Is there something special about strats from '87?

my friend's got an all original 1987 usa strat that he loaned me. i'd offer to buy it from him but it was his first guitar that he bought new as a teenager, so i can't do that. i gotta say, the guitar sounds weirdly good. natural variations amongst fenders of the same year aside, is there something particularly special about 87s, or is this one maybe just a really good one? the action is slightly on the high side, but it feels really good. my friend tells me that every time he has it set up the neck just reverts/gravitates back to where it is right now - so after a while he just decided to leave it that way, high action and all. maybe the magic of this thing has something to do with that high action, or the two fulcrum trem with the flat rectangular saddles, or the swimming pool route, or the decked trem set up, or the pickup heights settings, or something. maybe all those things combined. i don't know what it is about it, but it just sounds really great. as good a hollowed-out quack tone as i've ever heard too. it's pretty difficult to play, as far as fenders go, but, all things considered, it's pretty magical. i'm just wondering, do people seek out strats from this particular year? and if i buy one is it likely to be like this one? (probably not, i'm guessing.)

A large number of the late '80's Am Std or Dlx Strats I've seen have had very high action due to the necks being warped beyond adjustment, typically with what is called a "rising tongue." (I've owned a shop since 94, and worked on guitars since the 70's, so this is not a hastily formed opinion). If you like this guitar, good for you, but I've never seen a late 80's Am Std or Dlx Strat that I would want to own at any price.

I've never seen a late 80's Am Std or Dlx Strat that I would want to own at any price.

haha! clearly made point, right there.

Is it MIA or MIJ? MIJ strats from that era are considered to be very good.

yes, i've heard coudl thing about the MIJ ones from that era. but it's a usa made one.

Is it MIA or MIJ? MIJ strats from that era are considered to be very good.

Good point, Bill! I love the 80's MIJ Strats! Neck profile as good as it gets!

A large number of the late '80's Am Std or Dlx Strats I've seen have had very high action due to the necks being warped beyond adjustment, typically with what is called a "rising tongue." (I've owned a shop since 94, and worked on guitars since the 70's, so this is not a hastily formed opinion). If you like this guitar, good for you, but I've never seen a late 80's Am Std or Dlx Strat that I would want to own at any price.

I've owned over a hundred of them. Only ever had one that was "beyond adjustment", and it was twisted. Too bad too, nice guitar other than that.

I never particularly cared for the 80's models, but not because they are or were bad guitars. I just don't like the body contours. They are too thick at the arm and tummy cut. The contours are way too shallow. Makes the bodies feel awkward and clunky to me. Not your typical comfy strat feel. They are contoured like MIM standards. Blech... yucky stuff.

Other than that I like them a ton. The pickups from '86 to about '95 are some of my favorite strat pickups ever. I also really like the TBX tone setup, and those bridges and saddles are excellent. People tend to bust on that stuff as "bad", but really it's not. Not even a little. It's just different from vintage, so everybody's panties get in a bunch.:roll: There's not a lot to NOT like about those guitars aside from the body contours. That's what I tell people who bitch about the swimming pool routing- yeah, they take out extra wood there, but they leave it all in the contours,so it balances out.:lol:

I'd have somebody else set up the guitar. I'm betting it can play better than it does. but in answer to one of your questions, yes, high action can definitely improve your tone. the trick is finding the balance between the point where it's working, and still keeping the guitar playable and not having intonation problems.

I have an American Standard in the same era and had no next problems to speak of.

One thing though, it may not be and '87, even if the S/N starts with E7. I think there were a lot of guitars with S/N's starting with that E& that were made over a few years. (of course, I can't find the link to back that up right now).

I have an American Standard in the same era and had no next problems to speak of.

One thing though, it may not be and '87, even if the S/N starts with E7. I think there were a lot of guitars with S/N's starting with that E& that were made over a few years. (of course, I can't find the link to back that up right now).

Never seen an E7 that was not an '87, of course, that doesn't mean there isnt one or more out there... I have a '96 (by serial number) Am. Std. with a '95 neck stamp. They do drift a bit and always have.

