I love the look of that aged white Strat with the tortoise shell guard ! I am wondering if there is an individual video concentrating on this particular guitar ?
I agree, I’ve played some 70s Strats that sounded great. I Owned a few back in the day, they were a little squeely, but I was playing them through Marshall’s.
@@DougCanney1 I had a 70's strat with a fixed bridge, a Dimarzio SD1 single coil at the bridge and a Duncan Quarter Pounder at the neck. For amps I switched between a Marshall and Fender Twin Reverb. It was pretty satisfying for me at the time.
x00p3 Sounds like you had a great combination of pick ups. When I put a double coil in my strat, it solved most of my problems. This was in the early 80s, there wasn’t any kind of noise reducing pick ups available to me.
From 1975 there were 6 standard colors, no more custom colors. Also the black plastics became standard in 76, first the pickguard then the covers and buttons. Late 70's strats have a nice neck profile usually.
I love 70s stratocasters. I have a 79 thats my baby, all I did was change pups to some Fralin blues specials. It's a tone monster with that heavy ash body.
True. Not a cost saving. They thought it was a better way to adjust the neck, vs. the player taking it off, putting a shim under the heel, restringing, finding the shim very slightly too big or too small, doing it all over again.
Man, I couldn't have asked for anything more than a vid like this from you, Mr. Matthew!! I would LOVE to have adult discussions regarding the CBS '70's Strats. No, they didn't have the quality craftsmanship as the pre-CBS Strats, but they have their own charm. In this day and age, you can bring a '70's era Strat into the wonderful realm of vintage players grade collectibles. The colors of that era were pretty weak, but "refin" is not a dirty word. Fret jobs can be totally worth it, considering how much play one wants out of a guitar. The best thing about '70's Strats is that they are excitedly more affordable than a pre-CBS Strat, but still have that vintage soul. I WISH there was someone that would push the '70's positives out there for people that want a vintage instrument at a fraction of the cost of a pre-CBS Strat. I get that they have issues, but I don't believe they are as horrific as some purists say. Okay, I'm off my soap box. As for this vid, that tone is BULLSEYE!! Thanks again for stepping into the "Forbidden Zone!" Lol!!
Yeah, lots of these black guard/pups from the '70s in circulation, I've seen a couple different ones come and go at a local guitar shop I used to go to.
We had a ‘78 one in our very small local music shop in the UK, I played it. It was awful, but it proves they were quite common. BTW I love ‘70’s Strats, Ive had a ‘73 since 1985.
I have a ‘79 hardtail that looks identical to this. My birth year guitar, I cried when I took it home a few months ago. Tight neck pocket, beautiful finish checking and weighs in a 8.3 lbs. Perfect!
I own a 1978 Fender Stratocaster and I love it! I feel like the 3rd bolt going into metal rather than wood eliminates any perceived instability in the neck.
I won't do a rant on why I don't like mid-to-late seventies fenders. The three bolt neck is the least of the problems. You are correct it's just as secure.
@@guitarocd9984 Maybe not a rant, but perhaps some sound, salient points as to why you harbor disdain for fender guitars of that era? I'd be interested in knowing.
I have a 77 black Strat. Highly Modded. Really old Bardens, Brass nut with a professionally fully scalloped neck in old Nitrocellulose. Dirt cheap and plays amazing.
The three bolt neck was also used by Leo at G&L. It was for the Micro Tilt neck adjustment. I really like that feature. No shimming required. Just a turn of the Allen wrench. I own 3 mid ‘80’s G&L’s and the tone is great and the necks are solid. I have a 2018 Yngwie Strat that has the 4 bolt conversion done like he does to his original strats. I read somewhere that he likes them to be stronger when he whips them across the stage. I bought it just to try the scalloped neck.
So true about those early G&Ls. And don't forget Leo's other post-Fender company, Music Man. With both companies, he used the 3-bolt arrangement with super-tight neck pockets. That's the key. I had two 1981 G&L F-100s.
Let the haters hate those old Strats! The irony is that it keeps them affordable. It's amazing how great vintage instruments can still be had for the price of an import or an artificially aged one.
