« 25th Anniversary Stratocaster »

This guitar is the famous 1979 Fender 24th Anniversary Stratocaster. Because it was a 25th Anniversary Model it had a mix of classic strat parts and 70s strat parts. It has my favorite 70s feature which is the large headstock but the neck is attached with a traditional strat 4 bolt joint. All the other strats at the time had the 3 bolt micro tilt joint which wasnt as good but was accepted at the time. These guitars were painted silver from the factory and most by now have turned into a greenish color. It has a maple neck and fretboard with 21 frets. It has 3 single coils in a standard strat configuration these single coils have alnico magnets with flush poles. The pickups are black and are mounted on a black pickguard. It has a standard fender non-locking tremolo system and like all standard fender non locking tremolo systems it will go out of tune.

UTILIZATION

This guitar is amazingly heavy for a strat. It weighs more than my Les Paul. It will hurt your back after a while. Other than that it plays like a standard strat. The neck is the classic strat shape and the 5 way switch gets you the classic sounds and the inbetween sounds. The tremolo will go out of tune so I recommend you block it or dont use it since it is non locking.

SOUNDS

Because the wood used on this guitar is so heavy the tone is huge. The guitar is amazingly resonant acoustically. It sounds way larger than any strat they are putting out today. It has a really thick tone thats not super bright like on some new strats. Its almost like a Les Paul with single coils. The pickups and the heavy sound make the guitar a twang monster when played clean.

OVERALL OPINION

This is how a strat should sound. Single coil fenders dont have to always sound thin and tinny. This guitar sounds big and fat with single coils. The guitar sounds so good you forget how heavy it is. The fit and finish on this is a lot better than most 70s guitars. Fender doesnt make them like they use to.