The funky ones are all the '86 Am. Std. guitars with E4 decals (no such thing as an '84 Am. Std.) and the '90 models with N9 decals. Those are easy to discern from the '99 models with N9 decals though, as the Spaghetti logo was brought back in '95, among other things. My theory on the '90 models with N9 decals is typo. Somebody set the decal printer wrong. They switched to N for '90, but left the 9 from the '89 decals in place. Oops.:lol:

Never seen an E7 that was not an '87, of course, that doesn't mean there isnt one or more out there... I have a '96 (by serial number) Am. Std. with a '95 neck stamp. They do drift a bit and always have.

The funky ones are all the '86 Am. Std. guitars with E4 decals (no such thing as an '84 Am. Std.) and the '90 models with N9 decals. Those are easy to discern from the '99 models with N9 decals though, as the Spaghetti logo was brought back in '95, among other things. My theory on the '90 models with N9 decals is typo. Somebody set the decal printer wrong. They switched to N for '90, but left the 9 from the '89 decals in place. Oops.:lol:

That's what I was thinking of, thanks, Jakedog. My apologies.

Yeah, I love the saddles and the bridge, and the sound of the pickups. It's my favorite inexpensive strat I've ever played. The contours don't bother me at all. I'm now in the market for one like it.

The swimming pool route leads one to believe it's a Strat Plus, supposedly a high end model of that time. I have an '87 Plus myself, serial # starts with E4...if I recall the story correctly (and please someone jump in if I've got this wrong) 87 was the first year they were back actually producing guitars in America and at the beginning of the run they were using up old E4 decals they had on the shelf.

I would have to agree with the OP with respect to mine, it is scary good...I've never in 30 years played a strat that sounded or felt so "alive"...I don't know if it's because the Plus was a higher end model or they took extra care in the building process b/c they were re-starting American production...or maybe that swimming pool route gives a little extra resonance...

I don't have the high action problem on mine though, it's nice and comfy and low. It was my main partner for 10 years before I got my Hot Rod Tele.

Back then the American Standards and the more "upscale" Strat Plus, Strat Plus Deluxe, and Strat Ultra models all had the large swimming pool route. Fender didn't change that until the Plus/Plus Deluxe/Ultra lines were retired and the American Deluxe line - which had the current HSH routing - replaced them in 1998. Then during 1998-early 1999 they "phased in" the HSH routing on the American Standards (and the "hot rodded" American Standards - the Lone Star, Roadhouse, and Big Apple Strats).

Regarding serial numbers - yep, Fender put the American Standards into production in late 1986 so they could ship them immediately upon introduction in January 1987 (at the NAMM show). They did use up left-over headstock decals with "E4xxxxx" (and even a few "E3xxxxx") serial numbers.

As far as I can remember there are no USA Fenders with "E5", "E6", or "E7" serial numbers; Fender didn't use up the old "E4" decals until into 1988; at that point they moved to "E8xxxxx" serial numbers which actually lasted into 1989; by about 1990 they had enough models and were producing enough units to get it on-track - except for the fact that they accidentally used some "N9xxxxx" serial numbers instead of "N0xxxxx" that year (I agree with Jakedog - someone missed a typo but they had to use them until the "N0xxxxx" numbers arrived).

Jakedog - would love to see photos of yours; even Fender employees say that that it took them until October 1985 to get their factory up and running after the buy-out from CBS, and they started out making reissues. The earliest USA reissue date I've seen is from October 1985; at that time Fender was only putting out about 7 guitars a week. However, they ramped up quickly - by mid-1987 they were up to 150 per week. However, I've been around long enough to know that even employees can be wrong, and as soon as someone state a "rule of thumb" about dating a Fender someone will have an exception to that rule. The only constant is that it wasn't constant back then.:lol:

Back then the American Standards and the more "upscale" Strat Plus, Strat Plus Deluxe, and Strat Ultra models all had the large swimming pool route. Fender didn't change that until the Plus/Plus Deluxe/Ultra lines were retired and the American Deluxe line - which had the current HSH routing - replaced them in 1998. Then during 1998-early 1999 they "phased in" the HSH routing on the American Standards (and the "hot rodded" American Standards - the Lone Star, Roadhouse, and Big Apple Strats).