Thanks Matt. You really get guitars. My guitar teacher always said find a used guitar that has been played, a lot…it means it has tone, and someone loved playing it.
Love it. As much as you (and most people, really) are into the 50's/60's small headstock rosewood Strats, I love the big headstock and bullet truss rod. And all black with maple fretboard is my favorite combo. They're heavy and bright compared to the earlier ones, but I love the sound. All black was a factory color, but later on, they started mixing and matching black guards with white knobs and pickup covers, which I don't like as much. I even like the 3-bolt. Most of the "lack of stability" people complain about was actually due to the neck pockets being sloppier, which gave the neck a lot of room to move around. I have had several three-bolt Strats that were plenty stable, though some required shimming the neck in the pocket.
Big Headstock, crazy I tell you! LOL, my first Stratocaster was a 25th Anniversary I purchased new back in 1979. I Love my Fenders but I was not a fan of that 79, I ended up selling it in 1985/86. Great find Matthew, thanks for the upload.
Glad to see more '70's Strats. My three main guitars are a CS68, CS69 and AVRI 70's Strats. Tremolo block doesn’t look stock. I’d definitely consider that an upgrade LOL! Having a three-bolt neck joint isn’t the weakness, the weakness is the sloppily-cut pocket and sometimes paint would bubble in it and the neck would actually pivot over it. My AVRI ‘70’s Strat’s neck is rock-solid.
Yes. Done right, the 3-bolt arrangement is just fine. Leo's post-Fender guitars (Music Man and G&L) had 3-bolt neck designs but super-tight neck pockets. That's the key. I had two G&L F-100s from 1981 and those necks did not BUDGE!
I hate a love you for all the amazing gear you get to have and play lol. Lost my stuff in a fire so I'm trying to replace some of it. Listening and watching you has gotten me through a lot. Thank you sir.
Looks nearly identical to mine. Mine is a 76. Wired it up with the bridge tied to a tone pot and shielded it with copper tape. I had to replace the frets, wiring harness, nut, and tuners. Paid less than a 2010’s American Strat price for it. The mods made it nice a fat, very stratty, and so much more usable. For reference, my style of music is nearly the same as yours.
Hey Matthew, I love this era strat, l had a 77 black guard clear ash,but traded it, I have an exact looking classic reissue the i put overwound reverse pups that are great,also i put together aMalsteen strat I also put same ipups in its great. At any rate I feel most of the sound is the hands ,amps are very easy to get descent sounds out of. I do watch you occasionally and enjoy your vids...rock on dude!
Another cool sounding strat,way to go .Some of those 70s strats are good ones for sure.I would put some better pickups out of the gate,but keep the oldies in a bag.Keep on rockin.🎸✌
Amazing guitar, my all time favourite. The three bolt stuff is nonsense, they were stable and had micro tilt! Any myths about it are more likely down to bad neck pocket joins.
Exactly. Done right, the 3-bolt arrangement is just fine. Leo's post-Fender guitars (Music Man and G&L) had 3-bolt neck designs but super-tight neck pockets. That's the key. I had two G&L F-100s from 1981 and those necks did not BUDGE!
I've got a 78 big headed bullet truss rod Strat. But it's fixed bridge, Hardtail. Stuff with Gibson PAFs Tone and volume pot, I think it's wired like a Telecaster. It's shielded and has Grover fender pegs on it, Pearl ones. It was a Christmas present from buddy of mine. I love it because it handles like a Fender but it sounds like a Gibson. Instead of having four knobs like a Les Paul it has two knobs and a 3-way switch. Which I find less confusing. I play the bridge pickup mostly.
Just bought a used all original LEFT Handed 1982 crimson red translucent red one. Back in the late 70s and early 80's fender was putting guitars together with different year parts and selling the guitar as new. As a result, my lefty was assembled at the factory with a '78 headstock serial # stamp, '81 pots and pickups, and a neck heel date stamp of '82 (meaning when it was assembled). It has the Dan Smith X1 pickup in the bridge, one of the earliest DS pickups. Even had the original paper sticker with the 78 headstock serial # in the neck pocket. Fender doing it's best to cut costs and use up older parts....Crazy.
