'American Stratocaster' Trade For An 'American Telecaster'!

Here is a '2004 American Fender Stratocaster' - now with Fender Custom Shop, Texas Special Pickups - that I bought brand-new close to where I grew up in Pennsylvania. This guitar was purchased from an independent guitar shop that I used to work at named Wray Music House. Scroll Down To Learn More!

Update: This Guitar Has Been Traded! Scroll To Bottom Of Page To See Photo!

To See-&-Hear This Guitar In Action, Simply Scroll To The Bottom Of The Page!

Since this guitar has been with me for almost twenty years of teaching group-and-private music lessons, gigging, hosting blues jams, and for almost twenty years of learning-&-learning along the way, it has become priceless to me! This is why, instead of selling it for some dollar amount, I would much rather 'trade it' for someone's American Fender Telecaster (or someone's Made In The USA, T-Style guitar) that they too might consider to be priceless!

Yesterday (one day prior to this writing), I reunited this 2004 Strat body with its original Fender guitar neck. I dressed-up the frets and made a photo documentary of dates and serial numbers before reassembling with a fresh set of 'Ernie Ball, Regular Slinky 10's'. Once this reunited duo has become fully acclimated to restored string tension, I will then carefully finish the job with a proper set-up. However, so far everything seems to be very playable which is not surprising since both of my Strats 'stay-in-tune' very well and have proven over the years to be 'very stable', requiring only occasional adjustments to remain gig-worthy!

Lots Of Character: You'll notice that the finish on this guitar has been altered beyond the 'natural changes' that developed with age. The short version of the story is that this guitar was repainted with a white color and then later 'scraped back down' to the original finish. In some areas, this scraping action left exposed wood now visible on the guitar body. But wait, there's more... :)

Now A Two-Piece Body: At one point I noticed that the finish had been chipping off (on its own) around the neck pocket, and around an impact area on lower bout. This lead me to wonder how much more (of the finish) would come off if I tapped it (skillfully) with a hammer. I began to like the possibility that this 'once white' and then 'aged white' guitar might be converted into a guitar that instead had a 'natural wood finish'. The 'hammer method, was working to a small degree on the lower bout and that is when I decided to give the finish a good tap directly on the guitar's top - this caused the body to split right in half (duh, lesson learned)! Next, I disassembled the entire guitar with care and then worked successfully to secure a proper glue-joint. This mini debacle took place many years ago and ever since, this guitar has proven to be nice and solid going forward. (see photo below)

Fast forward now to yesterday (compared to the time of this writing) and I have to say, th process of reuniting this guitar with its 'original Fender guitar neck', after having been mated with a Warmoth customized replacement neck for so long, was a lot of fun. Quick Backstory: At one point I ordered two identical guitar necks from 'Warmoth Guitar Parts' so that both of my Strats would have the same, one-inch-thick neck (including all other matching dimensions as well). This means that the 'original Fender neck-and-frets' avoided all of the heavy use that occurred during the time that the other guitar neck was in place. As far as fret wear goes, there are definite signs of being played, but with plenty of meat left to keep a serious player going for a long time. If the frets on a proposed trade are in equally used condition, I will definitely be 'pleased as pie'!

Below is a photo of the headstock with the original Fender tuners now back in place. At one time I drilled an additional set of 'indents' to accommodate another set of tuners for a 'slide-guitar project' that I was working on. It's nice to see here that the extra set of holes are easily concealed by the original fender tuners - that's a win!

The next two photos are of the neck pocket.

I replaced the original pickups with 'Fender Custom Shop, Texas Specials' and they sound awesome!

Below is a close-ups shot of the neck pocket. Notice the original Fender neck plate!

The next two photos show the date of manufacture.

Below are two photos of the headstock.

Here are some photos of the neck and fretboard before being reunited with the body.

And here it is 'now fully assembled' and playing very well for a guitar that has not been officially set up yet. I would definitely take it on a gig right now if I had one! :)

This guitar definitely has...

'M'

'O'

'J'

'O'! :)

Q: Why are you willing to 'trade this guitar' if it's so great? I don't necessarily want to, but I am interested in playing a Fender Telecaster (or a T-Style Guitar) on some Country songs and on some Jazz tunes that I have been working on - and, the truth is that I no longer need a 'second / duplicate / back-up' Stratocaster since I an not currently gigging.

- Here, for example, are samples of my Country and Jazz projects - you are welcome to check them out: Bluegrass: https://youtu.be/Bcf--Hyk9p8 Jazz: https://youtu.be/aFx2gOgvOhU

See & Hear This Guitar In Action!

- Voodoo Child: https://youtu.be/Re68ejEDRWE

- Slow Blues: https://youtu.be/zriUNPyvBeE

- Dust My Broom: https://youtu.be/udy11aav6ss

- Struttin' w/ The Blues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2Xha91AM5Q

- Next Level Blues, Exercise One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNA3Ye2Eoyc

------

So, feel free to let me know if you have an 'American Fender Telecaster' or a 'Made In The USA, T-Style Guitar' that you might like to trade! And feel free to ask any questions that you might have! You can email me right from my website (see header)!

Thanks, and wishing everyone well!

Nate

Here Is The Telecaster That I Traded the Stratocaster For! (Thank you, Jeff - a great guy and a great professional guitar player - for this fun trade)! (And thank you to all of the great people who I met and talked with surrounding this trade)!