Regarding serial numbers - yep, Fender put the American Standards into production in late 1986 so they could ship them immediately upon introduction in January 1987 (at the NAMM show). They did use up left-over headstock decals with "E4xxxxx" (and even a few "E3xxxxx") serial numbers.

As far as I can remember there are no USA Fenders with "E5", "E6", or "E7" serial numbers; Fender didn't use up the old "E4" decals until into 1988; at that point they moved to "E8xxxxx" serial numbers which actually lasted into 1989; by about 1990 they had enough models and were producing enough units to get it on-track - except for the fact that they accidentally used some "N9xxxxx" serial numbers instead of "N0xxxxx" that year (I agree with Jakedog - someone missed a typo but they had to use them until the "N0xxxxx" numbers arrived).

Jakedog - would love to see photos of yours; even Fender employees say that that it took them until October 1985 to get their factory up and running after the buy-out from CBS, and they started out making reissues. The earliest USA reissue date I've seen is from October 1985; at that time Fender was only putting out about 7 guitars a week. However, they ramped up quickly - by mid-1987 they were up to 150 per week. However, I've been around long enough to know that even employees can be wrong, and as soon as someone state a "rule of thumb" about dating a Fender someone will have an exception to that rule. The only constant is that it wasn't constant back then.:lol:

I don't have anything that old anymore. I have a my '96, my '08, and actually just bought back my '95 today. One of my all time faves I sold when I was hurting. Found it hanging in a local shop I popped into today. Couldn't leave it there. It's not often you get a shot at having one back after it's gone.

I am beyond positive I've seen E7 decals. It's been years, but I know I had a couple. I have had a LOT of E4 decal guitars, all were neck stamped in '86 or early '87. My very first MIA strat was a brand spanking new '90 in Midnight Wine, and was an N9 decal. That's another one I wish I could get back...

nothing wrong with the necks/action of these ones.... :wink:...

I think Fender took a bit of care to make sure their first run 87 Coronas were all good... the best parts on hand, bench built,etc... to get market confidence back with consumers.... as the full speed production line hadn't got going then.

these pair never seem to go out of tune.. even unplayed for 6 mths, perfect out of the case.. fine instruments as far as I can tell..... an E3xx and E4xxx headstock #'s with '87 heel dating.. TBX on both..not heavy at all.

I had a good listener here one day and I got out most of my guitars and had a play to show him subtle differences in Fenders ...

out of all of them he thought the "Red" one sounded the best.... :twisted:..
maybe he was blinded by desire?...

I thought my fav Tele sounded the best...:wink:

My first Strat was one of those '90/91 N9xxx's... once a dater was trying to tell me it was 99 or something, Huh?..I got it in 96 and it looked old then through playing wear,rusty screws,darkened neck lacquer.... took me a while to find out those number anomalies..

nothing wrong with the necks/action of these ones.... :wink:...

I think Fender took a bit of care to make sure their first run 87 Coronas were all good... the best parts on hand, bench built,etc... to get market confidence back with consumers.... as the full speed production line hadn't got going then.

these pair never seem to go out of tune.. even unplayed for 6 mths, perfect out of the case.. fine instruments as far as I can tell..... an E3xx and E4xxx headstock #'s with '87 heel dating.. TBX on both..not heavy at all.

I had a good listener here one day and I got out most of my guitars and had a play to show him subtle differences in Fenders ...

out of all of them he thought the "Red" one sounded the best.... :twisted:..
maybe he was blinded by desire?...

I thought my fav Tele sounded the best...:wink:

My first Strat was one of those '90/91 N9xxx's... once a dater was trying to tell me it was 99 or something, Huh?..I got it in 96 and it looked old then through playing wear,rusty screws,darkened neck lacquer.... took me a while to find out those number anomalies..

