Unpopular Opinion?

[nobozos]

This is regarding the CBS era, large headstock Stratocasters. Will their "Vintage" value ever really be viewed as sought after? I know that the CBS years are viewed as pretty much a low point in Fender's history. My personal experience has led me to the same conclusion. I've never played a CBS era Strat and thought, "Wow!, I love this thing." I'm also not a fan of the look of the large headstock, and it seems like many players share this opinion. As a result, I don't believe that the vintage value of these instruments will ever be as much as pre, or post CBS guitars.

That being said, I wonder how much of my negative opinion of these guitars is justified. I mean, I will never find that huge headstock attractive, but was the quality of them really that much worse than pre/post CBS, or was I just programmed to believe that based on the negative things I'd heard about them all my life? Was I just mentally primed to dislike them? I don't think so, but if I was, would I even know? I feel like the build quality of that era is objectively not as good, but is it just me?

I can't imagine a day when people will look at those guitars with the same reverence that we look at the 50's and 60's Strats now, but then again, I never thought a Fender Mustang would make a comeback and be popular.

 

[peglegleg]

I believe CBS bought out Fender in 1965,so CBS Strats are already sought after.Late 60s CBS Strats are excellent.Can't Stand 70s Strats personally but they have their fans and are sought after and cost an arm and a leg....couldn't give 'em away when I were a lad...

 

[arct]

Most of the people that say most of the worst most of the time weren't even alive when literally millions of us were making great music with big headstock 70's Fenders. That's been my experience. A great guitar is just from whatever time period it is from, that's all. And remember, anyone that was playing the 50's and 60's guitars back then was pretty underwhelmed, most of the old ones I played as a kid just weren't that great, and they certainly weren't worth the stupid expensive 500 - 800 that was being asked for them.

It's all relative. Some kid 25 years from now will be slagging the mid 2020's Fenders as junk and all of his social media buddies will just agree. And so it goes...

rct

 

[Butcher of Strats]

Yeah 65-74 are great but ended up on a downhill path.
65-67 are arguably the same as 63-64.
Pickups up to 74 are arguably the same as 55-64.
By 75 the Strat got flat Lowes and the Tele got a new body shape many find unsightly, plus weight rose and finished got very thick plastic looking and feeling.
Necks seem to have gotten skinny too but they still offered neck options.

The CBS amps were also really good but changed a few times and by 75 had gotten less great.
They can be fixed though.

 

[Wilfred]

I don't give a toss what anyone else thinks, this one was sought after by me and I made it mine, and for a damn good price. '74 in mint, original condition. I've owned 4 70s Strats, never got a "bad" one yet. Are they the best Fender ever made, no. But, I kinda dig 'em.

 

[ido1957]

I don't care for the large headstock on my 78 hardtail. With an EC and an Elite the 78 stays in its case mostly. The other 2 just play/feel/sound better.

Took the 78 to a jam last Saturday and it sounded fine, but it's back in its case for a while.

 

[nobozos]

I guess it does depend on your age and your experience with Fender. I was born in '70, and my memories of the '70s Strats were from going to the guitar shop with my Dad, and him looking at the Strats, and commenting on how they weren't any good anymore. He had a '62 at home that he would always say was so much better than what they were making at the time. That was probably about 1977-78. I guess I always looked at Dad's guitar as the "ideal".

I also became gear-aware in the early 1980s, when Japanese Fenders were actually doing better than their USA counterparts, and Kramer was on the upswing. People would actually trade their Gibson Les Pauls for Kramer Pacers. Seems insane now, but back then it was pretty common to view the Les Paul as your "Grandpa's guitar". Just goes to show how attitudes change about certain guitars over time. What nobody wants today can turn into what everyone is dying to get in a few years.

I don't think I can ever get over not liking the headstock on the CBS stuff, but I can accept that I may have been brainwashed into believing that they don't deserve more respect than I've given them.

 

[dirocyn]

Back during the CBS era, a Stratocaster was a Stratocaster--there weren't a whole bunch of different models and they were all made in the USA. Fender's modern equivalent (and notably, the replacement for the USA Standard) is the American Professional Stratocaster.

