Fender MIM Stratocaster – Seymour Duncan Antiquity Loaded – Player Built / Road Proven

I’m selling one of my project Strats, and if you’re the kind of player who appreciates a guitar that’s been upgraded because it’s been played—not because it was built for Instagram—this is worth a look.

This started life as a 2000 MIM Fender Strat and slowly turned into one of those guitars that keeps surprising people the moment they plug in.

Like a lot of players, I’ve got a habit of rescuing neglected Strats—especially older ones where the wood has had time to settle and dry out a bit. I bring them back to life, fix the weak points, and build them into something I actually want to play.

The guitar (quiet, solid, fully functional)

Right up front: this guitar works exactly as it should.

It is quiet, stable, and reliable, with no scratchy electronics, no noise issues beyond normal single-coil behavior, and nothing weird going on. It’s been used in a non-smoking, non-pet home studio.

Professionally set up and intonated. Stays in tune across the neck. Currently strung with 11s, set up to comfortably handle 10–11 gauge strings.

Upgraded nut (believe it’s TUSQ or bone).

Pickups / electronics

Loaded pickguard:

• Seymour Duncan Antiquity Texas Hot – Neck
• Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Surfer – Middle
• Seymour Duncan Antiquity Texas Hot – Bridge

Hendrix-style reverse bridge pickup pickguard included.

Electronics are American-made and the loaded guard was wired by Seymour Duncan.

Pots are wired so that you can control the tone on position 5 :)

Tone (what it actually does)

In general, her tone goes for darker and grittier. But she has plenty of sparkle you can cull from her pups.

This pickup set is very intentional.

The Texas Hots give you punch, bite, and a bit more push than a traditional vintage Strat set.

The Antiquity II Surfer in the middle is more mid-’50s voiced and slightly lower output on paper—but in real playing it’s not a problem at all.

• Neck: has that slightly thicker, SRV-style push
• Position 2: glassy, chimey, very Strat “air”
• Middle: unusually useful on its own, not a dead spot at all
• Position 4: classic quack, very musical
• Bridge: has enough output to not feel thin or weak

I play blues, blues-rock, and funk—this setup absolutely lives in that space.

Condition (honest wear)

This is a played guitar. I tried to take pictures all of all her dings and scrapes and frankly they look worse in pictures than they do in person lol

There are dings, scrapes, and bumps on the body from previous gigging and use. All cosmetic, all pictured. Some have been lightly sanded down over time. Nothing affects playability or tone.

Important point:
All the wear is on the body. The neck is clean.

The fretboard and neck are in great shape. Standard Fender frets, but it plays clean up and down the neck with no choking or dead spots.

It feels broken-in in the best way.

You’ll also see normal grime around the pickguard area in photos. That’s just what happens when a guitar gets played a lot. I left it in the photos because it tells the truth better than a wiped-clean version.

It will be cleaned before shipping.

Extras included (read this carefully)

Original Fender loaded pickguard

Original MIM Fender pickup set and electronics still mounted.

• Original pickups intact
• Original wiring intact
• One pot may be bad (not fully sure—this was never used after the upgrade)

Perfect for:

• restoring original spec
• spare parts
• pickup harvesting if you prefer that route

Hardware / setup

Tremolo is currently blocked for a hardtail-style feel, but it’s fully reversible and all parts are present including springs.

Professionally set up, stable, and well intonated.

Electronics are quiet and reliable and AMERICAN.

Treble bleed status is unknown—I don’t remember installing one, so assume it does not have it. Either way, volume taper is smooth and usable.

Why I’m selling

I’ve got another Strat that overlaps too much with this one, and I can’t justify keeping duplicates right now.

I’m not selling it because I don’t like it. I named it for a reason ('Jennifer' and she has her own strap) —this guitar got played a lot and I’ve got a real attachment to it. But this stupid economy is killing everybody, so needs must.

Final thoughts

This is one of those guitars that ended up better than expected.

If you want mint and untouched, this isn’t it.

If you want a Strat that’s already been played in, properly upgraded, quiet, stable, and sounds like it’s been broken in for years… this is that category.

I think most players who plug it in will keep it as-is rather than strip it, but that's up to you.

Everything is included so you’ve got options either way.

I've dumped over $1200 into making this axe what she is.

$849.00/obo takes the full package. Buyer covers shipping. Ships from Minneapolis, MN.

Happy to answer any questions. I left a link so you can hear her on the rig below. If you want to hear her clean pots and a DI signal, just go to youtube and search for " DI Signal and Pots Test"