How can I verify authenticity of a 1962 Stratocaster?

I have a Stratocaster which I think is from 1962, but I am a bit hesitant to believe this. How can I check to confirm that this really is from 1962? Thanks in advance!
Here are links to some pictures. My camera is not the best, so trying to capture a decent picture is difficult, but if you need/would like a better picture to help verify just ask me.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/erasethepast/DSCN0391.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/erasethepast/DSCN0440.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/erasethepast/DSCN0518.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/erasethepast/DSCN0480.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/erasethepast/DSCN0426.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/erasethepast/DSCN0493.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/erasethepast/DSCN0508.jpg

ummm....from what I've learned ...could be stamped at the heal of the neck....and inside the body if ya take the pickguard off.........or possibly the serial number.....I'm thinking that would be on the neckplate......but I could be very wrong about that one......I'd take off the neck and look there...lift the pickguard and look there...thats my advice

post some pics, there's a few experts around here.

Might want to read this page- (http://www.provide.net/~cfh/fender.html)

one stringed or not, that's a nice lookin' Stratocaster!

Have you tried rubbing it on a mirror?

If it's a real one it'll make a scratch.

I dunno.....

definitely some very real wear to the fingerboard but matching headstock strats are pretty rare. And looking at the amount of fingerboard wear - that neck was PLAYED... But the finish , knobs , pickup covers, jack plate and bridge all seem very shiny and new for a fingerboard w/ the much wear

not making any bold statements here - it'd be interesting to see it in person - but from those 3 pics only, I'd say it's suspect

I dunno.....

definitely some very real wear to the fingerboard but matching headstock strats are pretty rare. And looking at the amount of fingerboard wear - that neck was PLAYED... But the finish , knobs , pickup covers, jack plate and bridge all seem very shiny and new for a fingerboard w/ the much wear

not making any bold statements here - it'd be interesting to see it in person - but from those 3 pics only, I'd say it's suspect

Doing some further research today, I have found something else that does not add up with this guitar. I checked the number on the neck plate, 64279, which identifies it as a '61 Stratocaster. But the printed number on the neck says '62. So I don't know what is up. Can anyone help me to unravel these mysteries?

if it's in your possession - pull the neck and see what the date is

that's a smart step 1

if it's in your possession - pull the neck and see what the date is

that's a smart step 1

I unscrewed the neck today and found this:2JULY62B. July 1962, and the B is for the width from what I researched, correct? I'm not sure what to make of this.

I was wondering about the neck- a '62 or before should be a slab rosewood board, that one looks like a veneer board.

I'm guessing it's refinished with a lot of new parts as well....

That much wear on the fingerboard should correspond with a bunch of lacquer missing from the back of the neck, unless it's been refinished. Definitely not '62 tuning machines - are there any "footprints" in the lacquer on the back of the headstock showing different machines on there originally? If not, another sign of a refin. Also, get a better picture of the neck heel up here for the experts to evaluate the fingerboard slab/veneer.

That much wear on the fingerboard should correspond with a bunch of lacquer missing from the back of the neck, unless it's been refinished. Definitely not '62 tuning machines - are there any "footprints" in the lacquer on the back of the headstock showing different machines on there originally? If not, another sign of a refin. Also, get a better picture of the neck heel up here for the experts to evaluate the fingerboard slab/veneer.

Ok, so I updated the pictures a bit. I'm not to familiar with guitar vernacular, so if I did not put a needed picture, someone let me know. Thanks again for everyones help!

The neck date looks right, but is the body refinished ? I would think there'd be a date in the neck pocket also. Pots and P-ups should be dated as well I think.

Or maybe it's a Strat single string.....

looks like a 62 neck to me, the headstock paint is not original. The body is interesting, if i was gonna look for a date, I would look in the rear spring compartment. I had one, that under the three layers of paint had a 59 body date in the spring compartment.

I would like to see the body contours, and I would look for the little nail holes Fender put in the bodies to paint them, there should be three or four. One is almost always between the neck heel and the neck pickup. There is also one around the jack cup. I do not see these on your body.