Wherever you see an old Strat selling for more than a new Am Pro ($1800 US) , that's collector value in action. Over the past several years, the point where the old ones cost more than the new ones has been right around 45 years. Check out prices for a 75 (50 year old) Strat--more than $1800, right? Yeah, that's collectors valuing old stuff. And no, they won't ever be worth as much as a pre-CBS--but they appear to be appreciating. Nobody knows if that will continue.

When you get right down to it, the thing that makes or breaks guitar "quality" is how much you like it. That's all. If you have a CBS guitar and you love it, good for you. If you have a pre-CBS guitar and you love it, congrats! I tried a 78 last time I went guitar shopping--that particular guitar was not for me. Not because it's a CBS guitar, just--it wasn't a good fit for me.

 

[Della Street]

This is regarding the CBS era, large headstock Stratocasters. Will their "Vintage" value ever really be viewed as sought after? I know that the CBS years are viewed as pretty much a low point in Fender's history. My personal experience has led me to the same conclusion. I've never played a CBS era Strat and thought, "Wow!, I love this thing." I'm also not a fan of the look of the large headstock, and it seems like many players share this opinion. As a result, I don't believe that the vintage value of these instruments will ever be as much as pre, or post CBS guitars.

That being said, I wonder how much of my negative opinion of these guitars is justified. I mean, I will never find that huge headstock attractive, but was the quality of them really that much worse than pre/post CBS, or was I just programmed to believe that based on the negative things I'd heard about them all my life? Was I just mentally primed to dislike them? I don't think so, but if I was, would I even know? I feel like the build quality of that era is objectively not as good, but is it just me?

I can't imagine a day when people will look at those guitars with the same reverence that we look at the 50's and 60's Strats now, but then again, I never thought a Fender Mustang would make a comeback and be popular.

You are wrong. Fender's low point is now.

 

[JonDee]

I have this original hardtail '73 from new.

As @peglegleg mentioned above - certainly in the UK these were thought of as poor relations to earlier models and the large headstock was sneered a by many.

I have never liked the large headstock and still don't - but my guitar is a beaut and worth no small amount of money when I last looked. However, it won't ever be sold. Too much sentimentality wrapped up with its history. Plus, it sounds and plays beautifully.

 

[nobozos]

IDK Della. I just picked up a Player II Strat, and I can't find a flaw in it. Yes, I needed to set it up and make adjustments to it, but I don't see a single issue with it. I've played a few of them at the guitar store, and they all seem pretty consistent. I've had USA Strats from the 1980s and 1990s that haven't felt as good in the hand. Quality seems to be there.

Seems to me like you can get a much higher quality instrument today than you have ever been able to in the past from Fender, at pretty much every price point. I understand opinions and experiences vary, but why would it be your view that Today's Strats are at a low point? I'm genuinely curious to hear your opinion on this.

 

[revtime]

You all are looking at the headstock all wrong headed. Tee hee
The skinny jeans headstock is the manly form. The sumptous curves headstock is the female form. I own both. I do not own crusty old technology. Gimme the new tech. Consistency and playability rule. Are there good ancient guitars out there? Of course. There are far more turds in the old and busted era however.
Even if the old junk was priced at what it should be, a couple hunnerd bux, I still wouldnt want one.

 

[Johnnyg123]

I'm playing since the dark days of the late 70s and in my opinion..... we've never had it so good.

You can buy a playable guitar for €100. That was never true back then. You couldn't buy a playable guitar for multiples of that (€14 adjusted for inflation)

You'd get some yoke with strings half a kilometre off the fretboard that was only good for slicing eggs

You can buy a great guitar for €750. And a sublime one for double that. Maybe slightly more.

All with Fender on the headstock

 

[Seamus OReally]

I used to do session work for a song mill, playing acoustic and electric guitars. One of the partners in this enterprise owned a ‘61 Strat, and he insisted I use it for a country album we were playing on. That guitar was a dog. Worth a lot then, even more now, but a dog.

 

[nobozos]

I'm playing since the dark days of the late 70s and in my opinion..... we've never had it so good.