Dude, don't you know anything? The red ones ALWAYS sound better. And they go faster too...:mrgreen:

Indeed,, they do..:lol:...

when I see the red one , I think of Hank Marvin..:cool:

I'll bet you've seen a few of these on necks then, eh?..:wink:
on the red one..:cry:.... I can't feel it when I play there, funnily enough..:roll:

Indeed,, they do..:lol:...

when I see the red one , I think of Hank Marvin..:cool:

I'll bet you've seen a few of these on necks then, eh?..:wink:
on the red one..:cry:.... I can't feel it when I play there, funnily enough..:roll:

I wish I could post pics, the neck on my maple neck '95 is pretty beat. Lots of finish flaking off in chunks around the edges of the fretboard, and around the dot inlays, which seems to be a fairly common issue with maple '95s that get played to death.

Mine has a hicky like yours on the upper side where my thumb goes at about the second fret. I never feel it. It's also missing finish around the headstock edges, and at the butt end of the neck where the overhang is after the 22nd fret. I was looking it over last night after I got it home. It's been gone for hair over a year, yet I see no new wear on it. It is pretty "relic'd" though, and 100% naturally too.

Here is mine. Some where i have a pick of the neck which has the date. Believe it is an 87. Got it for Christmas in 1988. The only thing non stock is the pickguard and knobs/pup covers.

Full pic.

Only the ones from April 87 are special.

Full pic.

Is that Pewter, or Gunmetal Blue? Hard to tell from the pic. Both are VERY rare colors these days.

When I bought my '90, the store only had two. One in Gumetal with a maple neck, and one in Midnight Wine with a rosewood neck. I wanted the Gunmetal, but the Wine strat played and sounded noticeably better. Like, by a MILE. And I wasn't the only person who thought so. The other guitar player in my band was there with me (who was far better than I was at the time), a local legend guy, and the sales guy were all on board and backing me up. I wanted the Blue one, but the red was so ridiculously superior that that's the one I bought. I ended up loving it for many years, selling it when I was really poor, and still miss it today. I know I have better strats now than even that one was. but if I had a chance to get it back, I'd do it in a second. Sentimental value would be huge with that one.

Only the ones from April 87 are special.

Come clean Mr. Wilsey. You know and I know it's really only the ones built between 4/10 and 4/17. The drop in humidity that week really boosted the tone of those bodies.:mrgreen:

Is that Pewter, or Gunmetal Blue? Hard to tell from the pic. Both are VERY rare colors these days.


Pewter. Here is a better pic. Though not great. Need to take these axes to Glamour Shots.


My first rock concert was Huey Lewis and the News.

(bet you are wondering where this is going)

Opening for him was The Robert Cray Band.

I was floored. So, when I was looking at guitars, I liked the pewter, and it was different from the blacks, reds, and sunbursts.

The downside is that everyone thinks I must be a huge Clapton fan!

I have an E4 serial number Am Stndrd Strat, black with maple neck. I bought it new in 1987, as it was one of the first ones to arrive at Rockin Robin Music in Houston, and the first one I ever saw. The only thing I have ever done to it is change the strings and I adjusted the truss rod once years ago. It sounds great and plays great, with a low action that is buzz free. Before I bought this strat, I had an original 63 strat, and the 87plays and sounds so good, I never missed the 63.

Fender was secretly installing Clapton and SRV Mojo into the Strats in 1987.

The sunburst Am Stndrd strats from the late 80's and early 90's were veneered, and I thought the solid color ones were also veneered. My E4 serial 1987 is black, but when you hold it up to the light, you can see a faint seem down the center on the front and back. This leads me to believe it is a 2 piece body that was not veneered. Does anyone know if this was possible? It is a very early production run and perhaps the body was an older one they had left over or perhaps originally intended for a 62/57 RI, which were not venered. Any thoughts or opinions? The body has deeper countours than a 70's strat.

I have an E4 from 1987 also. Note the blemish in the finish, which is under the clearcoat. This was never noticable until the white turned creamy.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j77/jkurac/strat.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j77/jkurac/stratheadstock.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j77/jkurac/stratblemish2.jpg