Serial # L99887, neck date of August 2nd, 1965. Pickups dated 8-31-65 (neck and bridge) and 9-8-1965 (middle). Pots all date 14th week of 1965. Sunburst finished Alder body, white pickguard and plastic, B-profile neck with curved Brazilian rosewood board, transitional logo with 4 pat. numbers, and double-line Kluson tuners.

1965 doesn't get much better than this folks. This sunburst Strat is an unmodified and super-clean example of what Fender was up to in the middle of their first CBS year. They all had a lot to prove, money was flowing and the team were in great spirits and it shows on all the instruments to come out in 1965. In my experience all Strats sound different and describing tone is a squirrely thing ...

Some Strats don't have that nasally sound in the out-of-phase position where all the tops disappear - this is one of those. You get that wonderful hollow out-of-phase tone, but with all the highs. This one also has an intense plucky Strat sound - all pickups are very strong and well balanced, no dead spots we can find and the fingerboard seems almost like new.

The L-series serial number on this guitar is the 112th last one and the guitar has a combination of transitional features, including small headstock, 4 patent number transitional logo, Brazilian board, white pickguard, and Bakelite CRL 1452 3-way switch. This guitar is 100% stock, original, and perfect. We're talking solder joints, saddles, nut, strap-buttons, finish, frets, trem-arm ... everything. Finished in a gorgeous rich (unfaded) Sunburst.

Only slight finish wear on the neck, and a very small assortment of minor scuffs on the body. Excellent frets, setup and playability. Pickup DC values of 5.7 (neck), 6.3 (middle), and 6.1 (bridge); and a respectable 8.2 pounds total weight.

Whether you're a player, collector, or both, this is one that certainly deserves your attention. It's the finest condition vintage Strat we've ever offered, and cleaner than 99% of those on the market today. There's a virtually identical one we've seen in Sydney for $70k, which makes this a snip at $50k. Comes with original hard shell case, of course.