I won’t disagree, 70s Strats have always looked the coolest to me however this was the time period where CBS owned Fender and did anything to cut back costs which sacrificed tone and playability.
I have black 79 that has the 3 bolt, the problem I had was side shift in the neck pocket. Fixed it with a plastic shim. As good a Strat as my CS Strat.
Hi Just stumble across this awesome review of the strat ! Im all in on stratocasters and the best part was that you can really play it ! nice touch on the blues
Yup the 4 bolt is an upgrade. My neck in my 70s Strat is pretty easy to jar and move the neck in the pocket. I also didn’t know about the electronics being cheap. The electronics and the body are about the only thing left that are original. I just had more mods done on it last year, just for fun.
'77 here, too, but very generally speaking, the Fenders of that era were just not very good. There's a reason that "vintage guitars" became a phrase and a desired thing, and it pretty much all began because and during this era.
*When Fender went to 3 bolt neck plates there were immediate problems with neck stability which effected intonation when these guitars were released, plus the neck moved easily if bumped around enough. Adding a 4th bolt corrected this but I remember a lot of guitar luthiers would use shems inside the neck pocket to eliminate the neck movement. Making that guitar neck plate 4 bolts really upgraded it and made it better. ✌*
Fender neck pockets in those days were very frequently cut and/or sanded oversized. Bad QC. Leo went the 3-bolt route on his following companies, Music Man and G&L but he made sure those guitars had super-tight neck pockets. Those necks didn't squirrel around ANYwhere.
First off the "three-screw" neck joint (& micro-tilt) wasn't a cost cutting measure. Leo came up with it and used it on his G&L guitars and probably Music Man also (don't remember). I've had several '70s Strats and when properly set up they play as well as anything. You can' beat the Micro-Tilt adjustment for setting neck angle.
This model of guitar it's my favorite of all time. I remembered that I fall in love when I saw David Gilmour on Echoes song at Live at Pompeia. That's the day I get into in rock nr oll and guitars
But I think that guitar was a 1969 guitar. And I think I read that that guitar was stolen. Correct me if I am wrong and share if you know somthing about the black strat with the big head stock (in my opinion that headstocks its more cooler!)
I like it...although my first strat was a 3bolt and it served me more than 20 years, I did have some issues with it. It seemed like everyone had issues like it at the time, so onward we went. That guitar looks like it has been played a bunch though, a good sign.
I have a 1976 Stratocaster USA made. When I received the guitar(about 1985) it had been scalloped on a rosewood fingerboard. The entire neck was scalloped that guitar was my first"real"guitar.. I absolutely fell in love with the scalloped fingerboard. It taught me so much about Dynamics,iversatility in it.touch. when I started purchasing guitars that we're not scalloped? It took me a couple weeks to get used to it.I tell you right now that would be a prime example of a guita to scallopr.my advice? scallop the entire fingerboard!¡!!
Fender changed to the 3 bolt neck joint from late 74 to early 75 I think. At least that’s what I’ve picked up from my years of drooling at old Jazz basses on Reverb!
Hi Matthew, nice tones and playing as always. About the neck pocket, I think you need to take look inside the neck pocket to understand that the 3 screws (in real 2 screws, 1 big machine bolt and 2 steel plates inside) are way more expensive to make than just 4 screws in the wood. It may not worked well for stability, but I think it was not a solution to cut corners. It was a try to make a tilt adjust easy. There are some others "bad" specs and inconsistencies from this era, but I think some of then was not to make it cheap. Peace!
A major thumbs-up on that comment. It was NOT cost-cutting. They truly thought the 3-bolt micro-tilt was a better design, and there's no problem with it when done RIGHT. A solid, tight neck pocket is what's needed and Leo did just that with his post-Fender Music Man guitars and G&L.
