLN), located on the headstock, which works, but is a completely different beast than any other locking string system out there. Most guitar players didn't like it and couldn't get used to it, so they took them off and either lost them or threw them out. That's why you'll see many of these guitar with three holes in the headstock if you go looking for them.
The guitar is overall very comfortable to play, light, with a fast neck. The neck profile is very much like the Modern "C" neck but slimmer. It's a little wider than the vintage necks with a 12" radius fret board, so you can lower your action as far as you want it. Pretty sweet!
So,...the question comes up: Why did I want another Stratocaster, especially one that is 40 years old?
Answer: I used to have two of these guitars back in the day and sold them in 1989. These are the only guitars I've had any sellers remorse over. There was no other Stratocaster like this before or after it came into being. They were only made for two years, then when CBS sold the company to the current owners, they opted to drop guitars like this, and decided to focus on doing the vintage reissues and the stingy modern Strats that we still see today. (Nothing more than slight variations of the original model made in 1954).
Besides, I seem to have a penchant for the Stratocasters that do more than just the off the rack guitars that you still see today, even with all their "updated and modded" features. My collection speaks for itself.
*1980 Fender "STRAT" - the first factory hot-rodded Stratocaster
*2007 Fender VG Stratocaster - The schizophrenic Stratocaster with multiple personalities
*2016 Fender CG-1 Roland Ready Stratocaster - set up with all you need for a Roland GR-55 Synth module
So this guitar fits right in with that category. More importantly, I LIKE it! It's been making me want to play more.
There it is.
rnolan:
Hey Harley, nice :thumb-up: , anything that makes you want to play more is a good purchase IMHO, this one though is somewhat special (and rare). One question, do you access the truss rod through the middle of the FTLN ? I've never seen that setup before, interesting way to do it. I do remember fender coming up with a lock nut that locked all the strings with a leaver on one side of the nut.
Dante:
Well, THAT is something I've never seen before! I gotta see a pic of the springs & claw under the pickguard...that's odd
Very cool guitar, Harley, I'd wanna play it alot too. Love the little buttons to turn the PUs on/off, a very 80s feature
Systematic Chaos:
That’s indeed an interesting one - congrats!
I never really bonded with Strats, mainly cuz of the guitar body size (I’m 5ft7 and everything but Dinky, RG or 7/8 size guitars look silly *duh*) and the way the controls layout, always in the way of my right hand…
That being said, 2 guitars I still have sellers remorse about are a first series Fender Sambora Floyd Rose Signature Strat in Cherry Sunburst (one of the first batch that was made in the Custom Shop back then) and a 1989/1990 Deluxe Strat Plus in Crimson Frost (the one with the Sperzel locking tuners, Wilkinson nut, Lace Sensors (Red, Silver, Blue) and the Blanda Bridge)…that thing was a tone monster
Harley Hexxe:
--- Quote from: rnolan on December 22, 2022, 08:49:25 PM ---Hey Harley, nice :thumb-up: , anything that makes you want to play more is a good purchase IMHO, this one though is somewhat special (and rare). One question, do you access the truss rod through the middle of the FTLN ? I've never seen that setup before, interesting way to do it. I do remember fender coming up with a lock nut that locked all the strings with a leaver on one side of the nut.
--- End quote ---
Hey Richard,
Yes sir! This guitar is a rare bird indeed. At the time it was the most modern rendition of what a Stratocaster could be.
To access the truss rod, you have to unscrew the FTLN and remove it, which is something I'm going to do to this guitar. I will keep the parts in a plastic bag until I can get it to Dan Erlewine to reposition it correctly on the headstock. Unfortunately, this one was mounted in a hurry, and it's clocked slightly off center, which causes strings to break prematurely. CBS was always pushing for maximum production quotas on every line of guitars.
I remember the lock nut you're talking about, that is on one of the many models made by Fender Japan during the 80's. They did a lot of crazy guitar designs under the Fender name back then. If you want to see something really odd, then google 1985 Fender Performer. That's going to make you scratch your head and wonder WTF were they thinking?!?
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version