Vintage Strat Copy ID Pics

[The What]

Hello all,

I'm hoping someone has any ideas about this Strat copy. I believe it's got some age to it, but any advice would be great.

[phantomman]

Impossible to confirm with any certainty but it appears to be a combination of various licensed parts, some of them imports. Have you examined what's beneath the pickguard?

[The What]

Thanks for the reply, I shall have a look under there

[phantomman]

Photos of the exposed innards will yield further clues.

[Tele-Bob]

That actually looks like a well built guitar. The neck is actual maple, not that asian mystery wood so many guitars are made of.

I would venture a guess at it being a Greco. Or perhaps a Tokai. If so, it may be somewhat valuable.

Greco used slotted saddle height screws like the ones in your photo.

[phantomman]

Good call, TB.

Proper string winding with those split-post tuners should improve tuning stability.

[Offshore Angler]

I suspect that is some type of Partscaster that someone did a relic job on.

I may be incorrect but here's a few things I notice:

First, could be the pics but something looks off on the headstock shape. I'm also not sure the space between the nut and the maple headstock looks just right. The only ones I remember with that much rosewood showing were original Strat Plus necks that got converted from the early Wilkinson nut to a traditional nut. This was a common mod since the original Wilkinson nut didn't accommodate anything larger than 10-46 gauge strings.

It also - and it may be the pic - that the tuners aren't properly aligned. Also noticed that the headstock is aged on the front but not the back. Weird.

The switch tip is not correct, and it's not aged like one would expect.

The knobs aren't as grungy as one would expect and don't match the rest of the guitar. One would expect dirt in the lettering and perhaps some of the gold missing.

The pickguard is way too new and unscathed compared to the screws which appear to have been given the old Coca-Cola treatment. On a real vintage piece they have more of a patina and detritus in the holes and Phillips head slots. It's also a single ply which doesn't go with the modern saddles.

The real giveaway is as Bob mentioned, the slotted screws on the saddles, and the saddles are not the vintage style but the 90's style. Infact, the body wood seams seem to have 90's Fender thing going on.

Or I could be FOS, but I don't think so.

All the above noted, it looks nice and vibey and if she's a player who cares?

Chuck