everything original but with no case?
Thank you guys
everything original but with no case?
Thank you guys
Value on ebay, or actual value as a player?
I'd guess three or four hundred dollars a pound.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Someone is selling one at a studio near by
asking for something like 1100 dollars
I don't know anything about vintage guitars, I thought it's a steal.....
Well, it's a thirty year old guitar.
While it's possible that it's a groovy instrument, it's much more likely an 11 pound sonic turd that plays like crap, and has a neck that shifts when you change chords.
When people talk about poor quality of seventies guitars, this is exactly what they're talking about.
I'd rather have a new MIM guitar than most of the 70's Fender instruments I've played, particularly late 70's instruments.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Originally Posted by Kap'n
Buy a MIM Classic Players Strat, and you're much more likely to get a good instrument.
Thanks Kap'N
You cured my sudden gas attack mate
For $1100, I'd go look at it.
What Kap'n said about these guitars is generally true, but they didn't all suck.
Look at it and form your own opinion rather than going by opinons you find on the internet.
No offence to Kap'n. I hold his opinion in high regard.
Sure. It might be a gem. They weren't all firewood. Given enough monkeys and typewriters, you could get Shakespeare too.
But most of 'em were slabs of heavy wood, little or no contours, dime-thick poly finishes, pickups wound from wire scraps, pot metal parts, pockets that would have been more at home on a pair of overalls...
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
I have a 72 that's light and sounds great. The neck pockets real tight too. I never had a problem with the neck. I'd take a look, couldn't hurt. There is a slim possibility it may be good. You could always flip it on the bay or into the bay. I know the later 70's got pretty bad Though.
It wont hurt to check it out. It might be a gem, but odds are that it's not. Choose with your ears and hands. They won't lead you wrong. Don't go with it because of the "possibly worth more one day" factor.
They were mostly awful!
Go to Ebay, type in "stratocaster1978" and then check completed sales. You will see that the more optimistic sellers (e.g. $2000--$3000) had no luck. Sales pick up @ $1,600 (usually for some "special" item -- like a rare (sic) custom color) and increase as you head down into the sub-$1,000 range.
Thanks people
I don't think I'll buy it, but I'll go give it a good test drive!
70's bashing never stops.
My 78 is the finest Stratocaster I have ever owned and played and I have owned at least 20. Wieghs 8lbs and 4 oz wich I think is perfect. Has very nice sounding pickups and looks just killer. Neck is real sweet and she just sounds better than any strat I have ever heard. Bought her for for $150 used many years ago when I was poor and all of my guitars where stolen. Just like now, back then they had a bad rep from people and thats why I got her so cheap I quess.
It's funny my guitar gets loads of compliments when she's out in the world but these guitars get trashed big time on the internet ?
IMO a Bad Strat is a bad Strat now matter what year it was made.
They made heavy ones back then cause thats what people wanted. Mine is not considered heavy IMO. I think they Made 10lb strats to compete with the 15Lb Les Pauls of the Day. Heavy was cool then I quess.
If I had some extra money I would go out and buy a bunch of these guitars at decent prices cause in ten- 20 years from now they will be worth big bucks. No they will never be worth what a 50's or 60's strat will be cause they will always be older but CBS era 70's strats are a big part of Fender history like it or not.
To answer the question. They are worth about $1500 - $5k.
5k seems a bit high for any Strat IMO but there are people out there with a bunch of money willing to pay big bucks for what they want so go figure.
My 78 Strat
All Original except the Blackguard , Black pup covers, Volume, tone knobs and switch tip that I still have.
I like the look of it with the white plastic parts better.
Last edited by Totally bored; 02-01-2008 at 07:26 PM.
Congratulations. Sounds like one of the good ones.
However good it is, it is the exception that proves the rule.
Even being a snot-nosed teenager without the interwebs to tell me what was hip, and nothing but GP magazine and the local shop telling me that new was where it's at, I knew by feel that every single strat - the high end I was supposed to aspire to - sucked. I started playing in '76, and got my first electric a year later.
