Fender Strat

1976 Fender Stratocaster

Most of the guitar is, as far as I can tell, original. The date stamped on the heel of the all maple neck is right for '76, the pots and pickups all date to '76. The previous owner changed the bridge saddles, but all the other components including the trem block, springs, tuners, knobs and so on, look original. I suspect the body is not original, or has been refinished, and I have given the background to this below.

To play, the guitar is classic Strat, and has all the familiar tones available from the 5 way pickup selector. The neck is quite chunky, and is smooth to touch, with no major bumps or chips. There is minimal fret wear, and the fingerboard is smooth and fast. The action is great, the trem works well and stays in tune, and the volume and tone pots work as they should.

I bought this guitar several years ago from a guitarist in Holland. He had played with Jan Akkerman, the guitarist from Focus, and had owned this guitar for 12 years. His description of the guitar is shown below. Although he believes the guitar is all original, I don't think the body is the original, or if it is, I think it has been refinished. However, the body is really light, and the guitar plays beautifully. Because I don't think the body is original, I have coated the cavities for the pickups and electronics with conductive paint, and have fitted a (removable) copper shield under the scratch plate, which has significantly reduced the amount of natural hum the from the single coil pickups, and made the guitar much quieter for recording. I find that single coil hum is rarely a problem playing live, but can be quite an irritant when recording, and this guitar now performs better than most vintage Strats in this regard.

This is what the previous owner, Stephan Nossbaum, said about the guitar when I bought it:

“Fender Stratocaster 1976 Colour: Olympic white,

This Fender Stratocaster was my stage-instrument for 12 years and used for the CD with Jan Akkerman.
Lightweight Alder body (6.9 lbs)
Clean maple neck
Original frets in superb condition

neckplate 668892 (1975/1976)
pots all 1976,
pickup's graybottoms all 1975,
neckdate 0903 3444 (1974/1975)
Original 5 way switch
Original tremolo-arm
Original tuners
Original bridge
Exept for the bridge saddles (replaced by steel Fender bridge saddles because the die-cast saddles don't sound too good) fully original, no surprises or monkey business
This Fender Stratocaster is a tone-monster with strong balanced pickup's and the guitar sounds awesome.
This guitar is really awesome. I'm now fully into the jazz and bebop and hate to see this Strat hanging on the wall. I played a lot of Strats from the '60s and early 70s, but this one is special and I kept her for a long time. One of the secrets is the superb neck ( a real tone maple neck) and very tight neck/body construction and the very light alder body. Jan Akkeman loved this guitar!

I hope you can see from the pictures that above the pickguard are scratches from my pick, right above that there is some paint fading through the wood, and wear caused by the movement of my arm. The lacquer is not shining, it is a natural faded reliced body caused by hard work! The guitar alone is a good investment for sure. For me as a professional guitarist though, it is the sound of the guitar that is most important.

I called my guitar tech and asked him what he thought of this guitar. Because of the way the lacquer has faded he is sure it has not been refinished. Some nicks and dents are through the first layer of lacquer, others not. The fading of the paint under the pickguard is much lighter than outside. This is as much as I know. There are no dents at all in the neck, and very little wear on the frets.

This was my main axe and I played for 12 years on this lightweight guitar and had no complaints. Other than the bridge saddles, I never changed anything on this 1976 Strat, except of course the strings! I have only opened it once to take pictures for the sale, and that’s all. When I bought this guitar 12 years ago I paid a lot of money for it, but I have played a lot of gigs with it since.”

I don't agree with Stephan about the body, but that was his opinion, so you decide!

The Strat comes in an unbranded hard case with all the latches and hinges working OK, and with Stephan’s name stenciled on the top. Although it is a little beaten up, it does the job just fine.

The internal pictures of the guitar were taken when I bought it, and so do not show the hum-proofing to the pickup cavities. All the external shots are current, and show the guitar as it is today. In the years I have owned it, the guitar has only been used occasionally for recording, and has been kept in a smoke free, climate controlled environment.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Payment by Bank transfer is preferred. If you want to pay by PayPal please contact me before bidding.

Local pickup in Sydney preferred, but will courier (insured) nationally or internationally at the buyer's expense, with the buyer paying actual shipping costs. Please Note: The postage costs shown are estimates only, and the buyer will pay actual shipping costs only, no more and no less. International shipping from Australia is expensive, so please assume a minimum of A$500, but it could be more. Whether in Australia or overseas, you will only pay the actual cost. Packed box will be roughly 115cm x 45cm x 15cm and will weigh around 10 Kg.

If this item is not as I have described, you can return it to me within 72 hours for a full refund of the purchase price. The refund will apply only to the purchase price, not the shipping costs, which must be paid by the buyer, both ways. But this option is only if you can show that I have mis-described the guitar, it is not an option to return the guitar if you just decide you don't want it once you have bought it!

Thanks for looking!

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