I have a 1970 , beaten , hammered ,all numbers shape up, the three neck plate was a hassle they started trying them in 71/ 72 mine I. A hard Tail 4 bolt , hand wound pickups good sound but the neck takes a bit of getting used to being thin at the neck the two eeesss strings can fall of the neck, but coming out of the 60 into the 70s these are history and worth collecting thanks
hey man!! its been a bit since ive seen your stuff (ive been real busy lmao) but i see you're still killing it and still getting these sweet guitars. i hope to see you live some day soon. keep up the good work, youre an inspiration!!!!
I have a white 79 there a great work horse. Someone once said ...You can fight your way out of a bar fight with a 70s strat and you may but not necessarily....have to tune it up afterwards. Mine still has the three bolt neck I've never had any problems with it and I've had it from new. I love how the truss rod is able to be adjusted from the hear stock. You have to take the scratch plate off on a normal strat to access it. It sounds great if there was any gripe it would be the weight very heavy compared with say a 50s or reisue. Most 79s were black with hard tails but mine had the trem system.I also think a lot of the bad rap was from fender purists who did not like the changes CBS made with these models.
sounds good i bought one as i got out of the army in 1977,was 175.00 an i knew nothing,had the rare beautiful woodgrain all over though..american made by mexcans in southern california, lol i guess..
The myth of the 3-bolt is so majorly overblown. Those 70's strats with the 3-bolts are workhorses.
Nothing like a wake n bake and a new upload from you to start my morning.
Amen, Mr. Asslick.
Dude same
@@blortslompson2388 lmao damn my username is fuuuuuugggged.
Same
Facts
I think Stratocasters are attracted to you Matthew, the amount in the background just keeps growing!
Next video: *i sold all my old Strats to buy this PRS Dragon!*
@@j_freed lol no
It's because of how much beautiful love and appreciation he gives them.
I love the look of that aged white Strat with the tortoise shell guard ! I am wondering if there is an individual video concentrating on this particular guitar ?
70's Strats really don't deserve all the hate they get. Just take this one as an example, it's got mountains of sound!
Ritchie Blackmore likes them.
I agree, I’ve played some 70s Strats that sounded great. I Owned a few back in the day, they were a little squeely, but I was playing them through Marshall’s.
@@DougCanney1 I had a 70's strat with a fixed bridge, a Dimarzio SD1 single coil at the bridge and a Duncan Quarter Pounder at the neck. For amps I switched between a Marshall and Fender Twin Reverb. It was pretty satisfying for me at the time.
x00p3 Sounds like you had a great combination of pick ups. When I put a double coil in my strat, it solved most of my problems. This was in the early 80s, there wasn’t any kind of noise reducing pick ups available to me.
i have a 76 Strat. best strat sound i ever heard
i want that. maybe i’m odd, 70’s strats are my fav and that 4-bolt mod is sweet.
From 1975 there were 6 standard colors, no more custom colors. Also the black plastics became standard in 76, first the pickguard then the covers and buttons. Late 70's strats have a nice neck profile usually.
Love the 70s headstocks
I honestly love 70s strats. Just like any strats some are bricks some are amazing.
i love the 70s too that headstock is beautiful the bullet is great
As long as it's not furniture brown, I'm fine with it :)
I love 70s stratocasters. I have a 79 thats my baby, all I did was change pups to some Fralin blues specials. It's a tone monster with that heavy ash body.
How were the original pickups?
Nice '77 one. 3 bolts was not cost saving but micro tilt neck adjust system (with an allen key in the little hole)
True. Not a cost saving. They thought it was a better way to adjust the neck, vs. the player taking it off, putting a shim under the heel, restringing, finding the shim very slightly too big or too small, doing it all over again.
Man, I couldn't have asked for anything more than a vid like this from you, Mr. Matthew!! I would LOVE to have adult discussions regarding the CBS '70's Strats. No, they didn't have the quality craftsmanship as the pre-CBS Strats, but they have their own charm. In this day and age, you can bring a '70's era Strat into the wonderful realm of vintage players grade collectibles. The colors of that era were pretty weak, but "refin" is not a dirty word. Fret jobs can be totally worth it, considering how much play one wants out of a guitar. The best thing about '70's Strats is that they are excitedly more affordable than a pre-CBS Strat, but still have that vintage soul. I WISH there was someone that would push the '70's positives out there for people that want a vintage instrument at a fraction of the cost of a pre-CBS Strat. I get that they have issues, but I don't believe they are as horrific as some purists say. Okay, I'm off my soap box. As for this vid, that tone is BULLSEYE!! Thanks again for stepping into the "Forbidden Zone!" Lol!!
