1998 Fender Deluxe Player Stratocaster Ash Body Sunburst w/ Fender Japan Neck

Up for sale, a 1998 Fender Deluxe Player Stratocaster body paired with an early Fender Japan neck. The introductory year for the Deluxe Player model, this guitar features a gloss Sunburst-finished ash body, and the electronics include a trio of USA-made alnico magnet Strat pickups, with the low-profile push-button switch which engages the bridge pickup in positions 4 and 5 on the blade switch. Offering a broad range of classic Strat tonalities, the ash body gives the guitar a distinctive note attack and midrange heft, and the ability to engage the bridge and neck pickups together is a particularly compelling tone, blending biting twang and bell-like warmth. The early Fujigen factory-made Fender Japan neck has a great feel and is a worthy compliment to the Deluxe Player body, with one-piece maple construction that offers excellent playability and the snappy articulation that maple provides. Professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, we've restrung this Strat with 10-46 strings and dialed in the action and intonation for optimal playability.

The maple neck has a medium C shape that borders on the slender side, with a quick, effortless feel measuring .835” at the 1st fret and .970” at the 12th. The fingerboard has a 7 1/4" radius and sports the original slender fretwire. Light uniform wear is present on frets 1-2, extending exclusively under the plain strings until fret 8. The guitar plays cleanly up the neck with no buzzing or dead spots, the neck is arrow straight, and the truss rod is responsive in both directions. On the headstock, a silver Fender logo is present along with “Made in Japan” printed underneath the Stratocaster text. Above the neck plate, the "O" prefix serial number dates the neck to 1994.

The electronics work as they should and consist of three Fender American Standard single coil pickups and a USA wiring harness with CTS pots and a Switchcraft five-way switch. The vibrato unit has a full-size block, working very smoothly and responding reliably for quick shimmies and deeper dives. A previous owner purposefully paired chrome and gold hardware on this guitar, with a gold jack cup and screws anchoring the vibrato and pickguard. The three-ply red "meatball" tortoise pickguard is very clean, with white plastic covers and lightly aged knobs.

The gloss three-tone Sunburst highlights the wide grain of the ash body and cosmetically, this guitar is very clean overall. There is one fairly large touched-up finish chip located at the bass side lower bout edge in the black of the burst. On the back, there are some expected light scratches as well as a concentration of light marks on the treble side lower bout edge. A handful of small shallow marks are present on the neck profile, but nothing distracting to the palm.

A gigbag is included.