The aversion to CBS Fender product was strong enough that I didn't buy a 'real' Fender Stratocaster until 2004. In that time period, I owned Les Pauls, SG's, a 60's Gretsch, several high-end Guilds, and some older Fender student guitars.
To this day, the shittiest guitars that I've ever played that bore the Fender name were strats from the seventies. In fact, while I'm certain there must be a handful out there, I've never seen one in the flesh that I would have even considered buying, even at the sub-$300 prices those turkeys were going for used in 1979. And I figure I've probably played 1,000 guitars in my life, +/-.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
"However good it is, it is the exception that proves the rule."
Hows that exception prove the rule ?
( scratching head on that one )
Your intitled to your opinion but I disagree.
There are also bad 50's 60's 70's 80's and some 90's strats. Seems like quality control has been pretty good for the most part in the the 2000 years but there are a few dogs still.
If you don't like 70's strats than thats okay but to have a negative and biased opinion on a entire decade of guitars is just rediculous IMO. Again, your entitled to your opinion.
( "Totally bored" trying to be polite and respect peoples opinion while even though I don't agree )
Last edited by Totally bored; 02-01-2008 at 08:14 PM.
Only based on playing 1,000 guitars or so. Probably two to three hundred of them were 70's strats.
They all sucked.
Just a small sample size. Anybody remember the formula for a t-test?
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
....
Last edited by Totally bored; 02-02-2008 at 04:59 PM.
I'm of the opinion that most of them sucked. Too heavy, etc., etc- same old stuff
But really, the question was, "How much is it worth?" And ironically it's probably worth a bunch.
There are those people that like to rail against the vintage market but they're becoming more like flat-earthers, lol
I'd hate to own it but I wouldn't mind selling it to somebody for a ton of dough who really wanted it.
At first glance I'd tend to agree. But we all know that every rule seems to have an exception and this guitar could be one. I'd give it a look-see and reserve judgement until I played it.
WTF, one could always feed it into a wood-chipper and turn it into a Presto Log. But again, it could be that exception. . .
I get a real kick out of the CBS bashing because a huge chunk of the greatest Strat music ever recorded and played was performed on these guitars. What was it that Blackmore, Trower, Beck, Hughie Thomason, Uli Roth and even Jimi didn't get about these large headstocked wonder's? Why didn't they just go to the nearest Vintage dealer or even pawn shop and grab a pre CBS model for a few Ben Franklin's? Don't tell me endorsements because if that was the case we would have seen small headstocks at their concerts for their real player guitars. How great is Clapton's tone in the seventies with his pre CBS's compared to Ritchie or Robin?
Yes, a good number of the late 70's Strats are real dogs. No argument there. A very dark period for Fender for sure. Ive also seen some from that period that were damn good instruments. I would choose these over anything that Fender puts out now. Even the Custom Shop stuff. I've made a good living in guitar shops since the mid 80's so 1000 Strats dosn't seem like that many to me.
I once owned a nice Custom Shop 69 for a while but it paled next to my 72 and 73 CBS guitars (7 pounders) for tone and playability. Yes, the workmanship and quality control were there on the CS69 but it was downright sterile tone and feel wise compared to the Valencia St. 70's instruments.
So, if I want the best value for my Strat money then I should go to the nearest GC, play through about 20 Mexicasters, pick the best one, drop another 500.00 into it for pickups and a fancy bridge and then maybe take it to some tech with a bad attitude for a fret level or God forbid bigger frets? Then, when I decide to sell it I can be happy with the fact that it has terrible resale value. Not for me thank you.
There are good and bad Fender Stratocasters from all 6 of the Strat decades and thats the bottom line. The era that you bash might be one that someone else likes so whats the point?
So I'm with Totally Bored on this one. What's with all the hate? One of the worst guitars I ever owned was an Ibanez Jem 777. Maybe I can find a Hoshino forum and start some serious bashing.
Trower Power
the CS 69 isn't for sale is it? ;)
some wise words.
I've tried it
I think it's not a workable guitar, and I'm not a collector
So, my CS saving plan carries on!!
Yep.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
.....
