NGD! One of the first American Standard Strats ever made!

Zombie thread yes, but intentionally revisited. I believe the Fullerton contours were done to all the first bodies made in Corona, and ONLY the first bodies, even if those weren't used up until later. I think they utilized the same techniques and practices as had been done in Fullerton, and probably had people cutting, sanding, finishing, and stockpiling bodies right from the beginning of production at Corona. later in 1987 they started doing the newer, less rounded "Corona" cut, and that became the standard from then on...But if you see how stuff gets stacked and stored at the plants, it's quite believable that some of these earlier bodies that found their way at the bottom of a pallet or pile ended up being used later into 87 and 88 as they used up what was available and finished to fulfill ever increasing orders and demands.

My observations are that ALL the very early 87 American Standards have the Fullerton contours, and the farther into 87 you get, they become the oddballs rather than the norm, as the new Corona contours were what was being cut from then on, with the leftover pre-made Fullerton cut bodies becoming fewer and fewer in the stacks of bodies at Corona.

Remember, production wasn't ramped up yet, and finished (or at least cut and sanded) bodies could have been stockpiled for quite some time prior to actually becoming finished guitars. It is my belief that only the very first bodies cut at Corona had the Fullerton Curves...even if a few didn't become finished guitars until several months later.

Fender ALWAYS liked to use up stuff rather than discard it. That's also likely why the Strat Plus Deluxes got the older version split Wilkinson nuts too. The new model gave them a chance to use up old stock they probably didn't want to mix in with "regular" strat pluses that were using the newer non-split versions...So the new Plus Deluxe allowed them to use up the leftovers on the first ones, then go right back to the same non-split version that was already in use on the standard Strat Plus.

 

Ha, thanks... and the early necks are another discussion too! My research shows that the earliest American Standards had fully glossy necks, just like the AVRI's at the time. Then in mid 87 they went to a satin finish for the back of the neck and face of the headstock, but retained a fully glossy finish on the maple fretboards. This only seems to have been done for a short time before going to the full satin finish, including the fretboard surface. The full satin treatment was utilized from that point on, for the next 2 decades until 2007 when they again started using a full gloss finish on the maple fretboards and headstock face...calling it a "new" feature.

I love American Standards, and while I have examples from almost every production year, these first ones from 87-90 era are still my favorites.

 

Well that backs up my beliefs that these Fullerton contours were only done to the very first bodies made at Corona.

 

:cry:

Yep, absolutely interesting! And I agree that these are likely to increase in value in the future as more people realize their significance. I consider this timeframe to be the second golden age of Fender. The development and American Standard was the newly restructured Fender's first attempt at creating an all-new Stratocaster, instead of just copying their own 35 year old designs...and what a success it was! The series has been going strong for almost 30 years now, and still one of the most popular models Fender sells. The first examples featured some unique details and production methods that make them stand out, and they were very well built in much smaller quantities than a lot of people realize. Most seem to be very well constructed, which makes sense since many of the people who worked on these early guitars went on to form the Fender Custom Shop just a few years later. I have never played one that didn't sound great and have super fit and finish throughout.

To answer your other question, I have found and purchased several more early American Standard strats, and continue to look for pristine examples... But this Torino Red/rosewood example remains the earliest one I have found.

 

Another thing that leads me to believe only the first bodies made had the Fullerton contours is the fact that I have never seen an American Standard with the Fullteron curves that didn't have the bridge posts threaded directly into the wood of the guitar, sans any brass inserts. I believe that at the same time they switched to the more modern style Corona contours they also started to add the brass inserts to the body and used fine machine threaded bridge posts that went into the brass inserts. (The same type still used today.) Those early ones that went directly into the wood of the body had a course thread like a standard wood screw, rather than a fine machine thread. You can easily distinguish the early style at a glance, as they have a slightly domed top to the bridge post, rather than a perfectly flat top of the later ones that utilized the brass body inserts. I've never seen a body with Fullerton contours that had these later style brass inserts.