Fender Stratocaster, Sunburst 69108 (1961)

1961 Fender Stratocaster in original Sunburst finish just in!

This absolute dime of a late '61 Strat just walked in through our shop doors from the son of its longtime second owner. Story has it that this guitar was offered up as collateral for a loan payment back in 1968. The money never showed up, and the gentleman that put up the Strat never returned. The one issue- its new owner didn't play guitar. Still, he held onto it for years and years, which in hindsight was a smart decision.

Fast forward to today. The son, who has been its caretaker for some time now, nearly trashed the guitar before finding his way to us. Thank goodness!

With just about 6-7 years of accumulated playtime, and subsequent dormancy for the next 59 years, you can imagine how nice it was to wake this old Strat up. We can tell you this- it didn't need much to get back into fighting shape. The guitar has remained almost completely original, with only the tremolo back plate screws and saddle screws identified as replacements. The finish retains its glorious dark Sunburst finish as often seen on the earliest of the 60s Strats, with plenty of deep unfaded red in the burst to tighten up the yellowed center. Clear nail holes under the pickguard and input jack plate tell the same story- untouched finish throughout. There's a healthy amount of buckle rash on the back of the body, but the front is pretty clean for its age, with various nicks, scuffs, and dings throughout.

A complete trio of original black bobbin single coils all checked out, with their original winds intact to boot. An untouched wiring harness reveals pot codes dating to the 35th week of 1961, with no alterations to the factory solder joints. The original 3-ply pickguard is in wonderful shape, with only light shrinkage and no cracks. And even though the saddle screws have been swapped out, the original saddles remain, along with the original block, bridge cover, and trem arm.

The slender oval C neck has a nice meaty taper as we're used to seeing from this period, and the slab Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard has aged to a nice deep brown that contrasts beautifully against the finish and plastics. The original frets remain, with just some light wear primarily in the first position. the original Kluson tuners work quite well, too.

The guitar is accompanied by its original Brown hardshell case along with instruction manual. There's additional paperwork and vintage case candy too, like an old Bandmaster schematic, Fender amplifier catalog, sheet music, and old Fender and Gibson strings.