NGD: 1985 Fender Contemporary Stratocaster Deluxe


New Guitar Day!

(UPDATE: Read the review here) 

In my never ending carousel of trading guitars and amps for OTHER guitars and amps, I've come into possession of this at the expense of a very common amplifier and zero cash - A 1985 Fender Contemporary Stratocaster Deluxe.
Made in Japan, this guitar was produced during the period Fender USA had ceased production (85-87). FMIC (composed of Fender employees) had purchased Fender from CBS, but had yet to set up production facilities. This meant the only Fenders being produced came from Japan, and this model was the top of the range.
Close up of the System III Bridge 

Couple of things beyond the age and condition make the guitar interesting - A cam-style locking nut and "System III" bridge were Fender's in house answer to the Floyd Rose systems so popular during the hair metal era. A three screw humbucker that is bolted (not screwed) directly into the guitar body rather than the pickguard makes this model a standout in the history of the strat. Finally, the introduction of the TBX control, which would later find its way onto USA Plus Strats and the Eric Clapton signature.

Here is an article from Premier Guitar which incorrectly posits that the Eric Clapton Stratocaster was the first to use it.

Not only was this guitar purchased and basically stored under a bed for 30 years, but includes the original case, the warranty card, "case candy", and photocopy of the receipt from a music store (Filsinger Music Stratford) from which it was ordered on November 23rd, 1985.

These guitars are pretty difficult to find online, and finding one in this condition is typically reserved for those with access to a time machine.
Not sure it counts as "vintage", but excited nonetheless.

There is some great info here, and the examples there look almost identical to this one.

Popular posts from this blog

Squier Jaguar Review - What do you mean, modified?

Image
Quick Update:  Restringing the Stratocaster with the System III requires the patience of a saint.  I'm not going to go through the many stages of anger, frustration, denial, acceptance, and final victory, but suffice to say there might have been a bit of crying.  Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar I bought this guitar on a whim.  Over some holiday gathering, I went to a music store with my brother.  This caught my eye, and the price was right (Less than $300 out the door).  Sure it had issues right off the bat, but it was soooo cool. Let's get something out of the way - I have no idea why this is part of the "Vintage Modified" series and not the "Classic Vibe" series. You see, the Vintage Modified series is supposed to be a collection of classic designs with a few modern popular updates. This definitely isn't that. WTF is modified here? As Lee Anderton rightly pointed out (see video below), this is pretty much a spot on recreation of the orig
Read more

Pacifica 112 vs. Squier Standard Stratocaster

Image
My recent Squier Standard Stratocaster has me thinking about entry level guitars, and specifically the first new electric guitar I purchased, a Yamaha Pacifica 112.  They're great guitars if you ask me, but for obvious reasons don't get the exposure a "real Stratocaster" does (as real  as a Squier can be I suppose). A comparison of the two may be apt. A Squier Stratocaster lists for $289.99 on L&M , while a new Yamaha Pacifica 112J will set you back $239.99 plus tax.  I seem to recall that the Yamaha and a hard case ran me just over $400, so we're about exactly where we were 20 years ago in terms of price.  Weird. Don't expect a comprehensive review of either guitar - that really isn't the point.  I want to talk about a few differences that indicate where your money is going and hope you can figure the rest out yourself. Yamaha Pacifica 112 / Squier Standard Stratocaster The Yamaha was my second electric, purchased sometime around 1995.  Th
Read more

Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar: Trade Bait?

Image
I bought my Squire Vintage Modified Jaguar on a weekend while visiting my parents. I had decided that I needed to get out of the house for a little while. Aside from going to the mall, there's not much more to do than visit the music store, which is all the excuse I need to wander around Long and McQuade for an hour.  This was back in the day when I still knew most of the people who worked there, including the owner. Well, I say the owner; he wasn't the owner anymore, but he WAS the owner, and then the manager prior to his retirement retirement. At any rate, I went there with my wife and poked around. I saw these Jaguars and Jazzmasters that I had recently watched reviews for on YouTube. Lee Anderton and Rob Chapman had raved about them, except for the bridge, which was the same as the original design and didn't lend itself to bending. But they had a solution: if you ordered a Musicmaster bridge (I'm not sure if that's the model from Allparts anymore), it would fit
Read more

1985 Contemporary Stratocaster Review

Image
I'm really not looking forward to this... Despite being an overall fantastic guitar, I'm a little apprehensive about restringing the damn thing. This particular Stratocaster came into my possession strung with 9s, and strung poorly at that.  The locking nut eliminates this from being much more than a minor gripe from a tuning stability standpoint, but I'm accustomed to 11s on most of my guitars, and playing this just isn't comfortable. There are a lot of things to like about the Fender System III tremolo, but the process of restringing doesn't seem to be one of them.  I haven't taken the plunge yet, but it seems that the online community is universally in agreement - It is a total pain in the ass, and there's no good way to do it.  I'd have to imagine this was a contributing factor to Fender not continuing to use this system (though I bet the introduction of the roller nut on the USA Stratocaster Plus models was the real culprit/hero). Mor
Read more