Higher grade MIJ Strat w/ 12" fretboard radius?

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Homer J. Simpson

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Hi,

Title should give it away - I'm looking for a great old Strat with a small headstock and 12" fretboard radius. I've learned that e.g. the Greco EG-600 may or may not have a 12" fretboard radius, does anyone know which other Greco, Tokai, or Fernandes etc. models would have that feature? I've googled my hearts out and since this is some metric many players and even most shops don't mention, they are hard to find and few and far between anyway.

I'd appreciate any help! :)

Ollie
 
I know the 80's Fender Contemporary Strats have the 12" radius. Love it!
I could do without the System 1 trem, wish it had a standard trem.
Stays in tune with dive bombs but doesn't work for subtle vibrato like a standard.


tumblr_pkrl4rwy7x1t2f1sno1_1280.jpg
 
Thanks for the suggestion, Loudmouse!

I know there are very few 12" Fenders, the MIM Classic Player 60s would be another one and I was pretty tempted to buy the latter, some shop around here still has a rosewood one. But I'd rather invest that money into a 35-40yr old MIJ axe in good condition for a couple of reasons.

Could be still a (MIJ or even CIJ) Fender because 12" fretboards are a little less uncommon among those AFAIK, but I wouldn't mind if it's a higher spec'd Tokai, Fernandes, Greco et al. clone

The only problem is - I don't know what specific models to look for, I don't even know if there were any 12" apart from the SE-600 (did I write "EG-600" yesterday? LOL). I even don't mind if it's 50s or 60s specs, I'd just really like to have something with that particular "vintage" MIJ mojo. :)
 
After some more intense research I've come to the conclusion that finding such a guitar might be only slightly easier than finding a living dodo that can talk.

Late 70s/early 80s strats of the better known Japanese brands usually want to be "vintage correct" with 7 1/4 or 9.5 inch radius, all I could find with a flatter fretboard among those were lower grade guitars. Of course there are also e.g. the 80s powerstrat models but they are either lower-grade too, or they have a Floyd Rose, or just the wrong headstock. Fender Japan made the STxxM guitars but while they have 12" radius, they are "medium" (=Gibson) scale necks. Fender models with traditional looks but 12" fretboards are modern day EJ signature/MIM Player strats (there are a few more). However, there are some old Moon and Schecter guitars like this and maybe some "order made" Japan Fenders of that age exist with specs like that.

So I keep looking but continuous virtual lurking in Japanese shops for incoming stuff can be be pretty bad for the wallet, of course I have acquired a fine modern day Japanese 12" strat but that's a story for another thread. :)
 
I have a 91 Fernandes in CAR with a flatter fretboard radius. Pretty sure it's a basswood body and a nitro neck finish of all things. (Did acetone test 3 times before I believed it.)

For early eighties, I was also thinking of Moon (not sure when they started). The Esparto Strats may also be slightly flatter. 9.5" if I have to guess.

Regarding low vs high end, I'm totally over that. Other than the nitro thing (which isn't the good 50s stuff anyway, so why bother?) the series number has nothing to do with how nice a piece of wood you're getting. For Tokai I also prefer the somewhat hotter U-pickups over Es.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!

BrazenPickerNew said:
I have a 91 Fernandes in CAR with a flatter fretboard radius. Pretty sure it's a basswood body and a nitro neck finish of all things. (Did acetone test 3 times before I believed it.)

Indeed, IIRC Fernandes even made some pretty expensive signature etc. guitars with high quality specs and basswood bodies in the 90s. I guess basswood didn't have that odd "cheap tonewood" reputation yet in those days.

BrazenPickerNew said:
Regarding low vs high end, I'm totally over that. Other than the nitro thing (which isn't the good 50s stuff anyway, so why bother?) the series number has nothing to do with how nice a piece of wood you're getting. For Tokai I also prefer the somewhat hotter U-pickups over Es.

Good point. I was aiming for higher grade models mostly because I wanted a somewhat worn "player" that doesn't need any upgrades and holds its value, but actually I just want to avoid the lowest models with their usually cheap tuners and so on. Re nitro... I think 30+ years old urethane can have a lot of mojo and beautiful yellowing etc. while it keeps doing its job (protecting the wood) for probably another 100 years of intensive playing.
 

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