Do you have serial number that you can use on this site

http://www.guitardaterproject.org/fender.aspx

I checked in the neck pocket and found no date, and I wasn't able to find a date on the pots either. I'm not sure what the contour or p-ups are, so I can't check for those. Can someone fill me in on where they are exactly? Also, I looked in the spring compartment on the back of the guitar for a date, and found none. I don't have a serial number for the guitar either, is that located somewhere on the guitar?

How about some pictures of the pickguard itself?

How about some pictures of the pickguard itself?

Here are some pictures of the pickguard. I wasn't sure if you just wanted the top or underneath, but here is the top for now.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/erasethepast/DSCN0428.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/erasethepast/DSCN0459.jpg

How about a shot with the pickguard off the guitar like in your sixth picture on your beginning post.

How about a shot with the pickguard off the guitar like in your sixth picture on your beginning post.

Sorry about that, here you go!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/erasethepast/DSCN0489.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/erasethepast/DSCN0490.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/erasethepast/DSCN0495-1.jpg

If you need more or want a closer shot just ask.

I haven't read all the replies, but didn't veneer rw boards first come out in 1963 (http://www.stratcollector.com/scn/base/63.html)?

The pickguard could diffantely be 1962. As for the body who knows.

after going through the pictures, I can say that the headstock decal is a repro.

I am also 99.99999% certain that the Candy Apple Red paint is a refin. I base this on no checking that is visible, the neck pocket situation and under the pickguard, the huge chiseled out area with paint over it.

The curved veneer rosewood fingerboard started appearing in July of 1962, according to Duchossoir.

The s/n is likely a '61. Although there is some out of sequence possibility because of how this was handled at Fender at the time but this seems like a big stretch to me.

Pretty much a mongrel basket case.

after going through the pictures, I can say that the headstock decal is a repro.

I am also 99.99999% certain that the Candy Apple Red paint is a refin. I base this on no checking that is visible, the neck pocket situation and under the pickguard, the huge chiseled out area with paint over it.

The curved veneer rosewood fingerboard started appearing in July of 1962, according to Duchossoir.

The s/n is likely a '61. Although there is some out of sequence possibility because of how this was handled at Fender at the time but this seems like a big stretch to me.

Pretty much a mongrel basket case.

Haha, well thank you for taking the time to proceed in such a thorough examination. I am curious though, to why you are extremely certain the headstock decal is a reproduction?

Haha, well thank you for taking the time to proceed in such a thorough examination. I am curious though, to why you are extremely certain the headstock decal is a reproduction?

The points on the "e"'s in Fender are not sharp like they should be, the hash cross on the F doesn't look right and the thickness of the letters in the word Stratocaster are wrong and finally, there should be 3 patent numbers on that decal, not two. Definitely a bad reproduction decal after the paint refin.

The body has been hacked badly with no way of knowing for certain what it's true heritage is, non-original tuners..... and so forth. If you clean the corrosion off of the volume and tone pots carefully, take some good close-ups and I'll decode those numbers for you, plus do the pickup selector switch too and we'll see if you have anything there.

Sorry for the bad news but I'm telling you like it is.

What they're talking about with the body being chiseled, is that this isn't the original shape of the cavities for the pickups. Someone must have carved out some wood with a chisel (or more likely a hatchet or maybe a bucketloader from the looks of it). If the finish was original, you'd see bare wood where the cutting was done. Instead you see the new thick red metallic finish over everything. So the body was modified and refinished and might not be an original match to that neck.

What this means is that it is not in "all original" condition. By now you've realized that original is more important to collectors than pretty. More important than playable, too. So enjoy your Schaller tuners and your nice red finish. I bet she sounds great. Not terribly valuable, but great nonetheless.

