1974 Fender Stratocaster Refinished White

Fender Strat 1974 Refinished full front view

Comments	Here’s a 1974 Fender Stratocaster Refinished White. This is a solid playable instument, with its value in that aspect and less so in its age. In 1971, Fender, under the guidance of its parent CBS, introduced a number of innovations including the 3-bolt Microtilt neck and the ‘bullet’ truss rod adjuster. The purpose of both of these is to allow neck adjustments without dismantling the guitar. The Micro-Tilt neck adjustment allows neck fast angle adjustments by loosening the 3rd bolt and turning a set screw with an allen key. The Bullet truss rod adjuster turned the truss rod end for end and put the adjuster at the head, rather than buried in the neck pocket under the pickguard. Both of these are really good ideas; the Micro-Tilt idea survives but with four bolts for better stability and the truss rod adjuster is now set into the headstock for better visual effect. This example has been refinshed in white, using a method where the original polyurethane finish was completely removed from the body (and this is no easy task) prior to the new white lacquer being applied. This process tends to remove or cover identifying marks such as factory stamps or signatures from the surface. Consequently, there’s no way to authenticate the body based on such marks, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a ‘counterfeit’ 3-bolt microtilt body. Virtually all aftermarket and reproduction bodies are 4-bolt. The original pickups have been removed and replaced with a Fender Noiseless set and matching wiring.
Serial Number	575974, built during 1974 in Fullerton, California.
Pricing	$1,350 CAD with Fender molded case.
Neck	Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and ‘bullet’ truss rod. Dot position markers, and the Fender decal is in excellent shape.
Frets	Original frets, with noticeable wear. The frets have been dressed and recrowned at some point.
Body	Ash body, with classic contours and 3-bolt microtilt neck mount. For the refinish, the original polyester finish was removed entirely, so there is a little bit of rippling on the larger surfaces. As well, all factory stamps and signatures were removed from the body or covered.
Finish	Original gloss polyester finish on the neck, with some wear and dings. The body has been completely stripped and refinished in white lacquer, which has faded to a pale yellow.
Hardware/electronics	Original bridge, claw and tuners, pickups have been replaced with Fender Noiseless pickups, new pots, switches, and jack. Original knobs but I expect that the pickguard has also been replaced. Original 3-bolt neck mount hardware.
Playability/Action	Plays well. There’s still some life left in these frets!
Case	Fender molded case (non original) included.