At that date the black pick guard etc was the standard. I know I was a teenager craving a real Strat then.
this is true
Yeah, lots of these black guard/pups from the '70s in circulation, I've seen a couple different ones come and go at a local guitar shop I used to go to.
We had a ‘78 one in our very small local music shop in the UK, I played it. It was awful, but it proves they were quite common. BTW I love ‘70’s Strats, Ive had a ‘73 since 1985.
Best strat I ever played was a hardtail 70s strat with a 3 bolt neck.
5:58 that is such a SRV move 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Yep, he does it in little wing.
@@Shortened2Max he did that all the time, in lots of songs
@@MDC249 Indeed he does, Little Wing is just the most notable example.
The way you handle clean settings shows that you don't 'need no place to hide'. Sweet sounds!!!!!!!!1
I have a ‘79 hardtail that looks identical to this. My birth year guitar, I cried when I took it home a few months ago. Tight neck pocket, beautiful finish checking and weighs in a 8.3 lbs. Perfect!
I also have a 77 that looks exactly like yours. It's Sunburst underneath. Very cool. Thanks for sharing.
I own a 1978 Fender Stratocaster and I love it! I feel like the 3rd bolt going into metal rather than wood eliminates any perceived instability in the neck.
I won't do a rant on why I don't like mid-to-late seventies fenders. The three bolt neck is the least of the problems. You are correct it's just as secure.
@@guitarocd9984 Maybe not a rant, but perhaps some sound, salient points as to why you harbor disdain for fender guitars of that era? I'd be interested in knowing.
I love the neck profile on those 70’s strats
I have a 77 black Strat. Highly Modded. Really old Bardens, Brass nut with a professionally fully scalloped neck in old Nitrocellulose. Dirt cheap and plays amazing.
Man after a bad Monday,that intro sure made things much better! Keep on keepin on!
The three bolt neck was also used by Leo at G&L. It was for the Micro Tilt neck adjustment. I really like that feature. No shimming required. Just a turn of the Allen wrench.
I own 3 mid ‘80’s G&L’s and the tone is great and the necks are solid. I have a 2018 Yngwie Strat that has the 4 bolt conversion done like he does to his original strats. I read somewhere that he likes them to be stronger when he whips them across the stage. I bought it just to try the scalloped neck.
So true about those early G&Ls. And don't forget Leo's other post-Fender company, Music Man. With both companies, he used the 3-bolt arrangement with super-tight neck pockets. That's the key. I had two 1981 G&L F-100s.
The tri-black '77 strat is one of my hero guitars and the four-bolt neck plate is definitely an upgrade. Great playing.
Let the haters hate those old Strats! The irony is that it keeps them affordable. It's amazing how great vintage instruments can still be had for the price of an import or an artificially aged one.
Things change!
Thanks Matt. You really get guitars. My guitar teacher always said find a used guitar that has been played, a lot…it means it has tone, and someone loved playing it.
Awesome show Matthew! You made it sing!
Killer Strat! I would love to buy one from the 70's at player grade
My brotha....I’ve been here since about 5k subs....and I still enjoy your vids...Happy New Year !.....your living the dream bro...🙏🏻💪🏻👌🏻👍🏻
Really luv the tone you ex-strat/stracted outta this one...
Real sweet'n jangly
One sweet guitar and you highlight it well..we can really hear the clean tones.
I've been listening to other stuff for a few weeks ... then back here to catch that INTRO! Sweeeeeeeeeeet tones.