If you are serious and these photos are genuine - the guitar is 99% a genuine 1962 full custom colour except sadly someone ahs routed out the insid and change the machine heads to schallers - but the custom colour headstock makes it very valuable - os either this is a really well thought out fake - if so copngrats - or you have the real deal exept a few bits changed .. it looks like the scratchplate has been changed too - quite normal the originals shrank and cracked within few years - also the strap button isnt original .. from what i can see in the photo .. i cant see the bridge saddles - i need a close up .. I find it hard to believe you didn't know all this when you posted .. I could tell a real pre cbs strat when i was 15 and that was 30 years ago - I know people who have been making fakes ever since - and that ain't no lie !

bridge saddle have been changed to 70's type mazac saddles.. turn them over.. should be a number stamped on the bottom .. maybe 26062 ?? anyway they have been changed .. trhe volume knob is original, the tone knob is a reissue .. note the lettering and numbering are NOT the same as on originals.. fender for some reason do not want to reproduce original looking parst .. part of the reason their custom shop relics etc do not look anything like a genuine original to me !!! ... forget that soapbox.... yr guitar .. i will study yr photos more and be back ..

64 strat is right ..that decal is odd. the word stratocaster is in a bold thikc font .. I have never seen an original painted headstock but I believe that fender would have used the same decals ... that is the most obvious sing it isnt original.. so it looks like you have refin .. sorry to excite you earlier.. wasn't looking close enough.. its early in the morning.... the body is original but has been routed out . The scratchplate and pick ups are worth almost as much as the whole guitar nowadays - cant understand why .. I have seen some amazing repoductions of all these parts and it is impossible to tell the difference.

To the pros, guitar forgery is SO much easier than a master's painting forgery. I doubt one could ever confirm the 100% authenticity of any vintage instrument.

To the pros, guitar forgery is SO much easier than a master's painting forgery. I doubt one could ever confirm the 100% authenticity of any vintage instrument.

I know what you mean, I have seen one particular Murphy '58 Burst that was scary accurate but correctly identified as a clone.

Some vintage instruments can be 100% verified because they have provenance from the original purchase and/or are one owner guitars. Those are the best finds.

I have several local friends that do vintage stuff for a living and they are really good at this. But I will submit to you that it is possible to fool them if the forgery is perfect in every detail, including the smell.

all the best!

The points on the "e"'s in Fender are not sharp like they should be, the hash cross on the F doesn't look right and the thickness of the letters in the word Stratocaster are wrong and finally, there should be 3 patent numbers on that decal, not two. Definitely a bad reproduction decal after the paint refin.

The body has been hacked badly with no way of knowing for certain what it's true heritage is, non-original tuners..... and so forth. If you clean the corrosion off of the volume and tone pots carefully, take some good close-ups and I'll decode those numbers for you, plus do the pickup selector switch too and we'll see if you have anything there.

Sorry for the bad news but I'm telling you like it is.

I cleaned off the volume and tone pots. On the volume I found: 70-02 1377303 , on the tone I found: 70-020 1377309 , and on the last pot (I'm not sure what is for since the nob is missing) I found: 1377303 70-021
On the pickup selector switch I found CRL1452. I hope you can decode those, and thank you so much for doing so. Maybe we'll find something useful here?

I cleaned off the volume and tone pots. On the volume I found: 70-02 1377303 , on the tone I found: 70-020 1377309 , and on the last pot (I'm not sure what is for since the nob is missing) I found: 1377303 70-021
On the pickup selector switch I found CRL1452. I hope you can decode those, and thank you so much for doing so. Maybe we'll find something useful here?

The EIA (Electronics Industry Association) standard for OEM component marking and date code is xxx mfg'er, then year, then week. In your case, 137 is CTS, 1973 for the year and the volume pot is week 03 the middle tone pot is week 09 and the last tone pot is week 03.

The pup selector is correct a CRL1452, check and see how many patent numbers are on it. if it's just 1, then it is from the early 70's also. If it'sfrom 1962,itis likely to have 3 patent numbers on it. Also, see if there is a diamond logo on it. Also, please verify if it is a 3 position or 5 position switch.

all the best!

Those Pot Codes are 1973. As mentioned Vol & Tone knobs are different.
Saddles not correct for '62. Decal is wrong, Bold lettering for Stratocaster.
Early 60's had thin lettering. Aluminum Shield is missing from under the Pick
Guard. Screws holding the Pup Selector on are wrong. Should be Phillips Head.

A friend has a Jan '62 Strat......Date is penciled on the end of the Neck. Same
for my '59 , ' 61, the ' 63... is Stamped.

