Fender Stratocaster 1965 Sunburst All Original, Early '65 L Series, Small Headstock, 7.8 lbs.

Offered here is a marvelous transitional era L-series 1965 Stratocaster, this one built in early 1965, serial number L70902. Like the other '65 Strat we have in stock as of this writing, this is among the cleanest examples in existence and appears entirely original!
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As a "transitional era" instrument, this guitar has pearloid inlays instead of clay, the pickups are "gray bottoms" instead of black, the headstock decal is the transitional style and the tuners are the Kluson 'dual line' style. Otherwise, there is little to differentiate this '65 from the prior year '64s. The neck is dated January 1965 (2 JAN 65 B), the pots date to the fifth week of 1965 and the pickups are dated '2-3-65'. The C-shaped maple neck has depth measurements of .83" at the first fret increasing to .95" at the twelfth fret. It has a lovely dark Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and the original vintage style frets. The electronics are all original, including the undisturbed factory solder joints and the factory-installed three way switch. This guitar has a total weight of 7.8 pounds.

The condition of this instrument can only be described as spectacular! The original sunburst nitrocellulose finish has faded very little over the past half century and most of the original finish remains intact. I've included close up photos of the few cosmetic flaws on this fabulous instrument. The original green pickguard and the rear cavity cover have shrunk just a bit, but this guitar remains in fabulous original condition, far better than most of the guitars from this era that are still in existence.

This guitar plays great and sounds superb, as evidenced by the sound sample included below. The original frets still have plenty of life left in them. It comes in an era-correct black tolex "no tail" logo case with the trem arm and "ash tray" bridge cover.

This is a great playing and sounding investment grade vintage Stratocaster. Make it yours before prices creep ever-higher!