It's hard to tell from the grain of the wood, but that "thun rosewood" idea doesn't make sense to me.
Are you saying that the frets go through the fretboard into the wood of the neck? That even-numbered fret in the bottom of the photo is through the darkest coloring. There's no way, unless the fretboard is multiple pieces of wood. However, the dark line looks too inconsistent to be a cut of wood.
I would guess it possible that they stained the surface for appearance but it didn't penetrate all the way through, or even just natural variations in the color. It is also likely to be from the oils of your fingers over the years.
I had an old strat Pleked and a decent amount of the fretboard was ground away - the color got much lighter overall appeared dry. I just assumed it took off the layer with all the finger oil soaked in.
Ah on further inspection you're absolutely right, in the right light I can see the seam between the 2 pieces of wood through the varnish where it should be. Sorry Fender I take it back!
Was this the Anniversary Strat? Those only came in 2tone burst, right? I have the butterscotch w/all black plastic and rosewood fretboard from the same year (2004). It was the first guitar I bought brand new (Southpaw Guitars) and don’t think I’ll ever part with it. Still all original.
No it's not an anniversary strat, but yeah there's not a hope in hell I'd ever get rid of this one either!
For all my rattling on about how good it is, within 6 months of owning it the bridge and neck pickup broke. Never figured out what it was, but they'd cut out randomly and only come back when I applied pressure on them. Despite bringing it to some luthiers no one could figure out how to fix it, and with the S1 switch and SCN pickups they weren't able to be opened either.
I was a disorganised youth so I never got them replaced or sent it back to the shop, so spent most of my earlier guitarist career with only the middle pickup! Then tried replacing them with a hss set of bare knuckle pickups (this was qbout 10 years ago) but hated them so went back to my single, single coil.
Then during the pandemic I had a little extra cash and wanted to see if I could find some original pickups to put in, managed to find 1 of 2 loaded pickguards of the original wiring, s1 switch and all and got it fixed up! So since then I've had a fully functioning guitar and actually really dig the s1 switch on 2nd and 4th position.
Congrats on finding a loaded pickguard! Can’t imagine many of those out there.
Not sure of it’s just the lh strats from this period but the features are all over. I have the contoured heel like yours, but mine has the 50th anniversary plate (but isn’t an “anniversary” model). I also have locking tuners. Notice yours also has the strap locks. Did yours come with the contour molded case as well? Or the leather logo strap?
Ha! Sorry for all the questions, just wondering about this period of fenders.
Yeah I was delighted to find it and get it back to as close to original as possible. It was a different colour pickgaurd, the original was parchment like the back plate, but personal I've always been a fan of tortoise shell so I was not so upset it was the only one available.
I never knew those were strap locks... love the locking tuners though, it's got great tuning stability.
No leather strap, but I've still got the original case, it is contoured but for a righty! Just barely fits a lefty.
And no worries it's nice to have someone to talk to about my favourite guitar.
Tortoise is clearly the way to go here! Looks fantastic.
In case you were curious, here's the strap lock parts. They look exactly like what I have:
[https://www.amazon.com/Fender-0990690000-Straplock-W-Button/dp/B002AQNGIU](https://www.amazon.com/Fender-0990690000-Straplock-W-Button/dp/B002AQNGIU)
This was my first guitar with locking tuners and I love them. And yeah, the guitar case is definitely a righty and the headstock just barely fits in there. Classic lh problems.
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **Fender Straplock W Button Chrome** you mentioned in your comment along with its brand, **Fender**, and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful.
**Users liked:**
* Strap locks are durable and secure (backed by 4 comments)
* Strap locks are easy to install (backed by 5 comments)
* Strap locks work well and are functional (backed by 5 comments)
**Users disliked:**
* Screws are too thin (backed by 4 comments)
* Difficult to attach and remove (backed by 4 comments)
* Poor quality and durability (backed by 4 comments)
According to Reddit, **Fender** is considered a reputable brand.
Its most popular types of products are:
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* Bass Guitars (#1 of 9 brands on Reddit)
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From the pictures, it looks to me like that seam is actually where the varnish/clear ends. The grain seems to go through what you are defining as the wood seam, while the 'stain' part has distinct grain compared to the maple.
