Fender '68 Reissue Stratocaster

This is just a small update on my MIJ strat so far I have not had the cash for a refret/bone nut done. But I did replace the tremolo block and top plate with a vintage repro block and plate from Bill Callaham. Mr Callaham is in Virginia U.S.A. and is producing replacement strat blocks that fit the American and Japanese Strats these blocks are made from steel as were the originals . The difference this makes in sound and sustain has to be heard to be belived, the block that was on the strat was an inferior metal alloy mix, when I took it off I tied some string on it hung it up and tapped it with a metal ruler it was dead. I did the same with Bill`s replacement block and it rang out, so think how the one on your guitar is deadening your tone and sustain. When fitted and played the difference is stunning, the tone and sustain are much better. My guitar now sings and I would recommend this upgrade to anyone no BS. I said I bought this guitar to upgrade it and this small replacement is one of the best you can do, I am a player who wants a great tone before any electrical enhancement,pedals etc, and this does it to the bone. Collectors if that rocks your boat fair enough leave your guitar as it is . But players if you want to give your strat that extra edge try this upgrade. I live in the U.K and Bill sent my block after receiving the payment on the Monday and I got it on the Friday same week, great stuff great service. Bill also sells 6 replacement screws for the top plate , I have these as well but they are longer than the screws on the guitar already so to fit them I would have to lengthen the screw holes, apparently vintage Strat screws used to go into the tremolo spring cavity right through the body, but I have not fitted these yet , still thinking. Tonequest have got this trem block as there top upgrade on the strat they modified. Try out www.Callahamguitars.com/ . No I don`t work for or have anything to do with the company , but I do know that there are lots of players out there looking to get a great tone . Be interested if any of you do the upgrade on what you think. Next is the bone nut and re-fret as many have said the frets are not very good and I agree so they need to be sorted, I don`t know if they are just a cheap alternative to keep costs down or a reproduction of the originals.

For this upgrade

Bought in '91, Japanese reissue of '68 Strat
Standard Strat s/s/s 5-way 1 vol 2 tone
vintage style trem, tuners, frets
maple neck, 3 tone sunburst
plastic hardshell case

The neck pickup yielded great Hendrixesque tone through Chandler Tube Driver, Dunlop Wah and 71 Twin Reverb, but the bridge and middle (which I rarely use alone) were tinny and harsh. So, I went ahead and routed a nice big hole in the bridge for a Seymour Duncan vintage-style P-90 and that addded all the chunk I could ever want. Probably the best thing about reissues - cheap enough to cut up without remorse.

Set up nicely, low action. Under pickguard was surprisingly well done. The 3-tone finish chipped off kind of easily though but I guess I'm a bit rough on guitars to begin with.

Again, the finish. Looked good but flaked off. For a while it was my only guitar and held up nicely to energetic stage usage. The neck finish stood up well though.

never dealt with Fender

This was my first electric, and I bought it because it was the only left handed guitar I could find at the time. If it got lost, stolen, or whatever, I guess I would look for another one, and make the same P-90 mod too.

Made in Japan. I looked on the official Fender website, which told me it was made between 1997/98. Apparantly a reissue of the 1968 model.
The neck is a 21 fret, 2 piece maple affair, with a very slim 'C' shape and narrow nut, with chunky late 60's/early 70's headstock.
The slimness of the neck makes it a dream to play, ideal for the Hendrix-style thumb on the low E string (especially for those not blessed with hands the size of Jimi's), although this won't be to everyones taste.
Also, the frets are of a particularly narrow gauge. Whether this is a reissue thing, or just cost cutting I don't know, but this has caused alarming wear in the more frequntly used positions. However, it would only be fair to say that I play with a very heavy left hand, so this needn't neccesarily be problem for the more nimble figered player.
The body is 3 piece, real wood (which I can see through the 3-colour sunburst finish), of unknown origin. Most likely alder or ash, although I read that Basswood is more commonly used in the Far East, as it is more readily available, but sounds similar.
Electrics are standard Strat', Pickups S/S/S, 5-way selector, 1 volume, 2 tone, standard tremelo.
The tuners look nicely retro', and respond very well.

