Squier SQ Stratocaster 1983-MIJ-Olympic White-Maple Neck-Active/Passive

EDIT-as will be noted below in depth there is a active preamp that’s really noisy when engaged. The pickups work,but the preamp will need some addressing or replacement back to passive and remove it. More details in the rest of the ad and a price reduction as well. Thanks and happy holidays.

These 1983-84 SQ serial number Squier's are very similar to a 70s fender, these were styled after them and over the years these SQ series 70's reissue Squiers have become pretty collectible and nearly impossible to find in the white body with maple neck configuration. SQ Squiers were made right next to the 57 and 62 JV Stratocasters in the early 80's. These SQ Squiers came stock with full sized pots, full sized tremolo block, stamped Fender neckplates and tuners, and the fit and finish blows away what American Fender was making in the mid 70's to early 80's.

When I bought this guitar it had sat for a number of years and needed work, but I could tell with the slight mods done to it that it was someones baby at one point and was probably a great instrument that sat idle years. The main components of this guitar are original and my tech did a excellent job bringing this one back to life. The guitar was taken apart down to every screw. The only parts replaced were the strings, saddles and the rear tremolo cover. The rest is as I bought the guitar. The body was totally cleaned and polished. Areas of paint transfer from walls or other things removed. The finish is original and shows plenty of wear and tear. You will find small dings and scratches all over the paint work. The largest areas of finish wear I have photographed and will describe. The rear upper horn has some scattered dings, shown. The area of the forearm cut on the front has some dings and a smaller chip on the top I have shown. The worst section of finish wear would be on the bottom edge of the guitar , under the lowest tone knob. There is a chip of finish missing and there is some small amount of wood gone as well. The area is stable and no cracks are around it. The neck pocket has finish cracks on either side, common with poly finished Fenders and other bolt ons. On what would be the High E string side of the pocket there is a rather long tight finish crack. On what would be the low E side of the pocket there is a much shorter crack. I have seen the neck pocket and these are finish cracks only, it shows no fracture in the wood via the neck pocket and my tech agreed. There is also a small chip on the edge of the neckplate area. I have tried showing all this. I would describe the body finish as "relic" but again this guitar has totally been cleaned so despite the wear there isnt any grime to it. The neck has fared better over the years in nicer condition then the body. I pushed the strings apart to show a little fret wear but overall pretty minor especially for its age, lots of fret life left on this one. I believe the nut may of been replaced-I am not sure but its in good shape and well mounted. The logo is clear and intact, very similar script to a 70s Fender headstock logo. The headstock has a little rash but mainly just light finish loss. The rear of the neck and fretboard area are pretty clean. There are some very shallow marks and a small area of finish loss on the High E side around the 10th-14th fret, I will include a photo of this. Overall tho a very nice neck, I have had some 70s Strats and this neck is just as good as the best of them but with a nicer cut neck pocket. Before I brought this guitar to my tech and spent many hours of labor charges having him go over it I checked the truss rod, it works perfectly. He also adjusted it and says its in great health. As you can see its the classic bullet truss rod and uses a allen key to adjust. As said the body and neck are original, both with original finishes intact and there has been no wood removal/routing on either. The tuning keys are also original stamped Fender Japan, as is the original Fender Japan Stamped neckplate. The pickgaurd is original. The bridge block/plate are original. I believe the other misc things like the knobs, jackplate etc are original.

What is unoriginal to the guitar-but likely been on the guitar decades are all the electronics. I have no idea who the maker of the electronics in this guitar are. The pickups have very large pole pieces, larger then normal on a standard Stratocaster pickup. I have seen Seymour Duncan offer very similar looking pickups called Quarter Pounder pickups which these look like but again they have no manufacture marks except each pickup has a small sticker one says "4r" one says "4I" and another says I believe "4R" but that sticker is faint. I have found some proof online that these are indeed markings of Quarter Pound Seymour Duncans I will include. The pots are full size. There is also a battery powered preamp. Again no maker marks on it. I installed a fresh 9 volt battery last week though. The controls are a 5 way switch , master volume and 2 tone controls as standard on a Strat. Additionally tho a 2 way mini switch was added. In the down position the volume is pretty faint and flicked up there is a lot more output which makes me assume the difference I am hearing is a active/passive switching. In the down position the faintness is likely because I have the pickups pretty low because when the switch is flipped up to the presumed active positive the pickups get pretty hot.—EDIT—the guitars electronics in the down position for the active engage has been pretty noisy. I personally just leave it in the up position and don’t engage it. I’m not sure why it’s noisy in the active position, it could be some wiring but it all looks good. It could be a lack of any shielding in the cavities of the guitar. I’ve replaced the battery and the noise is still there. It also could be the input jack, it’s a type of active jack Fender part number 005-6055-000 , replacement is $8.75 with shipping. Lastly I suppose the preamp could just have a issue. However the pickups work fine, as do all the pots and switch. I planned to just remove the preamp and go back to a normal passive set up, should be relatively easy. I’m leaving it as is and reducing the price in light of this. The buyer can decide to attempt A repair of the preamp or remove it but as said the pickups work, the switch and pots work. The guitar may need shielding, a new jack or the preamp replaced.

As I also said the bridge block is original, its a full sized one like used on USA strats. It has a small chip out of it but functions fine. The plate of the bridge is original and shows scratching and wear. When I bought this guitar it had 5 brass roller saddles on it. They were a little rough but useable and I wanted to find a matching 6th and couldn't. I thus replaced the entire set of 6 with some generic chrome saddles, nothing special but in good shape and matching. I will include the 5 brass saddles in addition as they have likely been with the guitar since the 80's. The guitar had no rear tremolo cover when I bought it. I had a spare white one and only 2 screw holes on it lined up at opposite corners so its held on with only 2 screws as I was not going to add additional holes to the guitar but the 2 seem to hold it on good enough. Lastly the string trees arent original but utilized the original holes so if you'd like to go back to more stock looking string trees that is defiantly possible.

The guitar has been given a pro set up, nice action. Zero Fretbuzz and it plays great the entirety of the neck, really great. Brand new Ernie Ball Slinkies installed and ready to gig tonight. If you want a rare, unique strat with some honest wear and personality that is also a great player I really doubt one could be had for less $.

No case or Tremolo arm included.

"4R" Sticker Stratocaster Pickup as I described mine to be is said via this link to be a older Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder pickup.

https://reverb.com/item/5736643-seymour-duncan-quarter-pound-pickup-for-strat-used-but-nice

Included in our price is free USPS shipping (rates raised 2019) anywhere CONUS, please allow up to 14 days from purchase to delivery. We will automatically pack and ship within 24 hours if possible but USPS has delays and their ETA is often wrong. Additionally we also carry roughly 7% of fees applied to sales. Thus prices are set, due to volume of messages we will not reply to lower offers or trades unless its a local deal in which case our items are routinely posted on our local to us Craigslist. We follow Reverbs definitions of condition, please read our accurate description of the condition, review all photos and see how the condition is marked "good, Fair, etc" and read Reverbs definition of this and ask all questions BEFORE purchasing and we will be more than happy to answer. We can be found on IG & Facebook as LA Guitar Network and also on Talkbass.com as username A-Step-Towards with over 350 positive feedbacks.