RARE!
Mint limited run 1997 Fender USA American Roadhouse Stratocaster Hot Rodded with stock Fender Custom Shop Texas Special Pickups, Chrome Hardware, Fender/Schaller Deluxe Tuners, Teal Green Metallic Finish, Tortoise Shell Pickguard and Trem Cover. Comes with brand new navy blue Fender Classic Series Wood Case. All original condition, immaculate, no mods. Real NOS!

Important Note: Please be aware that I WILL NOT ACCEPT PAYPAL payment for this listing. Payment will be accepted via bank transfer or cash upon pickup only.

Hello Guitar Friends!

Up for sale is my rare, mint and SUPER CLEAN, SHOWCASE CONDITION 1997 Fender USA Roadhouse Stratocaster with stock factory original Hot Rodded Custom Shop Texas Special Strat Pickups, Teal Green Metallic Finish, Alder body, Rosewood Fretboard, Fender/Schaller Deluxe tuning machines, Tortoise Shell Pickguard and Trem plate. All stock and original. This guitar sounds killer and makes modern strats sound thin – its the real deal!

These limited run Roadhouse strats were not cheap 27 years ago: Original U.S. MSRP in 1997: $1,170.99. Today’s CPI inflation adjusted price would be $2245.00.

This strat can be categorised as NOS and is in VIRTUALLY UNPLAYED CONDITION. All original, still shiny chrome hardware, no mods. This is a USA STRAT and Fender only made a limited run of these from 1997-2000. This one is an early first-year production and Fender's flagship model (as seen in the Reverb Catalogue to your right). I challenge you to find another one of these in such condition! Brand new navy blue Fender Classic Series Wood Case and tremolo included. Guitar will be sent with a new set of David Gilmour Signature GHS 10-48 Boomers. 

These limited run Fender USA Roadhouse Stratocasters are some of the best production model guitars that Fender ever made (do not mistake it for a mexican made "Deluxe Roadhouse" made in Mexico from 2008 on). If you did a blind test between these and the current Custom Shop offerings the USA Roadhouse Strat would win many of those. I know this for sure because I own many strats, including few Custom Shop made.

IT HAS BEEN IN THE CASE FOR 27 YEARS, only occasionally taken to try out, clean and oil the fretboard. It has been literally played only a handful of times - just check the condition of the frets on the close-up pics - like new at 100%. Never giged or taken out of the house. IT STILL HAS THE ORIGINAL AND UNTOUCHED FACTORY SETUP. I own many other strats to play and this one was spared as one of my showcase axes.  Over the early years I was searching to get something fancier like a Custom Shop (which by now I own few) but whenever I actually picked up this Roadhouse Strat, I lost that desire. It is a real custom shop strats killer!

Not only is it eye-catching, but superb sounding. The fuller tonal spectrum and increased output of the FENDER CUSTOM SHOP TEXAS SPECIAL PICKUPS deliver the best sound of any non-custom shop strat I've played. As far as the tone, the Texas Specials will hold their own standards with anything on the market. Visible 250K pots and high-end capacitor (found in some US vintage reissue and CS strats) assure the best sound unattainable by newer production model strats.

The big difference to other period strats is the neck profile, the Roadhouse has a more modern feel. An innovation was also the maple neck with rosewood fretboard w/ two way adjustable truss rod and medium-jumbo frets. What an excellent player! I have sold expensive guitars off my collection since I bought this axe, but this one somehow stayed always with me :)

The 1997 Roadhouse is part of three models originally known collectively as the "Hot Rodded American Series" Stratocaster. These models included the Lonestar which have an SSH configuration - two single coil Texas Specials and a Duncan Pearly Gates humbucker. The Big Apple model has 2 Duncan Pearly Gates humbuckers. The Roadhouse came with three Texas Specials. The body has the "swimming pool" routing, but this is a plus since the pickup route is deep enough to accommodate tall stacked coils pickups. The neck is very comfortable on this strat. If you have not played a Roadhouse strat neck, do yourself a favor and try one of these classics if you get a chance. 

