❌SOLD❌ Fender Stratocaster Hard Tail Sunburst, 1978

Here we have a Fender Stratocaster HardTail, built at the Fullerton plant during 1978, during the CBS era. The HardTail version was made from 1955 until 2006, when poor sales caused Fender to drop the HardTail model.

The two Stratocaster versions are very similar, but the fixed hardtail bridge model doesn’t have the large cavity routed on the back for the trem block and springs. Without that cavity and the spring components, the Fender Stratocaster Hard Tail tends to have a bit more sustain and note-to-note clarity and separation, as with the Telecaster. Of course, this means it does not have the ‘built-in reverb’ contributed by the springs, whether the bridge is set to trem use, or fully tightened down for tuning stability.

This Fender Stratocaster Hard Tail guitar, built at the Fender Fullerton plant, dates to 1978 and features the classic finished Rosewood fingerboard Maple neck, with the new from 1971 3-bolt MicroTilt neck and hex-key ‘Bullet’ truss rod adjuster at the head. The MicroTilt and Bullet adjuster are extremely practical features, allowing rapid adjustments to the guitar’s setup, without disassembling it. Many earlier Fender models have damaged pickguards from truss rod adjustments with the neck on – a flat screwdriver would frequently be used and dig into the pickguard. These two features have persisted to current models, though with some refinements. Now, the tilt mechanism is used with a four-bolt neck, and the truss rod adjuster is often internal. However, some of the newer US built models use Vox or Burns-style body-end, edge-drilled truss rod adjuster, with the fingerboard notched for access.

This example of the Fender Stratocaster HardTail is in good and largely original condition, with the addition of a wiring modification common to the late 1970s and 1980s – the addition of a phase switch for the middle pickup, near the pickup selector switch.   There is some expected wear to the poly finish, primarily some ‘buckle rash’ on the back and small chips around the edges.     Fret wear is moderate. 

A later-production  molded Fender hard shell case is included.