'61 with a '66 Neck in Great Condition

[Mr Ridesglide]

Question -
Opportunity for someone to buy a black strat with a maple neck - '61 body, '66 neck. I have not torn into it, nor do i have access to do so right now, but it sure looks legit, by a musician I trust. I don't want to make an embarrassing offer, but it IS a parts caster. Suggestions on next move?

 

[kuch]

I don't know for sure, but my opinion would be that it wouldn't have the value of an original '61 or '66 Tele.
My 1st question is what is the seller's asking price?
2nd: What is it worth to you?
3rd: does it play well and sound good?

Value is in the eye of the beholder.

Good luck

 

[ravindave_3600]

I agree with Kuch - knocks quite a bit off the "collectible" value. Update?

 

[Wayne Alexander]

Question -
Opportunity for someone to buy a black strat with a maple neck - '61 body, '66 neck. I have not torn into it, nor do i have access to do so right now, but it sure looks legit, by a musician I trust. I don't want to make an embarrassing offer, but it IS a parts caster. Suggestions on next move?

Ask the owner what he or she would want to sell it for, and go from there.

 

[Mr Ridesglide]

I believe it is an estate, and they're taking offers.....I'm probably not going to bid on it. It is a partscaster, and it would seem that I can do that myself...?

 

[Wildeman]

Those are valuable parts by themselves, I'm going to assume there are more vintage parts there too, so it may be worth looking at. If it's real stuff it's probably worth around what a CS goes for.

 

[KokoTele]

"Partscaster" is not the same as "replaced neck," as long as you can also verify that the other parts loaded in the body are also original. Probably can't in this case, at least not before purchase.

It's a rare bird, which makes it hard to price. There's a '66 listed on Reverb for $14k right now that may have issues, though the listing claims that it's original. There are lots of refins or otherwise compromised listing for strats from that era. Oddly, there aren't a lot of black ones. (The Reverb price guide is pretty useless for this era. The Vintage Guitar Price Guide lists much higher prices.)

Any vintage guitar is worth more as separate parts than it is as an original guitar. I'd think the '61 neck (with either its original '61 tuners or the '66 tuners that came with the body) actually adds to the value of a '66 rather than subtracts from it.

Either way... it sounds like you're looking for a deal on a mutt, while the estate is likely looking to maximize profit. Those are poor conditions to make a good purchase, and I think you'll pay more than you would for a straight '66.

If you've got cash to throw around, you might take a swing at a price you like and see what happens. Maybe see if the estate will accept the bid contingent upon an appraisal by Gruhn's that meets or exceeds the bid price. You never know... I think these estate sales get a lot of lowball offers. You might get it with a medium-ball bid.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

. . . Suggestions on next move?

You're kidding, right? Go plug it in and take it for a spin!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I don't know for sure, but my opinion would be that it wouldn't have the value of an original '61 or '66 Tele. . . .

Of course not. Does that it isn't worth checking out? Of course not!

 

[Matthias]

Sound like an interesting combo. Do you know if that’s the only mod?

If you try and price it on the value of the parts, I think you’ll overpay. There is time and often cost in parting things out. But then there’s hardly a book price for a partscaster. If the rest is original, it doesn’t strike me it’d be worth more than a refin. Probably less. But that’s just my opinion and comfort zone.

Whatever, it’s a player so it seems worth playing it…

 

[JoeVintageGuitars]

That's a nice opportunity and the value will really depend on originality. Pickups, finish, and hardware can also make all the difference. A '61 body and a '66 neck can still be an excellent match tonally and feel-wise even if technically a partscaster. Last year, I wanted to figure out the value of a vintage Strat I had and a guy named Joe Dampt helped me out. He even offers free appraisals through his website or by phone, which can give you a clear picture of your guitar’s market value.

 

[Grandfunkfan]

No 5 way switch, no deal.

 

[fenderchamp]

I believe it is an estate, and they're taking offers.....I'm probably not going to bid on it. It is a partscaster, and it would seem that I can do that myself...?

If you can find a bunch of vintage Fender parts just laying around and being offered up for cheap, you certainly can.

 

[Holy smokes]

Not enough info. But parts are rare and rarer. And peeps looking are all fevered up. So if you got the cash laying around why not live a little and take a marker . Don’t know the situation so I got no advice . Good luck

 

[monkeybanana]

Guys that was a year ago lol. Although I'm glad to see one of the posters above is mostly gone. What a grump.

 

[plexi69]

What is the current price range for a’66 maple cap neck? Would that have a transition logo? Thanks

 

[Grandfunkfan]

Question -
Opportunity for someone to buy a black strat with a maple neck - '61 body, '66 neck. I have not torn into it, nor do i have access to do so right now, but it sure looks legit, by a musician I trust. I don't want to make an embarrassing offer, but it IS a parts caster. Suggestions on next move?

The fact that both of those parts are old doesn't have any bearing on the quality of the guitar. As a guitar, does it play well or sound any better than anything else on the market? If you like how it plays and sounds, offer what it's worth to YOU and see what happens. Age doesn't come into play for something like that. What matters is the viability of the instrument.

 

[loudboy]

"Partscaster" is not the same as "replaced neck," as long as you can also verify that the other parts loaded in the body are also original. Probably can't in this case, at least not before purchase.

It's a rare bird, which makes it hard to price. There's a '66 listed on Reverb for $14k right now that may have issues, though the listing claims that it's original. There are lots of refins or otherwise compromised listing for strats from that era. Oddly, there aren't a lot of black ones. (The Reverb price guide is pretty useless for this era. The Vintage Guitar Price Guide lists much higher prices.)

Any vintage guitar is worth more as separate parts than it is as an original guitar. I'd think the '61 neck (with either its original '61 tuners or the '66 tuners that came with the body) actually adds to the value of a '66 rather than subtracts from it.

Either way... it sounds like you're looking for a deal on a mutt, while the estate is likely looking to maximize profit. Those are poor conditions to make a good purchase, and I think you'll pay more than you would for a straight '66.

If you've got cash to throw around, you might take a swing at a price you like and see what happens. Maybe see if the estate will accept the bid contingent upon an appraisal by Gruhn's that meets or exceeds the bid price. You never know... I think these estate sales get a lot of lowball offers. You might get it with a medium-ball bid.

It's a '61 body w/a '66 neck.

To the OP - there's pre-CBS. and post-CBS. If all the parts are there on the body, you could sell the '66 neck, find a '61 neck and probably do OK, if it was cheap enough. And you'd have a real '61, if you decided to keep it.