Sound-wise, this guitar is one of the best I've played, only surpassed by some genuine Vintage Strats' I've had the fortune to play previously. However, it won't be for everyone, as it is INCREDIBLY trebly - even for a Strat'.
Having read other reviews posted for this guitar, there seems to be a debate concernig the pickups, with many people disliking and replacing them. Untill I read this, I had given very little thought to this, accepting the trebly sound for what it is. However, having given the matter some thought, there could be some scope for replacing them - the bridge pickup especially.
For me, this is not essential, as I play through a Valve amp (the bass channel of an old Selmer), and use heavier gauge strings for a fatter bottom end. However, anyone who wants a really bassy sound should perhaps give this guitar a miss, unless they're prepared to fork out for new pickups.
Despite this, the general tone produced by this guitar is particularly rich. I think the acid test for any electric guitar, is how it sounds acoustically (ie. unamplified), and this really is a fine example. No problems with sustain, and a deep, full tone make it the envy of all my friends (even the ones who play Gibsons).

The setup of this guitar was impeccable. The trem' was set to 'float' perfectly (a quality not often seen on Strats'), the action was almost ridiculously low, and the intonation was perfect.
Whether this level of quality reflects all guitars in this range, i don't know. I know some shops set guitars up themselves, whereas some just sling then striaght on the shelves. Perhaps the quality of setup depends more on where you buy, than on what.

Impossible to say. No more of less durable than any other quality guitar I have played, but certainly does'nt feel like its going to break.
Actually, on second thoughts, I have in tha past been rather rough with this guitar, the tremelo unit in particular, has taken quite a hammering, and nothing has broken yet. In fact, I've never even so much as broken a string, which is quite unusual.

Never needed any.

Although I am by no means an expert in the field, I'll stick my neck out and say this is the closest you'll come to a 60's Strat', without forking out several thousand pounds for a real one.
On top of that, although vintage giutars may offer the tones of our dreams, they may not be in pristine condition, and come with no garauntee whatsoever. I believe Fender themselves offer a limited lifetime warranty on all of their products (whilst still with the origonal owner), but dont quote me on that - check the Fender website www.fender.com for more details.

Reissue of '68 (or thereabouts) Strat, 21 tiny frets, sunburst finish on 3-piece ash body, 3sc p/u's, very slim u neck, narrow at nut, heavily laquered maple board. Big old Hendrix headstock with slotted Kluson tuners. How do you rate this - it's a Strat. Look at my car, it has wheels!!

I play all kinds, I have phases of all sorts. I play a Marshall JCM900 (the high-gain job) with a Metal Zone and a Crybaby, and I have the sound I want after years of looking!! It is super-twangy, a lot of people here have replaced their pickups but I kind of like it. It really does have some treble, messing about the other day with the neck/middle setting I found an amazing Buddy Guy tone, really organy. The neck pickup is excellent as well, it does all the usual Strat noises with a frightening amount of clarity. It can be prone to microphonic sqealing, tho'.

Came from the shop absolutely spot on, no problem at all. Finish is excellent 12 years on, and I've played and played with the setup and I think I've probably got it back to how it was from the shop, hahaha!!!

Built like a tank, and will last like one. Mine's covered in dings and dents, I'm not one of those obsessive types who thinks about what it will be worth in 40 year's time!! The only point I would make concerns the neck. I replaced it last year (through choice!!) with a Warmoth compound-radius rosewood board job. The frets on the original just got worn out, and they were tiny to begin with. Got some locking Schallers as well, helps the tuning no end!!

N/A, the staff at the shop it came from were excellent (I don't know if the shop is still there, if it is then go and have a look).

I've been playing about 13 years, in and out of bands, nothing serious, I just love playing!! I also have a Custom Shop Anniversary w/ Texas Specials, and an HM Floyd Strat, an old ADA MP1 and various other bits and bats showing up my teenage 'widdle rock' phase but I keep coming back to this. If it was nicked, I wouldn't go out of my way to replace it, I couldn't. They're all different, you have to get a good one, and just go with what feels best. I'd cry, though, hahaha, this was my first guitar and I love it!!

I love the U shaped neck. I have smaller hands and this neck really is comfortable. The small nut was a bit of getting used to. But now I love the feel. It was put together pretty well and it is light, a big plus! The electronics and tuning pegs were poor.
nice looking guitar with the cool big headstock

Out of the box the pickups sounded bad (I mean not good)
twangy and thin. the switch was cheap and failed after little use. I do use the switch a lot granted.
I changed the pickups twice. The first time was lace sensors blue in the bridge and silver in the neck/middle a high quallity switch and it sounded great.
Dont use the gold or the red laces. The silver are great. Clean and snappy.
The blue lace is nice and warm but still with a little snap.

It now has Seymour Duncan little 59ers in all positions. Nice but I like the laces better.

Factory pick ups were too twangy for the smooth rock style I play.

Action was good and the finish is nice.
The tuning pegs were cheap, and sloppy. I replaced them with Gotoh klusion style replacements. Much better.

I have used this guitar in many bars and recording sessions. Now that I've changed the pegs and pickups I love it.

