1980 Fender The Strat Candy Apple Red

Summary: Fender produced “The Strat” from 1980-1983 until the high costs of production on this model forced them to stop production. The “Strat” went back to the four bolt neck and they also went back to the smaller headstock without the bullet truss rod on the headstock. The electronics are also different with a lot of various pickup combinations and a 2-way rotary knob replacing the 2nd tone knob. This Strat has just been setup and restrung by our in-house guitar tech with a new set of 10s. The finish has aged a bit but it is still in overall great shape and sounds fantastic. It has a Candy Apple Red finish with matching headstock, gold hardware and ships in its original hardshell case.

Body: Solidbody Stratocaster with a Candy Apple Red finish and matching headstock.

Neck: Maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard and a skunk stripe down the back. 25.5” scale length and a 1 9/16” nut width.

Pickups/Hardware: 3 Fender single coil pickups, 1 master volume, 1 tone knob, 1 2-way rotary switch, 5-way pickup selector switch, brass knobs, brass bridge and input jack, chrome tuning keys, white pearloid dot inlays, 3-ply W/B/W pickguard and backplate.

Cosmetics: This Strat is in pretty good shape compared to others from this era. Fender had some finishing problems at this time so there is a bit of “orange peel” texture to the finish. There is a fair amount of wear around the edges, some chips in the finish exposing the wood or the gold undercoat. The gold undercoat is turning green a bit as is common with gold finishes due to their copper content. There is some finish checking in the belly contour, lots of pick scratches on the pickguard, your common scuff and scratch on the body but overall the guitar looks really great if you are into the look of real wear. The neck is almost entirely blemish free save for a couple spots where the finish is worn off, a few chips around the edge of the headstock and a scratch on the back of the neck by the 12th fret. The gold plated/brass hardware has aged and tarnished over time. There is a rout under the pickguard in the bridge position for a humbucker (see photos).

Playability: Our in-house guitar tech has just inspected, setup and restrung this guitar with a new set of 10s. The neck is straight, the truss rod is fully functioning and the action has been setup low and comfortable. The frets are in good shape but the last 3 or 4 frets have been filed down very low. It still plays beautifully up and down the fingerboard with no dead spots or choking out.

Modifications: n/a

Weight: 9 lbs, 13 oz.

Case: This vintage Fender comes with the original hardshell case & we will ship it professionally packed and fully insured!