Enche' Nodi is one lucky guy, I tell you. Not only did he recently score a fine MIJ Squier Silver Series Stratocaster; but he's also bagged a black 1996 Fender American Standard Stratocaster. What makes this Strat extra special is that it's a 50th Anniversary model; no less. It's just too bad that it was poorly maintained by the previous owner; as evidenced by the prevalence of crud, grime, rust, corrosion and a host of other icky stuff.
My instructions were to preserve as much of the original hardware and electronics as possible; as it wasn't "just any guitar." Let's start off with the bridge, then. The saddle height screws were frozen in place. The sintered steel saddles, intonation screws and springs, however; were in much better shape. Meanwhile, the neck plate (underside), trem claw, and springs were in a sorry state.
This was the first time I'd ever seen a trem claw completely rusted through. Perhaps there still was some metal underneath all the ferrous oxide. I remained optimistic, bearing in mind Enche' Nodi's request to have as much of the original appointments preserved.
The maple neck, fretboard and frets were in fairly good condition, but the walnut skunk stripe was another story. It had faded into a very light shade on the back of the neck and the headstock end (truss rod access hole) was actually sticking out quite a bit. I believe these could only have been caused by prolonged exposure to the elements. What a shame! Thankfully, the Bi-Flex truss rod was still working as it should.
Oh, yes, the electronics. The three single coil pickups (middle pickup RWRP) featured white pickup covers and flat polepieces. They were still in working condition, and would look much better after a thorough degriming, cleaning and polishing. Oh yes, those crud-afflicted polepieces were definitely in for a huge dose of Autosol!
Under the pickguard were a CTS 250K master volume pot, CTS 250K neck pickup tone pot, TBX tone pot (middle and bridge pickups); and rusty CRL five-way switch. While the tone pots appeared to be stock, the volume pot was clearly a fairly recent addition.
Sadly, all three pots and CRL switch showed signs of water damage; with the switch most badly affected. The output jack, well... it most certainly wasn't a Switchcraft. In fact, it was one of those five ringgit radio shop jacks.
Well, that's about it for this post. In an upcoming post, we'll take a look at what was done to get this Strat up to snuff. Till we meet again, stay home, stay safe; and God bless.
Further Reading
Fender Guitar Catalog 1988 Vintage and Signature Series
American Standard Stratocaster - First Series
