1971 Fender Strat

[pebber]

I'm lookin' to buy this particular one:


This was one of the last 4- bolt's.. what are they goin' for in the States?
(everything is original except volume pot and case)

[axeman81]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

My favourite fender strat is the CBS era...That one looks great, I'd only want a maple fretboard but that's my personal preference. If everything is original I'd pay $1500 for one but I don't know what is considered the going price..but I'd definately pay $1500 depending a little on the feel/mojo of the guitar but I really like the looks and sounds of those CBS strats! [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[fullshred]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

These original Fenders go for $10,000+ depending on the originality and the condition, fwiw

Here's what I'm talking about:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1971-VINTAGE-Fender-...1QQcmdZViewItem

[Rupe]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

[ QUOTE ]
If everything is original I'd pay $1500 for one

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And I have $5000 for anyone that wants to sell me an original '59 flametop [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Depending on the condition, these typically bring 8-12K these days. Only buy this if you want it to collect. These guitars were very inconsistant and were completely ignored by collectors 12-15 years ago. Why? Because they are not great guitars when compared to other eras. I have probably bought and sold 20-25 of these ('71-'74 strats) back in the early 90's when they weren't too desirable and spun them off a few years later for a nice profit (If I would have kept them until now I could probably quit my job). Only a few of these would I consider great guitars and worthy of being a "keeper". With true vintage strat (65 and earlier) prices going through the roof, these started to increase in value as collectors, not players, started hording them. If you want a player, there are many better choices than these guitars...there are some good ones, but they are worth too much to be a daily player these days.

[LexLuthier]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

[ QUOTE ]
If everything is original I'd pay $1500 for one

[/ QUOTE ]
Good luck! That particular era of Strats have really gone up in value the last few years because of the Hendrix association. The prices of maple board/Olympic white Strats from the late '60's, early '70's have gone nuts. The 4 bolters are really sought after, even though the early 3 bolters are essentially the same guitar except for the neck plate.

Later they started messing them up with the 1 piece cast junk bridge, flat pole pickups with low output, black plastic, poor neck pockets, thicker finishes, etc.

[MBreinin]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

I had one back in the day. Mine was black. I traded a natural LP custom for it. I routed it for humbuckers, refinished it twice and then traded it for a Silverburst LP custom. To be honest, I didn't think it was that great. I had a '63 Strat and the difference was night and day. The '63 was the single greatest instrument I have ever owned or touched, and the '71 was very mediocre. YMMV.

Mike

[axeman81]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

10 k ?? you shitting me? A friend owns a 1972 one, tobacco burst, maple fretboard...it plays amazing...he got it through a trade for like $1000 worth of disposable stuff...

I guess they've become so valuable because Yngwie buys everyone of those CBS strats he can get his hands on..hence there are so few available [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[jgcable]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

My best friend has a yellow 71 with a maple neck. His also is a 4 bolt. The serial # is cool too. It is something like 717171. Anyway, we figured it was worth around $2K tops.

[Rupe]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

[ QUOTE ]
My best friend has a yellow 71 with a maple neck. His also is a 4 bolt. The serial # is cool too. It is something like 717171. Anyway, we figured it was worth around $2K tops.


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If it is all original, you figured waaaay wrong! I assume by yellow you mean a yellowed Olympic White (think Yngwie)? This was a custom color back then and is worth much more than a sunburst. Even a refin with original parts would be worth at least 4-5K.

[pebber]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

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My best friend has a yellow 71 with serial # 717171.

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the serial number on the neckplate should be anywhere between 280000 to 330000, with a big script "F" below to be a 70-71 Fender [img]/images/graemlins/brow.gif[/img]

[Bengal65]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

Good thing I never really cared for Hendrix and back in the day I couldn't see spending $400 for a 70's Fender Strat. I remember looking at a Strat in '71 for $369, new with case. I passed. Like said above they were very in consistent and this artifical vintage market has inflated the prices out of site to the point of insanity. But when anything becomes collectable and demand increases over supply your going to have this situation. My recommendation would be investigating a re-issue or 70's series. They are of much better quality overall and less in price as compared to these 70's guitars. If you are going from a purely collector point of view, go with these guitars, but expect to pay some rediculous prices unless you get lucky.

[pro-fusion]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

To me, Stratocasters are sort of 'meat and potatos'--a reasonably functional one will do just fine. Best one I've owned, oddly enough, was a late '80s Squier strat. That one had tone for days. I'm sure some of the really old ones have some mojo, but they all feel really big and blocky, and they only do a couple of sounds really well--neither of which I use very often anymore.

Worst one I've owned was a late '70s USA strat. That might win the award for "biggest piece of shit guitar I've ever owned"--and some dipshit would probably pay $2000 for it now! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[jgcable]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
My best friend has a yellow 71 with serial # 717171.

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the serial number on the neckplate should be anywhere between 280000 to 330000, with a big script "F" below to be a 70-71 Fender [img]/images/graemlins/brow.gif[/img]

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What I meant is that it has 71's in the #. It might be 330071 or something like that. I don't remember. Its completely original. We took it all apart and checked everything. He has owned it since around 1980. He paid $700.00 for it back then.

[jgcable]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

Most of the 71's that I have seen are 3 bolt. His is a 4 bolt. We were told it is a very late 71. Actually, I think we found out it was made in September 71. If I recall, the neck pocket and the neck heel were both stamped.

[pebber]

Re: 1971 Fender Strat

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If I recall, the neck pocket and the neck heel were both stamped.

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yep, that's correct, the neck heel should be stamped with a date like "26 MAR 71" and in the neck pocket, there's often a name stamped..

In actual fact, it's impossible to tell when it was made, neck and bodies were made in batch and put together later, so a neck made in 71 can go perfectly with a body of 72.

Further, the transition between 4- and 3-bolt is also not been at a fixed date in time, they used up all the 4-bolt neck plates while they were already switching to the 3-bolt micro-tilt.

BTW, the only reason why I consider it, is because I wanted to have a strat made around the date of my birth [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]