Love it. As much as you (and most people, really) are into the 50's/60's small headstock rosewood Strats, I love the big headstock and bullet truss rod. And all black with maple fretboard is my favorite combo. They're heavy and bright compared to the earlier ones, but I love the sound. All black was a factory color, but later on, they started mixing and matching black guards with white knobs and pickup covers, which I don't like as much. I even like the 3-bolt. Most of the "lack of stability" people complain about was actually due to the neck pockets being sloppier, which gave the neck a lot of room to move around. I have had several three-bolt Strats that were plenty stable, though some required shimming the neck in the pocket.
Big Headstock, crazy I tell you!
LOL, my first Stratocaster was a 25th Anniversary I purchased new back in 1979.
I Love my Fenders but I was not a fan of that 79, I ended up selling it in 1985/86.
Great find Matthew, thanks for the upload.
I have a thing about 70's Strats and that big headstock. Love it, great guitar.
Glad to see more '70's Strats. My three main guitars are a CS68, CS69 and AVRI 70's Strats. Tremolo block doesn’t look stock. I’d definitely consider that an upgrade LOL!
Having a three-bolt neck joint isn’t the weakness, the weakness is the sloppily-cut pocket and sometimes paint would bubble in it and the neck would actually pivot over it. My AVRI ‘70’s Strat’s neck is rock-solid.
Yes. Done right, the 3-bolt arrangement is just fine. Leo's post-Fender guitars (Music Man and G&L) had 3-bolt neck designs but super-tight neck pockets. That's the key. I had two G&L F-100s from 1981 and those necks did not BUDGE!
This is really one of the best channels on UA-cam. My man Matthew out here steady killin it. Keep it up bro! Much love and respect from Massachusetts!
Sounds cool..it sure sounds like it has your usual setup..which proves a point right!
That mod is totally acceptable. Yngwie plays 70s strats and they all have that mod.
Love it man that strat is super vibey
Great upload, mate.
As always, thanks for sharing.
Cheers
I hate a love you for all the amazing gear you get to have and play lol. Lost my stuff in a fire so I'm trying to replace some of it. Listening and watching you has gotten me through a lot. Thank you sir.
Looks nearly identical to mine.
Mine is a 76. Wired it up with the bridge tied to a tone pot and shielded it with copper tape. I had to replace the frets, wiring harness, nut, and tuners. Paid less than a 2010’s American Strat price for it.
The mods made it nice a fat, very stratty, and so much more usable. For reference, my style of music is nearly the same as yours.
It's my dream to have a 79' Strat in black body, black pickguard and all plastic parts in black, i think this looks pretty elegant. And sounds great.
It's always a pleasure to hear you playing.
Hey Matthew, I love this era strat, l had a 77 black guard clear ash,but traded it, I have an exact looking classic reissue the i put overwound reverse pups that are great,also i put together aMalsteen strat I also put same ipups in its great. At any rate I feel most of the sound is the hands ,amps are very easy to get descent sounds out of. I do watch you occasionally and enjoy your vids...rock on dude!
Sounds very good!....Love the worn maple neck!
Thank for another great video. The 70 strat sounds great!!
hey Matthew it is always pleasant to see an uploaded video on youtube when it is you. you are the best
I know 2 local cats who both played black bullet Strats just like this. Both played theirs to death. Great looking and surprisingly solid sounding!
This one sounds awesome, tasty licks also
Another cool sounding strat,way to go .Some of those 70s strats are good ones for sure.I would put some better pickups out of the gate,but keep the oldies in a bag.Keep on rockin.🎸✌
What. A. Sound. Just perfect!
I've always wanted a 74'. I kinda like the 3 bolt neck myself, but if you got a deal, you cant beat it! Rock on!
Done right (tight neck pocket) the 3-bolt arrangement is perfectly fine.
very cool.... I've never had an issue with 3-bolts personally but cool mod still.
Beautiful channel !! Greetings from Italy 🇮🇹😊🤟
Amazing guitar, my all time favourite. The three bolt stuff is nonsense, they were stable and had micro tilt! Any myths about it are more likely down to bad neck pocket joins.
Exactly. Done right, the 3-bolt arrangement is just fine. Leo's post-Fender guitars (Music Man and G&L) had 3-bolt neck designs but super-tight neck pockets. That's the key. I had two G&L F-100s from 1981 and those necks did not BUDGE!