His and my ' 61 are Slab Boards.....Thick and curved at the end, with a curve
at the Headstock end.

Not sure if July ' 62 they changed to the thinner Rosewood veneer.

This guitar is certainly NOT an original '62.


Strats with matching headstocks are extremely rare. In fact, so rare, that I have never heard anyone seeing a real one on the market for the last 15 years that wasn't a refin or a forgery. I did see some matching headstocks in collections, but never on the market that were 100% proven to be real.

All custom colours are rare. Most custom colours available an on the market are refins (or forgeries), to my personal experience far more than 50%.

A real CAR w/ matching headstock Strat from 1962 would fetch more than 100k.

It has wrong knobs, wrong saddles, wrong tuners and a wrong decal.


These factors alone make it impossible that this Strat is real. You don't even have to disassemble it.

Concerning forgeries: there are clones so good, so real looking, w/ old parts, old caps, old PU's that they even fool most experts, and I consider myself far from being any kind of expert :roll:.
The "best" clone I did see was a Flying V "1959". I disassembled this guitar almost completely, no chance. Even the smell of an old guitar was there. Everything was correct, every switch, every cap, all wires. No chance.

Compared to that clone guitar, this Strat is just a simple Partscaster, without any special value at all. Sorry.:sad:

Cheers!

This guitar is certainly NOT an original '62.

Strats with matching headstocks are extremely rare. In fact, so rare, that I have never heard anyone seeing a real one on the market for the last 15 years that wasn't a refin or a forgery. I did see some matching headstocks in collections, but never on the market that were 100% proven to be real.
All custom colours are rare. Most custom colours available an on the market are refins (or forgeries), to my personal experience far more than 50%.
A real CAR w/ matching headstock Strat from 1962 would fetch more than 100k.
It has wrong knobs, wrong saddles, wrong tuners and a wrong decal.

Actually the matching headstocks were made between 1995 to 1996 on the American Standard series.

If you are serious and these photos are genuine - the guitar is 99% a genuine 1962 full custom colour except sadly someone ahs routed out the insid and change the machine heads to schallers - but the custom colour headstock makes it very valuable - os either this is a really well thought out fake - if so copngrats - or you have the real deal exept a few bits changed .. it looks like the scratchplate has been changed too - quite normal the originals shrank and cracked within few years - also the strap button isnt original .. from what i can see in the photo .. i cant see the bridge saddles - i need a close up .. I find it hard to believe you didn't know all this when you posted .. I could tell a real pre cbs strat when i was 15 and that was 30 years ago - I know people who have been making fakes ever since - and that ain't no lie !

Dood, its re-finished. The finish is sprayed OVER the badly hacked cavity and its the same colour as the headstock, maybe the neck is original underneath as per the stamp, but the proving the body is will be far harder.

Dood, its re-finished. The finish is sprayed OVER the badly hacked cavity and its the same colour as the headstock, maybe the neck is original underneath as per the stamp, but the proving the body is will be far harder.

I think we can stop debating this now. As Winny Pooh said, there's CAR paint OVER the hacked up route. So unless FENDER hacked it up before they sprayed the ORIGINAL finish on - it's a refin

IT'S A REFIN !!

It may not be worth a silly amount of money , but thanks for showing us such a cool guitar !

Some real old parts there. The decal is a repop made in the 90's by Canadian dentist Eliot Mechanic. Some of you may remembver his "Mechainicland" repro necks.

I would say that someone in the 90's pieced this together with new and old parts and refinished it. For a period of time it was quite profitable to go to a guitar show, buy the stripped and modified parts, throw a finish on them and get them up and running with as many old parts as you could find and bring them to another show done. Today the parts are worth more seperate than together.

The "best" clone I did see was a Flying V "1959". I disassembled this guitar almost completely, no chance. Even the smell of an old guitar was there. Everything was correct, every switch, every cap, all wires. No chance.

Cheers!

Old guitar smell? I hope this isn't a trick the forgers are using :roll:

I guess you could put a forgery into a funky smelling old case and it would pick up the smell, no?

For all future reference on vintage Strats and Teles...check out this site

http://www.provide.net/~cfh/fender.html#serial

tons on info!!!