Fender Japan ST72 Stratocaster | Part Two

◀ Part One

In the previous post, I highlighted the main external features of this stunning Fender Japan ST72 Stratocaster. Now, I've dismantled everything because it's going to be thoroughly serviced, cleaned and polished.

Hardware wise, everything was in good shape except for the bridge. Rust had begun to take root, especially on the stamped bent-steel saddles. It took lots of Autosol, steel wool, various lubes, and a Dremel polishing attachment to get things up to snuff. 

On to the body, then. As expected, there's no shielding, save for some aluminum foil under the pickguard where the controls are. I really like the "worm route" in the bridge pickup cavity, it's a nice vintage touch. 

Now, the electronics. This ST72 features three ceramic single-coil pickups, a Hosco VLX53 five-way lever pickup selector switch, Gotoh A250K mini-pots, 0047uF (473) tone cap; and generic output jack. I was kind of disappointed seeing mini-pots instead of full-sized ones, I must say. I mean, they could put in a Hosco switch, but not full-sized pots? Guess Fender Japan had to save a little money somehow.

The wiring had been tampered with, as I spotted splicing and heat-shrink tubing on the black and white wires to the output jack; and the totally gnarly solder connections on the output jack tabs. Well, as the volume pot was stuck, I'd have to remove a couple components; and might as well do some rewiring while I was at it. The stuck pot was turning again after some spray lube and lots of coaxing with a set of pliers; thank goodness. A spritz of contact cleaner; a few quick rotations both ways; and this pot was back in the saddle.

I replaced the spliced wires with a length of shielded coaxial cable, and added a lock washer to the output jack socket to prevent it turning by itself and coming loose. You'd be surprised at how many manufacturers try to save a few bucks by not using a proper lock washer. Instead, they'll simply add another hex nut on the inside; making it doubly-difficult to remove the jack from the jack plate for servicing. Nope, you won't find this shortcoming on Switchcraft #11 jack sockets.

Once the electronics and hardware had been serviced, this ST72 was reassembled and set up with Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys (010-046). I was secretly pleased that Shaifful requested 10s and not 9s like most players. He has found that 10s give him a much beefier tone than 9s; you see. Way to go, Shaifful! Last but not least, tonewise, this ST72 oozes a totally righteous Strat vibe; I do declare. Don't believe me? Well, give this YouTube Video a listen and tell me I'm wrong.

Fender Japan ST72 Stratocaster | Part One

Part Two ▶

Here's a gorgeous Fender Japan ST72 Stratocaster belonging to Shaifful SENI. Shaifful politely requested that his pride and joy be thoroughly cleaned, polished, serviced and set up; and I was only too happy to oblige. You see, Shaifful is the son of the late Che'gu Ahmad Kisai; a dear acquaintance of mine from the '80s. And that makes him family in my book.

Now, there are lots of MIJ (Made in Japan) Stratocasters around, including many versions of the ST72. As such, I was unable to obtain specific information on this particular model. I believe the experts out would do better than me, based on the serial number and pictures I've uploaded. So, whatever specs stated in this post are from my own observations. As to what it sounds like, here's a short YouTube Video I uploaded that highlights all five pickup positions.

As you can obviously see, the finish is a three-tone-sunburst. The body wood looks like alder to me; but I can't be certain. What I can tell you, though; is that it's definitely not basswood. The neck is one-piece maple, so there's no separate fretboard. The headstock is the big '70s style, and sports Gotoh tuners, two string trees with nylon spacers; and a "bullet" style truss rod adjustment nut.

The maple fretboard features a 7.25" radius and 25.5" scale. The nut appears to be bone, based on visible file marks and nature of the nut slots. The 21 frets are of the small, vintage variety; while the fretboard markers are black dots. I must point out that the fret ends have been meticulously shaped; testimony to the quality of Japanese craftsmanship.

"Made in Japan" and the serial number have been silkscreened onto the neck heel, while the neck plate bears an engraved "F" logo. Now, let me see if I've left anything out. Ah, yes; one very interesting feature of this ST72 is the larger-than-usual tremolo block. I reckon it's almost as large as the "big blocks" found on some US Strats. Nice touch, methinks.

