Custom shop guitar? Really?

Welcome to the forum....got some bad news....that is not a proper Fender logo on the headstock, the placement is WAY off......

this COULD be a refinished Fender Japan neck, it DOES have the Fender Japan 'FENDER' neck plate after all....

The body does not look to have the right contours for any Fender or even a Squier.....

Do you have any photos of the body with the pickguard off, showing the routing etc? or the neck pocket with the neck off?

 

That is definitely not a Custom Shop and I don’t think it’s a Fender either. Logo placement looks wrong.

 

Hi, @danwillia

Welcome !


I think that may be faked 60's decal from seller. Not saying you did.

 

Headstock shape is a bit off from what I can tell. Backplate is wrong and it looks like the dots on the neck are perloid and not clay, but the picture isn’t clear so I could be way off on that one.

Still it looks like a cool guitar!

 

The black plastic "pad" under the neck plate is a common sign of a fake/partscaster, though it was not an unpopular addition in the 90s. A lot of Asian manufacturers did use them.
Fender *NEVER* used that on any US or Mexican production.

A Custom Shop would have had a visible serial number somewhere, either on the neck plate, or the headstock.
That pickguard is not correct for a '62/63... note the top center hole and compare the position to the one you linked. That is a late '63+ pickguard design.

I'm not sure exactly what that is. Early Telecasters had their serial number on the bridge plate, and I think they just said "Fender" on the neck plate, but that plate looks too new.
The edges of the body look to be too sharp.


This is what the back of a legit CS would look like:

 

Hi, @Guitarmageddon -Buddy

Does that maybe have an MJT Finishes or other aftermarket Nitro Relic Body and Allparts neck ?

 

Don't you think MJT gets the contours more rounded and authentic looking buddy? This one here seems blocky and weird shaped on the lower horn...pointy....

 

I hope so. Until see under pickguard may be hard to know ?

 

The thing that stands out the most for me are the body contours. Doesn't look like a Fender body at all. Stickers and things can be wrong or faked, but the contour radius cannot be.

 

Yes, that would be - we're not asking you to take the components out of the pickguard and unwire it from the body....

No measurements, but look at your body - and it's most noticeable in the back. The edges of the back that transition to the sides has next to no rounding, usually on a Strat that's real, it has much more round edges - your body has almost the non rounded edges of a Telecaster.....and the lower horn where the pickguard turns into a point, that part of a body on a Strat is not that pointy

Look how sleek this is below

 

You can completely remove the pickguard from the body without disconnecting any of the electronics.
There are two wires that go to the output jack, one that goes to the tremolo claw, and maybe one that goes to the body ground.
The pickups and switch are all mounted to the face.

 

neck and middle pickups are ceramic from a Mexico Standard Strat 1990-2017, and bridge pickup is from a cheap import guitar like Squier etc.....

body is some cheapie aftermarket....neck is unknown.....

I hope you got it for like less than 200 bucks.....

 

That was a terrible deal, I feel bad for you....sorry......it's worth maybe half that at most.....and that's being generous

 

So long as you like the guitar (which you clearly do), that’s all that really matters.

 

‘I had a 1982 Strat that had the black pad under the neck plate, but as to whether it came on the guitar I don’t know, as my dad bought it for me used in 1984. It had a fender “F” plate on the neck.

 

No reason you can't enjoy that guitar to the fullest. If it plays good and sounds good, you still didn't pay a lot for a great guitar!