New (old) guitar day to me!
Short version: This is a guitar I've owned since new in 1998, but I have been 6000+ miles away from it since 2013. My parents bought me, so it has a huge sentimental value.
How I got this guitar in '98:
My teenage self, my parents and a couple of friends went on an epic trip to a neighborhood known for musical instruments. I had seen a fender reissue that I kind of liked, but felt some stuff were odd:
- Pickguard and other plastics looked aged
- Overall look of the guitar was "used", but store was selling as new
I had let that guitar pass since I suspected the store was trying to sell something used as new (I knew zero about gear...). The only thing that attracted me on that guitar was the headstock that actually said "Fender" on it. Ok, moving on
I saw another guitar that was exactly what I wanted (on paper): white plastics, all case candies. The guitar was clearly new and the shop was very reputable. It had some "upgrades" that looked nice at the time too: floyd rose trem and HSS configuration.
It was a squier.
My mom and dad had already written the check to give to the cashier, when my friend who was with us stopped all of us and said: "I think you should really get the Fender one". My mom tore down the check and we went full circle to the first store to get that guitar that looked "used/aged".
Many years later, I found out that the guitar was an ST-62, made in japan. Playing it for many years I heck know it's an authentic fender that I bought new (it still had the pickguard/backplate vinyl cover)
How I departed from it in '13:
I moved from South America to the US in '13 for grad school. I had a pretty decent collection of guitars, but since it was only a 2-year program, I decided not take everything with me. Upon my graduation, I got an offer to work in the US and never moved back to South America.
I did have other opportunities to claim this guitar, but since I already had a strat in the US, I thought it would be wiser to pick up other guitars for variety (my LP, a CS I wanted to sell, etc.)
How and why I finally claimed in '20:
My mom got very sick recently, so I really wanted to see my parents this year.
Then, COVID-19 came, delaying my travel plans.
My mom got even sicker and I decided to take the risk, do a quarantine, test myself then see them safely.
Since I was only a day trip away from the guitar (where my parents used to live before my mom got sick), I decided to go ahead and claim it.
Why now: I'll ask my mom and dad to sign the guitar under the pickguard while they can. I'll never sell this guitar anyway.
What kind of mods are in it:
Around 2001, I swapped the stock pickups to an YJM Dimarzio set (HS-3's and HS-4).
In around 2004 I got sick of the YJM set and swapped back to the stock MIJ pickups (which are pretty decent).
Around 2008, the guitar needed a fret level, but I think the tech was not so experienced, and he basically ruined the already low vintage frets. The guitar was so unplayable that it stayed virtually unplayed for a couple of years until I decided to do something. In 2010, I took it to a very reputable shop.
They did a stainless steel refret. Can you imagine SS refret in '10? They did a phenomenal job. The frets still feel like new. Just a tiny bit of fret sprout, but it's understandable and easily fixable.
In 2012 I swapped the pickup set again to a CS'69 by Fender. Now it sounds glorious to my ears.
Strangely, the guitar was still in tune after all these years in the closet. Only the B string needed a minor adjustment. The strings didn't rust because I had put Elixirs on it.
Edit: adding more photos of her
Edit2: this is a 1997, not 1998. I thought it was '98 but neck pocket says '97.
Edit3: the refret was in '10, not '06. I only know because I still have the service receipt. lol
Last edited: Dec 29, 2020
