Fender Stratocaster, Black (1968)

Look Out, Cleveland! This Hendrix-esque 1968 Fender Stratocaster in factory Black finish is a force to be reckoned with!

Juxtaposed to our amazingly clean and original 1964 Fender Stratocaster in original Black finish, we share with you this fire-breathing King Of The Vibes 1968 Fender Stratocaster, also in factory black finish!

This late year Hendrix spec Strat is leaving us all in a cold sweat here at TME. Just an absolute unit! It's lightweight and very resonant, it's got an amazing playing neck, and the pickups sound out-of-control good. Take one look at this and you'll understand why this was the weapon of choice for the original owner, who purchased it brand new in early 1969.

All superlatives aside, it's one of those guitars you pick up and instantly say to yourself "it's got it". Whatever it is, we'd be hard pressed to find someone who disagreed with us. The guitar was in the hands of a working musician its entire life, and it shows. It's gone through some changes throughout the years, but thanks to some thrifty thinking, most of the original parts remained with the guitar. We removed the old Schaller tuners and reinstalled the original F tuners along with some conversion bushings. Thanks to the offset orientation of the F tuners, you only see one mounting screw hole as a reminder of what was.

The neck pickup got swapped sometime in the early 80s and was lost to time, but a proper period-correct grey bobbin pickup was procured and installed to pair up with the original middle and neck pickups. The rest of the wiring harness remains original to the guitar, with little disturbance at that. A second string tree was once added and subsequently removed. And finally- the original tremolo arm snapped off inside the tremolo block. We've been down this road before! Careful measures were taken to cut and thread an insert into the block to allow proper use of the tremolo, none of which can be seen when installed. A few saddle screws were replaced, as was the ground wire from the tremolo claw.

When words are no longer helpful, we look to quality content by way of the fabulous Duke Levine, who was gracious to sit down with this old thing and show off just how great it sounds. This is one for the books, friends!

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