I've got a 78 big headed bullet truss rod Strat. But it's fixed bridge,
Hardtail. Stuff with Gibson PAFs
Tone and volume pot, I think it's wired like a Telecaster. It's shielded and has Grover fender pegs on it, Pearl ones. It was a Christmas present from buddy of mine. I love it because it handles like a Fender but it sounds like a Gibson. Instead of having four knobs like a Les Paul it has two knobs and a 3-way switch.
Which I find less confusing.
I play the bridge pickup mostly.
Just bought a used all original LEFT Handed 1982 crimson red translucent red one. Back in the late 70s and early 80's fender was putting guitars together with different year parts and selling the guitar as new. As a result, my lefty was assembled at the factory with a '78 headstock serial # stamp, '81 pots and pickups, and a neck heel date stamp of '82 (meaning when it was assembled). It has the Dan Smith X1 pickup in the bridge, one of the earliest DS pickups. Even had the original paper sticker with the 78 headstock serial # in the neck pocket. Fender doing it's best to cut costs and use up older parts....Crazy.
luv the neck pickup tone,really sweeeeeet.its a keeper fo sure
Wow it sounds great. Clear and rich
Love the BIG headstock just like Hendrix.
It looks and sounds good Matt!!!!
Nice. I never really understood the hate of the 70s strats.
I actually prefer the look of the oversized headstock.
I won’t disagree, 70s Strats have always looked the coolest to me however this was the time period where CBS owned Fender and did anything to cut back costs which sacrificed tone and playability.
I have black 79 that has the 3 bolt, the problem I had was side shift in the neck pocket. Fixed it with a plastic shim. As good a Strat as my CS Strat.
Another nice find Matt!
Hi Just stumble across this awesome review of the strat ! Im all in on stratocasters and the best part was that you can really play it ! nice touch on the blues
Yup the 4 bolt is an upgrade. My neck in my 70s Strat is pretty easy to jar and move the neck in the pocket. I also didn’t know about the electronics being cheap. The electronics and the body are about the only thing left that are original. I just had more mods done on it last year, just for fun.
I wouldn't mind that one at all. It was made the year I graduated high school. It would be a cool one to own!👍😎🎸🎶
'77 here, too, but very generally speaking, the Fenders of that era were just not very good. There's a reason that "vintage guitars" became a phrase and a desired thing, and it pretty much all began because and during this era.
@@anthonyc1883 yep. Kind of a shame.☺
That thing sounds wicked! So does your playing man. Keep up the great work! :D
Sounds Awesome Man
I love it, man...sounds great!
"Just take the discount and go play it" Words to live by.
Sounds beautiful & awesome vintage tones 😎🎸👍🙌
*When Fender went to 3 bolt neck plates there were immediate problems with neck stability which effected intonation when these guitars were released, plus the neck moved easily if bumped around enough. Adding a 4th bolt corrected this but I remember a lot of guitar luthiers would use shems inside the neck pocket to eliminate the neck movement. Making that guitar neck plate 4 bolts really upgraded it and made it better. ✌*
Fender neck pockets in those days were very frequently cut and/or sanded oversized. Bad QC. Leo went the 3-bolt route on his following companies, Music Man and G&L but he made sure those guitars had super-tight neck pockets. Those necks didn't squirrel around ANYwhere.
Sounds great man!
my dream guitar is a 70s strat in a really nice aged natural, wish i could afford anything close
First off the "three-screw" neck joint (& micro-tilt) wasn't a cost cutting measure. Leo came up with it and used it on his G&L guitars and probably Music Man also (don't remember). I've had several '70s Strats and when properly set up they play as well as anything. You can' beat the Micro-Tilt adjustment for setting neck angle.
This model of guitar it's my favorite of all time. I remembered that I fall in love when I saw David Gilmour on Echoes song at Live at Pompeia. That's the day I get into in rock nr oll and guitars
But I think that guitar was a 1969 guitar. And I think I read that that guitar was stolen. Correct me if I am wrong and share if you know somthing about the black strat with the big head stock (in my opinion that headstocks its more cooler!)