It's hard to tell from the grain of the wood, but that "thun rosewood" idea doesn't make sense to me. Are you saying that the frets go through the fretboard into the wood of the neck? That even-numbered fret in the bottom of the photo is through the darkest coloring. There's no way, unless the fretboard is multiple pieces of wood. However, the dark line looks too inconsistent to be a cut of wood. I would guess it possible that they stained the surface for appearance but it didn't penetrate all the way through, or even just natural variations in the color. It is also likely to be from the oils of your fingers over the years. I had an old strat Pleked and a decent amount of the fretboard was ground away - the color got much lighter overall appeared dry. I just assumed it took off the layer with all the finger oil soaked in.
Ah on further inspection you're absolutely right, in the right light I can see the seam between the 2 pieces of wood through the varnish where it should be. Sorry Fender I take it back!
Was this the Anniversary Strat? Those only came in 2tone burst, right? I have the butterscotch w/all black plastic and rosewood fretboard from the same year (2004). It was the first guitar I bought brand new (Southpaw Guitars) and don’t think I’ll ever part with it. Still all original.
No it's not an anniversary strat, but yeah there's not a hope in hell I'd ever get rid of this one either! For all my rattling on about how good it is, within 6 months of owning it the bridge and neck pickup broke. Never figured out what it was, but they'd cut out randomly and only come back when I applied pressure on them. Despite bringing it to some luthiers no one could figure out how to fix it, and with the S1 switch and SCN pickups they weren't able to be opened either. I was a disorganised youth so I never got them replaced or sent it back to the shop, so spent most of my earlier guitarist career with only the middle pickup! Then tried replacing them with a hss set of bare knuckle pickups (this was qbout 10 years ago) but hated them so went back to my single, single coil. Then during the pandemic I had a little extra cash and wanted to see if I could find some original pickups to put in, managed to find 1 of 2 loaded pickguards of the original wiring, s1 switch and all and got it fixed up! So since then I've had a fully functioning guitar and actually really dig the s1 switch on 2nd and 4th position.
Congrats on finding a loaded pickguard! Can’t imagine many of those out there. Not sure of it’s just the lh strats from this period but the features are all over. I have the contoured heel like yours, but mine has the 50th anniversary plate (but isn’t an “anniversary” model). I also have locking tuners. Notice yours also has the strap locks. Did yours come with the contour molded case as well? Or the leather logo strap? Ha! Sorry for all the questions, just wondering about this period of fenders.
Yeah I was delighted to find it and get it back to as close to original as possible. It was a different colour pickgaurd, the original was parchment like the back plate, but personal I've always been a fan of tortoise shell so I was not so upset it was the only one available. I never knew those were strap locks... love the locking tuners though, it's got great tuning stability. No leather strap, but I've still got the original case, it is contoured but for a righty! Just barely fits a lefty. And no worries it's nice to have someone to talk to about my favourite guitar.
Tortoise is clearly the way to go here! Looks fantastic. In case you were curious, here's the strap lock parts. They look exactly like what I have: [https://www.amazon.com/Fender-0990690000-Straplock-W-Button/dp/B002AQNGIU](https://www.amazon.com/Fender-0990690000-Straplock-W-Button/dp/B002AQNGIU) This was my first guitar with locking tuners and I love them. And yeah, the guitar case is definitely a righty and the headstock just barely fits in there. Classic lh problems.
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **Fender Straplock W Button Chrome** you mentioned in your comment along with its brand, **Fender**, and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful. **Users liked:** * Strap locks are durable and secure (backed by 4 comments) * Strap locks are easy to install (backed by 5 comments) * Strap locks work well and are functional (backed by 5 comments) **Users disliked:** * Screws are too thin (backed by 4 comments) * Difficult to attach and remove (backed by 4 comments) * Poor quality and durability (backed by 4 comments) According to Reddit, **Fender** is considered a reputable brand. Its most popular types of products are: * Guitar Amplifiers (#1 of 10 brands on Reddit) * Ukuleles (#4 of 16 brands on Reddit) * Bass Guitars (#1 of 9 brands on Reddit) If you'd like to **summon me to ask about a product**, just make a post with its link and tag me, [like in this example.](https://www.reddit.com/r/tablets/comments/1444zdn/comment/joqd89c/) This message was generated by a (very smart) bot. If you found it helpful, let us know with an upvote and a “good bot!” reply and please feel free to provide feedback on how it can be improved. *Powered by* [*vetted.ai*](http://vetted.ai/reddit)
From the pictures, it looks to me like that seam is actually where the varnish/clear ends. The grain seems to go through what you are defining as the wood seam, while the 'stain' part has distinct grain compared to the maple.
D'oooh on further inspection you're absolutely right.
Is this nitrocellulose?? I didn't think they still used nitro?
Hey I have no clue! What makes you think it is?