Review quickie: Fender (Japan) Late '60s Stratocaster

Once again, this is the Japanese interpretation of a late '60s Stratocaster & not an official re-issue. If it is, then the body wood should not be basswood. However, the spirit of this era is kept true at the headstock; bigger, post-'65 outline & truss rod adjustment at the neck heel.

Likes

• weight
• overall construction, fit & finish
• neck profile
• price

Dislikes

• stiff pickup selector
• vintage frets

This is a good guitar in terms of build; almost flawless, less the little bit of untidy nut slots (wound strings) which can be easily trimmed with a pen knife. Everything feels solid & well put together, a good testament to the Japanese craftsmanship. Out of the box, even the rosewood fretboard looked well-conditioned. To me, the biggest draw here is the neck profile. It's not the typical Fender C but a flat-ish U with substantial edge spaces. If you've played an ESP, that's how this feels but a beefier version of things so that it won't exclusively appeal to the shredders. If there's any put off here, then it would be the vintage frets. OK so this guitar is an attempt to re-live the spirit of the times & these frets are thoughtful inclusions but they won't appeal to heavy handed players especially those who bend notes like there's no tomorrow. I'm not that kind of a player (in fact, I hardly bend) but I'm put off by these frets for that effect on feel. 

Tone-wise, these pickups are labelled as 'Vintage style' by the manufacturer & they sound darn warm & sweet in clean mode. Bonus - these sound impressive with loads of distortion as well; proof that you don't need high output pickups to sound menacing; it's about having the suitable pickup type to do the job regardless of the details. Last but not least, this instrument lists on the favourable side of $1K since it's from the Traditional Series, a line up that do not feature extravagant, price-bumping details, which might account for why the 5-way selector feels a little stiff.

Final rating: 89%

Fender (Japan): Traditional Late '60s Stratocaster (bag included)

List: $1,299

Availability: Swee Lee