????

I have owned Les Pauls, American Strats and Teles. This is my favorite because of the feel of the guitar. The electroninc are not good, After replacing them with higher quality parts, this guitar is fantastic. Sounds great (now) ,lightweight, and is sturdy. I would like to buy a vintage white one if I could find one.

It was made around 1994, because it's got a "50 years of fender"-decal on the back of the headstock. Got 21 frets. Got solid body, the wood is either a very light ash or, for this value, I think it's this "basswood-thing". Got the standard controls, tuners, bridge, etc.
The pickups are really something to wonder about...
They sound this way in 1968 ???
The finish is the reason why I bought this guitar:
Sunburst body and maple neck with big headstock, very very beautiful!
also I have to mention that the grain patterns of the body wood look good, you don't see where they put the body pieces together (3 Pieces)
The paint job is very well done.
On neck also, got vintage frets on it, na ja...
The neck suits perfectly for my hand, the U-shaped, narrow at the nut is what makes this guitar totally different to all the others, it's somekind of Jazz Bass-shape for Strat...superb action

The pu's sound funky, funky, funky...
and nothing else!
No way to get anything more "heavy" out of this guitar.
The pu's are just too weak (and noisy).
I like to play real straight, just the guitar and the amp (Fender, Marshall). For clean sounds adding a little bit chorus, for hard ones more volume...
So to get more variety out of it, I'm going to change the pu's

First I wanted to give it back to the store.
At home you take a closer look to it, you know...
and the neck was not accurately in the neck pocket,
but I was able to fix it easily (thank god!)
I changed the saddles for modern ones, they don't peek your palm.
The rest was fine

I've been using this guitar a lot, but only the clean sound, because I got a refinished 79 Strat to play the heavy parts, and I never got a problem...
(knock on wood...)
Anyway nobody ever walks on stage without backup...

The only contact to Fender:
sometimes visit the webside, and ask for a catalog...
(with all this nice guitar pictures in it... I love it!)

I'm playing guitar for 10 years now.
The perfect Guitar for ME would be a combination of the ones I got:
the neck and beauty of the 68 (and the weight!)
the big frets and the sound of the ref. 79
the hardtail of the 90 deluxe tele...(ok, sounds silly)

Made in Japan, late 80s methinks. According to 'Stratocaster' book, it's a remake of the 1968 model. Tricolor sunburst ash body, maple fingerboard cap on maple neck. Twenty-one thin frets, large headstock, two string guides. Standard S/S/S pickup config with 5-way selector. Staggered polepieces (oddly, the rhythm pickup is staggered different). Standard vibrato, tuners and truss rod (non bullet). Came with gig bag. Interestingly, the body is a lot more contoured than my 70s American made strat; it's also a tad lighter in weight. I don't know how to rate the features but I got exactly what I wanted; no more, no less (except for the fact that I didn't get a hard case.)

The tone is light and t(w)angy, especially through my silver face Twin. The output is lower than my 70s American made hardtail rosewood strat with flush polepieces: it barely pushes my Boss SD-1 Overdrive into overdrive. The usual amount of noise. I like the sound, but wouldn't mind a tad more output.

Had to readjust middle pickup, as it seemed hotter than the other two. Otherwise, OK.

Strap button at base of the body is loose and may need to be reset. Otherwise, seems fine and dependable

This is one of the few guitars I've played that felt right upon first play; more so than my Les Paul Custom, my long sold away '63 Strat, etc.. It's tone is thinner and more wirely metallic than other Strats I've owned- is this a reproduction of the '68' sound? It sort of sounds like the tone on JH's 'All Along The Watchtower.' On the 'Strat' list it has been recommended that I upgrade the pickups and innards. Anyone else out there know much about these Japanese made Fenders?

Made in '96, I bought it in '97. Made In Japan.
21 Frets
Solid 3 peice ash body, natural finish
Vintage Style Strat Trem.
Three Vintage Style Strat single coils.
U shaped Neck, very thin at the nut.
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Everything you'd expect from a reissue strat. (great wood & Construction and some cheap electronics)

Only modification was replaceing pickups. Rio Grande Muy Grande in the bridge and a pair of Rio Grande Halfbreeds in the neck and middle.

One gripe on construcion: The neck at the nut is very thin. It takes some getting used to. Few of my friends like to play this thing below the 5th fret for this reason. But, I've adapted to it.

I play a mixture of '60s psychadellic music, jam rock, blues, Jazz wannabe stuff. I prefer old-school tones. So single coils and simple controls do it for me.

