From what year is this Strat?

Hmmmm, I’m no expert but I’m gonna roll the dice....

Early CBS? I’m going to guess...

1966!

PS Oh, I thought it was like a guessing game. Looking to purchase? Sorry. Experts will identify it soon, no worries!

Update: I looked it up, according to the neckplate only, it is a 1966, because of the large “F” on the plate and the serial number range. Good luck, and others can probably tell by pot dates, etc

 

I know a lot of people don't like this website – https://www.guitarinsite.nl/serienummers-fender_eng.php – and I understand why, though I think it *may* be accurate enough on this occasion, it certainly lines up with the style of the guitar. I was first going to say '66 to '69 / '70 – and this website says '69 – '70, so... I think it *may* be safe enough to assume that's close?

I am FAR from an expert though – so please don't take my word for it !

 

Also yellow cloth insulated wiring and 5 patent numbers ( looks like 5 in pic) on the headstock is criteria for late ‘65-‘66

Info from guitarhq.com

 

Headstock logo is too early for 69-70. I agree with 66, no later than mid-67.

 

The thing about Stratocasters is, they're modular. You could have pieces from more than one guitar there, like a neckplate from a 69 and a neck from an earlier or later guitar. Also there are a lot of fakes out there.

Please show us the neck heel, the neck pocket, pickup cavities, and spring cavity, front and back of the headstock, the front and back of the neck (showing 12th fret dots and profile plus presence/absence of skunk stripe) and give us an in-focus pic of any markings on the pots.

 

Ya...
The problem is that people will often use these sites to attempt to validate a serial number as legitimate.
They can't be used for that, but they are useful in ballparking when something may have been made, assuming it IS legit.

OTOH, the same information is available on Fender's support site:

https://support.fender.com/hc/en-us...my-American-made-instrument-was-manufactured-

This does have some errors, notably the "10+7" note for 2010.

According to this, 197,xxx would be '66-'67, but 100,000 to 299,999 could be between '65 and '70.

Check the date codes on the pots and the date on the neck.

 

It could anywhere be from Dec '65 (first month of the bigger headstock .. the transition decal was already there in '64) through till '68.

In '68 strats got the 'F' tuners other models had been getting since mid '67. As for when the decal changed to the big black curvy 'CBS' style certainly it was there during 68 but whether it began in '67 is debatable.

So headstock is Dec '65 at the earliest.

Tuners are '68 at the very latest but more likely '66 or '67.

Decal is '68 at the very very latest but much more likely '66 or '67.

There is I believe still some variation in those years how many pat numbers should be on the decal so a clearer shot of the decal would help but the best way would be to take it apart and check markings and component date codes.

Just considering the features and odds I think it's likely either a '66 or '67.

PS. Check the neck stamp first ... if the code starts with a 2 it's a 65 since Fender changed the code for a strat neck from 2 to 13 in '66. (It's unlikely though as a '65 wouldn't be likely to have the 5 pat. numbers)

 

The black bottom pickups are throwing me off. Shouldn't they be grey by 66?

 

Pics?

Sounds like the more important parts are 66, the body is a refin or 68+.

 

I look forward to them.

Meanwhile it occurred to me some time ago that my 2014 Squier Affinity decal was quite similar to the '66/'67 one so I made a few mods to make the rest look that vintage too. Kluson style tuners and stamped saddles from a VM70, some new plastics with a homemade truss notch, tea stained covers etc and some gloss nitro.....



I think yours is going to look a lot better though.....

 

Polyester does not react to acetone, nitrocellulose dissolves readily in acetone. Since the paint is now definitively identified as nitro, I retract my earlier commentary that the body is from 68+. It is most likely 66 like the neck, perhaps there's a marking in the spring cavity.

That pot is from March (week 10) of 1966, which lines up very nicely with the neck date. I'm not sure if it's an issue or not, but that pot is a Stackpole. I know there were a couple years where CTS and Stackpole overlapped (starting 1963) but I thought they'd all be CTS by 66.

Still no pics of the back of the neck, does this neck have a skunk stripe or no?