That's about it for this post, then. In Part Two, I'll be taking everything apart so we can have a good look at what's inside this Japanese beauty. Till then, stay home, stay safe; and God bless us all.

 

1996 Fender American Standard Stratocaster: Part Three

Related Posts 

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Howdy folks :) Here we are at the third and final post on Enche' Nodi's lovely 1996 Strat. I've included some pics for your viewing pleasure. I've also uploaded an audio file to SoundCloud. Do give it a listen. Finally, though I should have done so earlier; here are some original specs, courtesy of Antonio Calvosa and the good people at Reverb.

Body
Body Material: Alder
Body Routing: Swimming Pool
Body Finish: Black Poly

Neck
Neck Material: Maple
Neck Shape: "C"
Scale Length: 25.5"
Fretboard Material: Maple
Fretboard Radius: 9.5"
Number of Frets: 22
Fret Size: Medium Jumbo
Nut Material: Synthetic Bone
Neck Adjustment: Bi-Flex Truss Rod/Micro-Tilt Adjustment

Headstock
Type: Small Headstock
Logo: Spaghetti
Decal: "Fender 1946-1996 50 Years of Excellence" on back of headstock

Electronics
Pickups: Single Coil/Flat Polepieces
Controls: Master Volume/Tone (Neck)/TBX (Middle, Bridge)

Hardware
Bridge: Two-point American Standard Tremolo
Saddles: Sintered (Powdered) Stainless Steel Block Saddles/Offset Intonation Screws
Tuners: Fender/Schaller
String Trees: Ezy-Glide
Hardware Finish: Chrome
Pickguard: White/Three-Ply/Eleven Screws

 

1996 Fender American Standard Stratocaster: Part Two

Related Posts
Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In Part One of this series, we saw just how badly this Strat needed help. Now, in this post; join me in a sloppy adventure of scrubbing, filing, oil-soaked rags, and solder.

We'll take a look at the bridge first, then. After dismantling everything, the saddles and related screws went through six multi-lube oil changes and scrubbing. Yes, much of the crud had come off by the last soaking, I'm happy to say. However, there remained a couple saddle-height screws that just refused to budge. 

And so out came my trusty mini butane blowtorch. Alternately heating the screws until they were red hot and then plunging them in cold water finally broke them stubborn rust bonds. Eventually, I was able to get all the screws moving and reassemble the bridge.

And what of that rusted-out trem claw? Did I have to junk it and fit a new one? Nope. As you can see from the pics, lots of grinding, filing, sanding, steel-wooling; and polishing finally exposed clean metal. For added measure, the whole claw was coated with clear lacquer to delay rusting for as long as possible. 

We were taught that way back during one of our Form One metalwork classes. I believe it was when we had to make a small metal hammer from scratch. Oh yes, we learned quite a lot about woodwork, metalwork, electricity and power mechanics while at Sultan Abdul Hamid College in the '70s.

On to the electronics, then. The pickup covers and polepieces were cleaned and polished gently but thoroughly; and then reinstalled into the much cleaner pickguard with new rubber tubing. Three spanking-new CTS 450G 250K pots, a CRL switch and Switchcraft #11 jack were subsequently wired in using Gavitt cloth push-back wire. You know, the kind Fender used to use in the old days. 

Clean, scrub, polish. Repeat ad nauseam. I won't bore you with the details but that's basically that's what it took to get this Strat back into shape. Oh, yes, that pesky sticking-out skunk stripe end was also taken care of. Lots of careful paring with chisels and sanding through successively finer grits got the job done. Finally topped it off with a coat of Tru-Oil so it would blend in with the existing finish.

Finally, this 1996 Fender American Standard Stratocaster was set up with Ernie Ball Super Slinkys and I called it a day. I guess all that's left is to have a photoshoot and share the pictures with you good people. But that will have to wait until the next post on this American beauty. See you soon :)

Further Reading
Fender Guitar Catalog 1988 Vintage and Signature Series
American Standard Stratocaster - First Series