Last edited by Totally bored; 02-02-2008 at 04:53 PM.
IMHO the 70 Gibson's were worse and cost a lot more. That's how I wound up with my 72. I originally wanted a Les Paul but I thought the intonation,action, fit and finish were horrible. I've been playing since 63 and played a lot of guitars a lot worse than 72 Strats. I played a lot of Pre CBS Strats that were dogs too. I can't say I played 300 of them, but enough to say not all of them were gems either.
Totally bored, don't get so defensive because Kap'n don't like something. He's entitled to his opinion too. He didn't say your guitar sucked. He just don't like 70's Fender guitars.
Owning one good example doesn't make you a social worker, dude.
I owned two 70's Strats. The '79 was very nice (nice enough that I was able to trade it even up for a 10/10 Les Paul), but not the nicest guitar ever. The early '70s white one was the guitar cured me forever of buying guitars because I like the way they looked. Thin, nasally sound through my Pro Reverb, a rubber neck that wouldn't hold a tune, went out of adjustment if the temperature shifted a couple degrees. A complete POS that I couldn't get rid of fast enough.
Think of me as a Strat Corrections Officer: those guitars pretty much sucked. Some of them were very good in spite of CBS's best efforts, and you own one. Instead of defending the 70s guitars - the ones that were so bad they created Vintage Stupidness - you should consider yourself lucky that you got one of the rare ones.
'70s bashers are a minority?
yepthe ones that were so bad they created Vintage Stupidness
Over the years I've played probably 30 to 40 mid- to late-70s Strats, and every one of them was a complete boat anchor piece of crap.
I actually almost bought one in the very color of Totally Bored's at a guitar show about four years ago because I love that color. It was heavy and had a lot of poly on it compared to my AmSe Strats, but the neck felt really nice and it had a fair amount of mojo.
I should have known when the seller got huffy about me asking to plug it into the TR he had sitting in his booth. "Look, I've got another buyer interested."
Right. I plugged it in and it sang like a cement sidewalk.
I'm not a CBS basher because I love my '80 "The Strat" despite what I've done to it over the years. It always played and sounded great to me. However, when I was getting that guitar, my choices were between the '80 Strat and a a couple '79 (but still new) 25th Anniversary Edition Strats at the same store. I was way more into the silvery look of the '79s, but even my 12-year-old ears could hear a difference in the way they sounded and played compared to mine.
FWIW, I also played another '80 "The Strat" about six years ago--one of the red ones--and it bit ass as well. Dead as a doornail.
Nonetheless, I've yet to find one diamond in the '70s Strat rough.
Oh, and Totally Bored, your opinion is most certainly valid. I would strongly caution you against taking other peoples opinions, which are indeed based on a lot of experience, as an opportunity to do some amateur psychoanalysis.
We do have a sense of humor and I know the post of yours I deleted was meant in that vein, but it went much too far into the realm of personal attack and I blanked it.
Everyone has their hot button. With you it's seeing people bash 70s Strats. I find it best to go ahead and offer your opinion contra the bashing, and leave it at that.
"Here's why you're wrong" never works, not on the 'Net and not face to face.
As Fezz always said: Dig what you dig, not what everyone else digs. Dig?"
I agree and apologize to anyone if I may have offended him or her.
( I quess I will never be able to pass Mod School ? )
No worries. As I said, I know you meant it in fun.
And I wouldn't know about Mod school. I was a sarcastic jerk before I was a mod too. All you have to do is try to keep the others from fist fights and broom away the vomit and bloodstains afterward.
As far as I know none of those legends played late 70's strats. They played very early 70's 4 bolt large headstcoks which were in some cases made from parts leftover from CBS era.Someone correct me if I am mistaken(although anyone who knows me knows that rarely if ever happens ). I once owned a 70-71 4 bolt blackie that i traded for a lead III straight across when i decided to start pefecting the fine art of stupidity. It was perfect, and im guesing may have even been a pre-cbs Strat with a big headstock. OTOH,I always wanted a silver 25th anniversaary.Unloess its a total tone-dog, i hope to have one someday.