Regarding the detailed specs I contacted our friends at Fender Consumer Relations with this guitar's serial number and here is what I got from them:

Hello, Thanks for writing in. Here are the full specs for serial
N7250679 - ROADHOUSE STRAT RW TLG

• Production date: 06-19-1997
• Production Facility: Corona, California USA
• Model Name: RoadhouseTM Stratocaster®
• Model Number: 010-7300-(Color#) and 010-7302-(Color#) 
• Series: Hot Rodded American Standard Series 
• Body: Alder 
• Neck: Maple 
• Fingerboard: Rosewood pn# () (9.5” Radius/241 mm) 
• Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo Frets 
• Scale Length: 25.5” (648 mm) 
• Nut: 1.6875” (43 mm) 
• Hardware: Chrome 
• Machine Heads: Fender/Schaller Deluxe Cast/Sealed 
• Bridge: American Standard Tremolo 
• Pickguard: White Pearloid on (845) Teal Green Metallic Tortoise Shell
• Pickups: 3 Texas SpecialTM Strat® Pickups with Special Flatter Pole Piece Array 
• Pickup Switching: 5-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup Position 3. Middle Pickup Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup Position 5. Neck Pickup 
• Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Middle Pickup)
• Color: (845) Teal Green Metallic, (Polyurethane Finish) 
• Strings: Fender Super Bullet 3250L’s (.009 to .042) Nickel Plated Steel pn#073-3250-003 
• Other Features: Original U.S. MSRP in 1997: $1,170.99 
• INTRODUCED: 1/1997 
• DISCONTINUED: 6/2000

Regarding the condition,
THIS STRAT IS SUPER CLEAN. No chips, dents, buckle rush or checking throughout. The pickguard is original and has NO PICK MARKS! Frets are 100%. The neck plate, tuners, bridge and all chrome hardware is shiny like new and without blemishes. The guitar's clear coat finish is superb in front and back, it has only one very shallow 1 mm clear coat mark from guitar stand on the back of the upper neck - it is so small it will not show up on the pics, you could detect it only by smooth touch. Trem cover has one very shallow mark that also will not show up on the pics - only visible from special angle under the bright light. Both can easly go udetected if not mentioned but I am overall very picky and always inspect my stuff before listing it on Reverb, so there are no surprises. If not for this, the guitar would be listed in New NOS and VIRTUALLY UNPLAYED CONDITION. Just check the condition of the frets, body finish and fretboard on the close-up pics. Original factory (untouched setup), I only fitted it with a new set of GHS 10-48 Boomers (you can set it up to your playing preference of course). Overall condition is immaculate!

Someone is in the right place at the right time. Grab this beauty before someone beats you to it! Thanks for looking and check my other listings for unique stratocasters!

Shipping:
Guitar and case will be well boxed, cushioned with bubble wrap and sent with tracking within 48 hrs of cleared payment. Shipping is limited only to countries to which a shipment's declared value for insurance purposes is allowed. If you are not sure if your country is on this list please enquire before purchase. Also, considering late pandemic and lockdowns there may be some delay in shipping which is beyond my control. Buyers outside the EU please be aware of any possible duties imposed by your government and enquire with your local customs office.

Important Note: Please be aware that I WILL NOT ACCEPT PAYPAL payment for this listing due to its very high currency conversion fees and a few very unpleasant experiences in the past when I lost money (someone paid me with a stolen card via Paypal and Paypal first approved the transaction and later debited my account after item was sent, so I don't trust them anymore).
Payment will be accepted via bank transfer or cash upon pickup only. A proper sales contract will be drawn upon request and the guitar will be shipped upon clearance of funds. This offer is through Reverb which I like and trust with all seller's and buyer's protection in effect and Reverb fees will be paid as always have been. Check my 100% positive feedback .....
I will ship it fast with DHL or DPD on buyer's sole responsibility within Europe, to North America, Australia and NZ (others please enquire). You can also pick it up personally or arrange your own courier whom you trust. Thanks for looking, check my other rare strats listed and rock on!