Using this guitar with various amps through the last 4 years has been a joy, currently through a Stinger (now made by Blues Pearl) Texas Tornado. Have used it through a Crate Vintage Club 50 watt with great results too. It seems to like a clean amp cranked to breakup.

It's tone was too bright until I changed pickups. Having a Maple board and Ash body added to this. By putting a Rio Grande in the Bridge position gave it some more "Tele" like tones but with less highs and an ample supply of mids (I like this).

Great guitar for Blues, Rock, and the occasional dip into jazz. With the stock pickups or more vintage style p'ups it would also tackle Country or rockabilly too.

No dislikes in the tone zone......

I set it up to my taste.
Original p'ups are now in my MIM standard.
Decent wood.

Super Solid Construction (IMHO), Japanese Made Fenders are fantastic starting points for a killer personalized instrument. Replace the p'ups and anything else you find a bit weak, and you've got a winner.

I got what I paid for, and got a heck of a good deal too.

This guitar HAS survived over 40 gigs and hundreds of hours worth of practice. Lots of dings, scratches and dents. Beer stained too (that was a gig to remember!). Dropped and stayed in tune. I've giged without a backup and it survived (except that one time I broke a string and had to change it MID SONG!!!!).

Reliable. Loyal as a dog. And I've put it to the test.

Please! I've done all the work myself.........

This guitar was bought to be my #2. It sat in the #2 spot in my arsenal for years. It has, however, in the last year become my #1 choice for tone and versatility. It's a wonderful instrument. I've carved out a relationship with this ax.
My other two main guitars are a heavily modified MIJ '69 Thinline RI and a MIM Standard (with my '68 RIs former p'ups). The '69 Thinline RI is still my #1, but I've been favoring the '68 Strat for sometime, because it's earned it........

1989 Japanese '68' re-issue. 21 vintage (read teny tiny) frets, Alder body, Maple neck with Maple fingerboard. standard controls and pickup configuration. The bridge pickup was very weak, and there was a lack of tone overall in the other pickups, not bad, but not great. The best part of the guitar is the thin 'U' neck shape, clean and fast as lightining.

I just recently started playing again after a very long layoff, and this Strat is as close as i could get without breaking the bank. I'm playing thru a Boss compressor, an Ibanez re-issue tubescreamer(modded), and a Dunlop Crybaby into a Crate vintage club 6212. This setup is excellent for blues, or vintage '70's rock. I'm real happy with the sounds I can get from this setup, and when I can afford it, the only changes I plan to make is some lessons on theory.

Since I bought this axe used I can't rreally say much about the factory setup, but this guitar was easy to setup to my tastes and intonation was excellent. I did change the tuners to vintage Kluson's because the previous owner had put on a set of Schallers. All the rest of the hardware was original and is quite good.

It's a Strat, what else do you need to say. If you get stuck out in the middle of the lake you can use it to paddle in, then plug in and play all night.

never used the,

I made a few changes, I put in a set of '54' custom shop pickups(outstanding) shielded the pickup cavity and pickguard. I absolutely love the tone this guitar capable of, and there are many possibilities in there. I can't really say anything bad about this axe, the Japanese got it right on this one.

1998 model Japanese Fender 1968 reissue (even thought the oversize headstock and "transistion" logo would suggest closer to a 1967) Strat, Olympic white.
First off, I had no intention of buying a new guitar. I happened across this while checking out a new amp. It was the closest Strat to me, so I grabbed it. Well, I bought the guitar and didn't buy the amp. I've owned a few late 1960's Strats. I parted with 'em years ago :( I certainly can't find any for what I used to pay for them anymore, $400-$500, but lemme tell ya, this is the closest thing to the gen-u-ine article as far as fit, sound and feel as any reish is going to come.

Stock pickups were a bit weak for my tastes. So the first thing to go was the bridge pickup which I replaced with a Duncan Antiquity. Still saving up the $$$ to invest in the mid/neck, but the neck pickup is passable. Sounds totally Hendrix/Stevie in the neck pos, especially with my Dunlop wah.

This is where this baby shines. I normally hate poly finishes, but this one is much lighter and has a much better feel than the American Standards' plastic coating. Upon popping off the pickguard, it exposed a gorgeous "old school" Fender routing scheme for the pickups and the switch. No "swimming pool" here, but 3 separate routes for the pickups and a nice tight route for the 5-way switch. Although I've had the neck refinished (stripped and tung-oiled) the high-gloss poly that the neck originally had was equally as beautiful. The tiny, stock vintage frets were just that. Stock, tiny and vintage style. These had to go. Thanks to Denny Rauen for a superb job at fretting this baby with 6100's (http://www.rauenguitars.com) This is a keeper strat.