Fender Stratocaster Left-Handed, Fiesta Red (1965)

Calling all lefties! About as rare as it gets, folks! A factory Lefty Strat from 1965 that is ultra light and an amazing player!

Needle, meet haystack.

This early 1965 Fender Left-Handed Stratocaster just recently came through our front door on consignment, and we're in total awe of this rare Fullerton creation!

Lefty Fenders are some of the rarest guitars out there, and finding them out in the wild is about as challenging as it gets in the vintage guitar world. Thankfully, this one found its way to us without too much of a fight!

Once a factory Sunburst finish, this transitional Fender shed its original paint for a more striking (Fiesta) Red finish. The finish may even be some sort of Duco paint, as it has naturally checked in almost the exact same way an original custom color Fender finish from this period would. The vertical checking and overall luster of the finish appears nearly as old as the guitar itself. It resembles a mix of Fiesta and Dakota, but with a hue closer to the former, so that's how we're referring to it. Under the hood, we find a mostly original guitar. The pickups are original black bobbin single coils that were repurposed from the factory for lefty configuration, complete with the original masking tape markers that were used to identify them as lefty pickups during assembly. Pencil dates of '1-6-65' can be seen on the bobbins, which is right in line with the 1st week of '65 CTS pots and February '65 neck stamp.

The original 3-way selector gave way to a 5-way switch at some point, but all else remains as it did when it left Fullerton. The 3-ply pickguard is also original and has held up quite well over the years, with minimal shrinkage and no breaks.

The neck is one of the best feeling vintage Strat necks we've handled, with a perfectly worn-in Oval C carve reminiscent of some of the earlier 60s necks. Some of the original decal has flaked off as well as the 'Contour Body' decal, but the shadow marks remain with the 'Fender' intact. Original double line Kluson tuners work great as well. The original frets were still in the fingerboard, and they were all but worn down to the wood. We refretted the neck and installed a new bone nut and it's playing great.

This lefty also happens to be THE lightest tremolo Strat we've ever had in the shop. Only a '58 hardtail we had in here a few years back competes with this one on weight. It checks in right around 6lb 12/13oz, which is crazy!

Looking at this guitar too long messes with our heads a bit. Everything is backwards, but assuredly the tone, feel, and vibe are all just what you'd expect from a great 60s Strat.

Paired with an aftermarket hardshell.