Last edited by jerryjg; 02-02-2008 at 09:17 PM.
Jerryig, you're correct about the later seventies Strat's. I can't think of one major player who used a late seventies Strat except maybe Alex Lifeson, The Edge, or KK Downing. Maybe Les Dudek?.....Lowell George? On the other hand there are several who braved the stage with the early 3 bolters. Robin Trower had his Sig Custom shop based on a 72 Strat that was one of his favorites. I believe the 3 bolt necks started showing up in late 71. Trower's great album "Brdge Of Sighs" was done with a black 74 model. Blackmore played (and destroyed) several 3 bolt Strats at the Deep Purple Cal Jam show in early 74. In his Rainbow days he favored a white mid 70's Strat. That was the one with the black knobs, pup covers and bad body contours. That's also the Strat that ended up with the Duncan Quarter pounders in it I believe. Also, Hughie Thomason of the Outlaws had a 72 as his number one as well. Mick Ralphs of Bad Company sported a white 75 quite a bit back in the day. I think Uli's
number one was a 71 and I believe that Malmsteen favors the 72's.
Most of the earlier 70's Strats that I've seen have had very decent neck pockets. Some of the 3 bolts slip but most don't. As you get into the mid to late 70's models the neck pockets can get pretty bad. Also, the poundage from the early 70's is in the normal 7-8 range. By 79 it gets into Norlin LP land. Boat anchor range. Although, I once had a cool black 79 RW model that was well under 8 pounds. Wish I still had it.
The difference in tone bettween say a 66-71 model won't be much from the 72-74 models although quality and the one piece over to the two piece bridges are factors. Remember, from 66 to 74 they all were fitted with the same grey backed pickups. Can you say Custom Shop AY 69's?
Many who know this stuff better than I would say that the Leo/pre CBS standard quality hangover lasted until around 74-75. Then after that, things went down hill very fast. I believe this to be true.
Trower Power
Last edited by Trower Power; 02-02-2008 at 09:38 PM.
Like I said, my 72 is a gem, but I had to play 5 or 6 before I found it. None of them had the rubber neck syndrome. All were 3 bolt necks. I think a lot of people get defensive about blanket statements. The thing is it's hard to believe these were made by American workers who had no pride in workmanship and probably were whining when the Japanese got their jobs. Same thing went for a lot of stuff at that time. Cars, homes, tv's etc.
You can't lay the entire blame on the workers. I'm sure there was way more emphasis on widgets/hour, cost cutting etc. with CBS at the controls.
It wasn't the workers who ordered the scrap magnet wire, or the heavy ash, or spec'ed crap metal for the parts. Somebody figured out that a heavy coat of poly cost less than sanding the body blanks correctly. You can only have pride in what you're making if you're allowed to make a quality product.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
I had a 1975 strat that I sold and bought a 90's strat. I have no regrets, the 90's strat lefted that 75 strat on the scrap pile. My 1990 Strat is now my number one, the 75 just had so many electronic problems and I hated the way the neck would move from time to time. That being said my brother has a 1978 Strat and a 1978 Telecaster custom and both are fantastic guitars, he was lucky and cames across 2 gems. i on the other hand owned that 1975 Strat and a 1978 telecaster and both were just plain average guitars with problems. I now own 2 90's USA Strats that play like a dream and sound wonderful along with 3 comtempory Gibson Les Pauls. I tend to think that Fender since 1987 & Gibson since 1990 make far better guitars than any other time in their history (now that's just my opinion). Cheers
i've just tried a 79 strat. hard ash. It was really heavy, and the contours might as well have not been cut. The sound wasn't as nice as some people told me it was, but it was totally destroyed by the beautiful sounding Custom Shop 65' next to it (which I conveniently took home...) So, I guess not all vintage strats are the thing huh?
having said that, I tried a 63 strat once in the same shop. That one blew my socks off. But I couldn't afford that one... Heh...
Lionel
www.soundclick.com/demioblue
You guys who weren't around or playing back then should've heard what we had to say about '70s Fenders and Gibsons back when they were new!
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