r/Stratocaster

It’s a fender Stratocaster with a satin finish.

Just picked up a Fender Custom Shop 2015 Wildwood 10 ‘55 Strat NOS. Turns out the previous owner installed a complete Callaham bridge assembly. I am a little overwhelmed at the moment- because I’m still getting my head around what I have.

New to guitars and i noticed that there is some yellow flaking on the sides of the synthetic nut. Is this normal?

Also, there is some gray residue on the sides near the fingerboard as well, is that normal tooo?

I am rebuilding a strat. I never liked the fact that the bridge screws go straight into the wood. They are rarely 100% perpendicular, the screws tend to be chewed up, even when we used the perfect bit to turn them. As the wood cycles with temperature and humidity, the wood screws are never as precise as one would like. So, I am thinking of using inserts and socket head bolts (for more precise adjustment, and so that they last forever, and they could look better). I think that the reason why Fender did not go for inserts on 6-screw bridges was simply due to cost, but I could be wrong.

I would love your input as to potential problems.

Many thanks.

Hi everyone, I am really looking to play a classic Strat style guitar, but am kinda on a budget. I dug up my old 2007, made in China, Squier Affinity series Strat and it got me thinking. Would this be a good base for upgrading? Or should I instead find a used MiM Strat and work off that (with a slightly more limited upgrade budget)? Appreciate any opinions on this!

In case it helps, I’ve included a photo of what the guitar looks like (found online, but the same model). Only has like one ding and the pick guard is faded. Has a maple neck.

Washburn D-10, Epiphone Riviera + Wildkat

I recently seen Ed “Bud” Cole’s speech to dealers about a month or so ago. He is the current CEO of Fender and a terrible public speaker, was unprofessional and came off like a concerned, uneducated renter speaking at the local township zoning meeting. But I don’t see any difference between what Ed Bud is doing with Fender that hasn’t happened before. Martin bullied Takamine and Alverez for copying their famous guitars and script. Gibson literally sued Ibanez and Dean over their headstock shapes. Not to mention Gibson going after PRS.

I’m also seeing some YT creators and online influencers changing their opinions against Fender. It seems the reason Fender is sending out the cease and desist letters is the same thing that happened previously.

Well, as the title says. With work being a bitch (as usual), a recent breakup (painful), and my birthday coming up in a couple of months (oh joy), I decided to give myself an early present. For context, I’d almost stopped playing for 2 years cause I kept moving around for work

Cue the search online, add to cart, and one week later she’s here!!

Squier Classic Vibe 50s Strat in 2 tone sunburst, or Layla, as I will call her henceforth (Plugged into my Cort CM15)

Things to do:
- Put on a set of Ernie Ball Silver Slinky 10.5 - 47
- Basic setup

Surprisingly in tune out of the box, but I did find the action a bit low and the neck a bit slow

Cheers y’all

I found this old generic Steeler Strat at my parents' house after it had been sitting unused for 10+ years. It originally seems to have been a very cheap guitar, probably around $80-$150 new. The electronics are basically unusable, but I recently had a local guitar tech inspect it and he said the neck, frets, nut, body, bridge and tremolo are all in decent condition, with no major structural problems, however he didn't check the truss rod since it wasn't a standard size, although he said is "straight enough" and doesn't need adjusting. I'm considering turning it into a dedicated strat-style recording guitar rather than trying to make it valuable or resell it.

My current plan is:

- Professional setup, fret work, cleaning, neck treatment and new strings

- Replace the entire electronics with a pre-wired SSS Alnico V pickguard- Shield the cavities

- Keep the original bridge and tuners for now

- Possibly repaint the body Candy Apple Red later

The setup is about s/120 ($35 USD) locally, and the pre-wired pickguard is around $53 (from amazon). The paint would be another ~$120 just to paint the body (they made that clear), so I'm probably going to postpone that.

I already own other guitars, including a Squier Tele CV 50s and a modified Epiphone Les Paul, so this isn't my only instrument. The main reason I'm considering this is that I don't currently have a proper strat sound in my collection, and this guitar is essentially a "free" platform to experiment with. I'm not expecting it to become a "better guitar" than a Classic Vibe or anything like that. I'm mainly interested in whether the underlying platform is good enough that, after a proper setup and new electronics, it could become a genuinely enjoyable and useful recording instrument since I use exclusively Amplitube 5.

Would it be worth spending ~$90 into this guitar, or it would be better to just save enough for a Squier Classic Vibe instead?

I am trying to identify the model variant, year of production and whether it is a USA/Mexico/Asian made model. Or if this thing is even a real fender.

No visible serial number on neck, nor in the neck pocket when taken off (perhaps replacement neck?). I believe this is a midnight blue finish which may place it in the region of 90s- early 00's.

Plays very well and feels high quality but I know this doesn't guarantee that it is even a real fender.

Feedback much appreciated, thanks.

I'm thinking of either mint or some kind of anodized gold.

Looking for recommendations!