Can someone identify this Strat?

[Immortal]

One Strat is selling on our local auction site pretty cheap. The buyer says it was made in 1979.



True?

[jgcable]

Re: Can someone identify this Strat?

The headstock looks good. S9= 1979. Large headstock, vintage tuners, buller trussrod, 2 string trees and the tint all look correct to me.

[jimbilly]

Re: Can someone identify this Strat?

Yup, a '79 it is (the S is for Seventies and the 9 is for... 9 ). If it's a good price, you know what to do.

[thebisch]

Re: Can someone identify this Strat?

It's hard to tell from the angle of that pic. I would have to see a straight on shot or a better lit shot of the logo to be sure, but from this pic it looks like it is probably a '80 through very early '82. These are great guitars.

[RacerX]

Re: Can someone identify this Strat?

That is a USA Fender Stratocaster, serial # S975651 [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[superduty01]

Re: Can someone identify this Strat?

It could also be a 1978. I have a Strat with an "S9" prefix but the neck and pickups are stamped 1978. According to a book I bought about the Stratocaster, 1978 models could be stamped "S8" or "S9". The only way to tell for sure is to look at the neck stamp.

[thebisch]

Re: Can someone identify this Strat?

If I am seeing the logo right, it is definatly not a '78. A '78 would have the old logo, which looks the same, but has a less bright, and less bold gold outline around the "Fender". The thicker, bolder gold outline started in around 1980. Most of the '80-'81 "'70s" Strats have a S9 serial. There are a very few '82 "'70s" Strats with an E2 serial on them, but at this point (early '82) they changed the guitar to what is refered to a "Smith" Strat. And yes, the S9 was used from '78 to late '81 very early '82. The true '78s and '79s will have the older less bold logo though.