- Style: Pre-CBS Body (worm route) for Fender Stratocaster
- Wood: Two-piece Swamp Ash (American) or Two-piece Alder (Japanese).
Light-weight One-piece American Swamp Ash also available at £345 on request. - Finish: Nitrocellulose Custom Candy Apple Red undercoat, Olympic White overspray (worn)
- Routing: 3 Single Coil (other options on request)
- Weight: approx. 4lbs (1.8kg)
- Price: £250.00 (alder); £295.00 (swamp ash)
During the 1960s Fender was very inconsistent in using undercoats in their custom colour finishes. Although usually if there was an undercoat at all it would be white primer, there are also a significant number of examples of original finish vintage Fender instruments with other undercoats. Of these instruments, it is common to see sunburst finishes appear beneath solid and metallic finishes, most likely because at the time it was quicker, easier, and cheaper to spray another colour over the top of a poor sunburst finish rather than scrap the body or strip it back down and start again.
More unusually in these bodies (but still common enough for them to avoid being dismissed as a one-offs) is custom colours with undercoats consisting of other Fender custom colours. It is thought that these examples are most likely the result of either a poor first coat (as with the sunbursts mentioned above), resulting on the factory spraying an altogether different colour over the top to disguise the first poorer finish, or else the product of a rush order skipping place in the Fender production line resulting in an already-started body being reassigned to a different colour. Finally there are also examples of Fender guitars which have been returned to the Fender factory for a customer-requested change of colour, although these are stamped as such on their return to the factory and were more often stripped back and refinished from bare wood since the customer was paying..
The nice thing about these types of finishes is not only their uniqueness (the originals are very rare and fetch huge amounts of money when they do exchange hands now), but the fact that as the top finish wears down (either as the result of age/wear or from our stringent relicing process) to expose a completely contrasting colour beneath enhances their relic appeal.
We are able to offer our boutique vintage replacement guitar bodies with the same unique dual-finishes as these odd-ball Fender creations from the '50s and '60s, both in alder and in swamp ash and in your choice of colour for both the first and secondary finishes. The photographs above demonstrate a customer-ordered olympic white body with candy apple red underneath (which is in turn a three-step finish with metallic undercoat!) but anything is possible, drop us a line and tell us what you're after and we will be happy to discuss the options with you.
These types of dual-finish are available to your specification at an additional £35 over the normal guitar body (one-finish) price.
Our bodies are built to a very high standard and are specifically intended for vintage guitar restoration or relic cloning. Our bodies are finished in genuine nitrocellulose (without any polyurethane or plastic-based undercoats or Fullerplast), and using original paints and mixing formulas where possible to ensure boutique-quality and a 'road worn' feel. They are built and worn using careful study and comparison with original worn vintage guitar. This means that their contours, shape, colour tones, and markings (both in construction and relicing) are as close as possible to original vintage parts, and as authentic as (if not more so) any other vintage reissue or relic replica guitar on the market today.
Pre-CBS Fender guitars only had clear top coats applied to custom colours, metallic and sunburst finishes. Others were left without a top coat unless specifically requested when the guitar was ordered from the factory, this is often sighted as the cause of the extreme fading (or tinting in the case of the lighter Olympic White bodies) of colour in vintage guitars that still retain their original lacquer. In this respect our products deviate slightly from authenticity for the sake of modern reliability, with a very thin layer of clear nitrocellulose applied to all of out bodies (and more to those which would have had these clear coats in the first place). The majority of this is removed again during the aging process, and all of our bodies can be specified without any at all, but it does add just a touch more protection from sun and heat damage to the colour finish.
All of our guitar bodies, necks, accessories, parts, and hardware are aged to customer specification, so if you want a very heavy relicing effect akin to something that's spent its life being dragged behind a truck, we can do that! Equally if you only want a very light almost-NOS effect, that's just as possible. Just let us know and we'll make sure we meet your requirements. The only exceptions are extra-heavy (Gallagher-style) relics, or exact-match relics, where there's a lot more work involved. We are also able to offer a customisation service so if you don't see the finish you want, or the routing you want, just drop us a line to let us know your requirements and we will be happy to discuss the options available to meet your particular project guitar needs. We can also provide all of the hardware, parts and plastics you need to complete your custom relic guitar, either as separate items or in kit form, just ask.
Compatibility
click diagram to zoom in
Our replacement Stratocaster guitar bodies are of the same high quality as the authentic guitars and parts that were being produced in Leo's workshop more than forty years ago, and aged to appear as if they really are a product of that era. They are intended as authentic vintage reproductions for replacement or repair of genuine vintage instruments, or as part of your own replica vintage guitar project.
It goes without saying that these guitar bodies are fully compatible with original vintage Fender Stratocaster hardware and components, as well as more modern American Fender reissue parts.
Unless otherwise requested, our replacement Stratocaster bodies are produced and sold pre-drilled in three key areas:
- Four holes in the neck pocket for Standard Vintage Fender neck positioning. The neck pocket adheres to standard Fender dimensions so it will accept most Fender and aftermarket replacement Fender Stratocaster necks.
- Two holes for the scratchplate at the top horn position and beside the lower side of the bridge. These mounting hole positions are standard amongst all of the major variations (for example: 8 or 11 hole) of American pickguard, which leaves the body able to accept the era-correct scratchplate of your choice and provides key alignment points to allow you to drill the other mounting holes necessary for your specific pickguard.
- Six holes for mounting the bridge. These are spread at 2 7/32" to accommodate genuine vintage bridges and more modern American Fender reissue pieces.
If you are at all unsure about compatibility with other parts you already own, or may be considering for your guitar project, please send us a message and ask and we'll be happy to advise further.
Satisfaction Guarantee
Buying custom items online and unseen can be a daunting proposition, especially when it comes to such personal tastes as artificially aged and reliced guitars. For this reason we offer a satisfaction guarantee: if for any reason you're not happy with your items upon receipt, you just have to return them to us for refund. That's how confident we are of the quality, craftsmanship and authenticity of the guitars and parts we sell.
Unless otherwise stated, the prices quoted above (£250.00 & £295.00) are for the body only, regardless of any other items which may appear in the photographs on this page alongside the body. All parts, hardware, components, and plastics you need to complete your relic guitar project are available separately.
£250.00 two-piece alder
£295.00 two-piece swamp ash
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available to custom-order *