With some fresh strings and in a blind test I don’t think many if any could hear the difference in that one and a pre CBS with you playing them.
If a certain guitar inspires you it will sound different.
I like it...although my first strat was a 3bolt and it served me more than 20 years, I did have some issues with it. It seemed like everyone had issues like it at the time, so onward we went. That guitar looks like it has been played a bunch though, a good sign.
Apart from the critic I gave on another video, you have great tone.
70s strats are amazing, I have a 72' hardtail
I have a 1976 Stratocaster USA made. When I received the guitar(about 1985) it had been scalloped on a rosewood fingerboard. The entire neck was scalloped that guitar was my first"real"guitar.. I absolutely fell in love with the scalloped fingerboard. It taught me so much about Dynamics,iversatility in it.touch. when I started purchasing guitars that we're not scalloped? It took me a couple weeks to get used to it.I tell you right now that would be a prime example of a guita to scallopr.my advice? scallop the entire fingerboard!¡!!
Sounds lovely !
Fender changed to the 3 bolt neck joint from late 74 to early 75 I think. At least that’s what I’ve picked up from my years of drooling at old Jazz basses on Reverb!
That 3 bolt was Leo's idea, in fact I have a 1982 G&L Superhawk that has the three bolt neck in it. Never have had an issue with it.
Exactly. I had two 1981 G&L F-100s. The key is a tight neck pocket. My necks never moved.
Well, it’s different. But it’s a warm, good different.
LOL, that end blooper! I felt that “Oh My GoD😩😒”
Hi Matthew, nice tones and playing as always.
About the neck pocket, I think you need to take look inside the neck pocket to understand that the 3 screws (in real 2 screws, 1 big machine bolt and 2 steel plates inside) are way more expensive to make than just 4 screws in the wood.
It may not worked well for stability, but I think it was not a solution to cut corners. It was a try to make a tilt adjust easy.
There are some others "bad" specs and inconsistencies from this era, but I think some of then was not to make it cheap.
Peace!
A major thumbs-up on that comment. It was NOT cost-cutting. They truly thought the 3-bolt micro-tilt was a better design, and there's no problem with it when done RIGHT. A solid, tight neck pocket is what's needed and Leo did just that with his post-Fender Music Man guitars and G&L.
I’m usually not a fan of the 70s fenders but man this is a nice sounding guitar
Nice Strat....real nice
I have a 1970 , beaten , hammered ,all numbers shape up, the three neck plate was a hassle they started trying them in 71/ 72 mine I. A hard Tail 4 bolt , hand wound pickups good sound but the neck takes a bit of getting used to being thin at the neck the two eeesss strings can fall of the neck, but coming out of the 60 into the 70s these are history and worth collecting thanks
hey man!! its been a bit since ive seen your stuff (ive been real busy lmao) but i see you're still killing it and still getting these sweet guitars. i hope to see you live some day soon. keep up the good work, youre an inspiration!!!!
I understand. It's a busy time. Thanks for watching and good luck to you👍🏻
Dude I love your videos
I have a white 79 there a great work horse. Someone once said ...You can fight your way out of a bar fight with a 70s strat and you may but not necessarily....have to tune it up afterwards. Mine still has the three bolt neck I've never had any problems with it and I've had it from new. I love how the truss rod is able to be adjusted from the hear stock. You have to take the scratch plate off on a normal strat to access it. It sounds great if there was any gripe it would be the weight very heavy compared with say a 50s or reisue. Most 79s were black with hard tails but mine had the trem system.I also think a lot of the bad rap was from fender purists who did not like the changes CBS made with these models.
Sounds awesome actually..
Always great playing
Love the 70,s strats as long as they are lightweight and has a rosewood fingerboard.
Crikey. Gotta sub. You just seem to get so many cool guitars in your mitts.
Very nice find, very Gilmour looking, I dig it 😎👍
sounds good i bought one as i got out of the army in 1977,was 175.00 an i knew nothing,had the rare beautiful woodgrain all over though..american made by mexcans in southern california, lol i guess..