You can buy a playable guitar for €100. That was never true back then. You couldn't buy a playable guitar for multiples of that (€14 adjusted for inflation)

You'd get some yoke with strings half a kilometre off the fretboard that was only good for slicing eggs

You can buy a great guitar for €750. And a sublime one for double that. Maybe slightly more.

All with Fender on the headstock

Yes, I remember those days as well. I believe we are actually in the golden age of getting the best bang for your buck for a guitar. People used to be able to crap all over any guitar that wasn't made in the USA, and they wouldn't have been wrong, but those days are long gone. The building of guitars is so automated now, that the only real difference is how much time the factory spends on the detail work and setting it up before it leaves the factory, and that stuff can be fixed by any good luthier fairly cheap.

 

[JonDee]

I'm playing since the dark days of the late 70s and in my opinion..... we've never had it so good.

You can buy a playable guitar for €100. That was never true back then. You couldn't buy a playable guitar for multiples of that (€14 adjusted for inflation)

You'd get some yoke with strings half a kilometre off the fretboard that was only good for slicing eggs

You can buy a great guitar for €750. And a sublime one for double that. Maybe slightly more.

All with Fender on the headstock

I can slightly predate you and what you say is100% true.

I too subscribe to the view that we've never had it so good. Back in them thar prehistoric times and outside of Fender & Gibson there was not much of decent quality in the budget market electric wise. (How about a Top 20 from Woolies?) A real piece of egg slicer junk.

Now £150 and often less gets any beginner a half decent quality starter instrument. Mod that up and you can easily gig with it.

 

[Intune]

IDK Della. I just picked up a Player II Strat, and I can't find a flaw in it. Yes, I needed to set it up and make adjustments to it, but I don't see a single issue with it. I've played a few of them at the guitar store, and they all seem pretty consistent. I've had USA Strats from the 1980s and 1990s that haven't felt as good in the hand. Quality seems to be there.

Seems to me like you can get a much higher quality instrument today than you have ever been able to in the past from Fender, at pretty much every price point. I understand opinions and experiences vary, but why would it be your view that Today's Strats are at a low point? I'm genuinely curious to hear your opinion on this.

I’m guessing he was being sarcastic. It’s a running theme here with all the QC nightmare threads the past few years. Most complaints of non-issues from extremely picky newcomers. It got real tiring and many say that fenders QC today is equivalent to the poor CBS era.

@Yul Brynner has mentioned it at least 30 times

 

[Shred13]

Sometimes you need to do something besides make the headstock big to be noticed.

I was a bit nervous painting the big headstock, but I'm not a fan of a dark or bright body, dark fretboard and a natural headstock.

 

[Mac62]

I guess it does depend on your age and your experience with Fender. I was born in '70, and my memories of the '70s Strats were from going to the guitar shop with my Dad, and him looking at the Strats, and commenting on how they weren't any good anymore. He had a '62 at home that he would always say was so much better than what they were making at the time. That was probably about 1977-78. I guess I always looked at Dad's guitar as the "ideal".

I also became gear-aware in the early 1980s, when Japanese Fenders were actually doing better than their USA counterparts, and Kramer was on the upswing. People would actually trade their Gibson Les Pauls for Kramer Pacers. Seems insane now, but back then it was pretty common to view the Les Paul as your "Grandpa's guitar". Just goes to show how attitudes change about certain guitars over time. What nobody wants today can turn into what everyone is dying to get in a few years.

I don't think I can ever get over not liking the headstock on the CBS stuff, but I can accept that I may have been brainwashed into believing that they don't deserve more respect than I've given them.

nobozos, is the ‘62 Strat still in the family?

 

[StratUp]

You all are looking at the headstock all wrong headed. Tee hee
The skinny jeans headstock is the manly form. The sumptous curves headstock is the female form. I own both. I do not own crusty old technology. Gimme the new tech. Consistency and playability rule. Are there good ancient guitars out there? Of course. There are far more turds in the old and busted era however.
Even if the old junk was priced at what it should be, a couple hunnerd bux, I still wouldnt want one.

If those manly Fenders mate with one of the female form versions, do you get mini-Strats being born?