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1985 Fender "Contemporary" Strat


Coyote

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However reluctant, I believe I am ready to part with this guitar. I have had it for 20 years, but have not played it for the last several…

Way better feel and quality than any other Made in Japan Strat. Not necessarily rare, but I have never seen another in person.

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Lever-lock at the nut:

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Trem. Bar has hex keys to adjust saddles, bridge height and neck micro-tilt:

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This is in very good condition, especially for a 27-y.o. guitar. There is a chip on the bottom edge near the strap peg and some reasonable buckle wear on the back.

Test rides OK.

From eBay Guides:

Model 27-4100:

System II (2) bridge

Bridge Humbucker), mid and neck single coils

5-way selector, 1 Vol, 1 TBX Tone, 1 coil tap toggle

The output / input jack is on the edge of the body, similar to a Tele.

The neck plate came from the Fender Japan factory with a black plastic protective gasket. There is an extra hole hole in the neck plate and protective gasket... that's for the micro-tilt adjustment. An ingenious way to adjust the tilt of the neck without needing shims, or even removing the neck completely from the body.

And something that's way cool, to me at least, is the way the spring tension for the System II and System III bridge adjusts. There is an allen screw located behind the end strap peg. Turning this allen screw in one direction tightens the bridge tension spring, turning it the other loosens the tension spring! No messing with removing plates, or the pickguard!

The TBX Tone Control, and the Coil Tap

These two features of this model make the range of sounds which are possible, mind boggling!

From 0 to 5, the TBX Tone Control functions like a normal tone control functions from 0 to 10. On the TBX, there is a detent at 5... without looking, you can feel a click at 5. From 5 to 10, the TBX Tone Control changes the frequency output of whichever pickup(s) is(are) on. Very subtle, but at the same time can be quite dramatic, changes in sound.

The coil tap works with the Humbucker(s). It is simply a two-position toggle switch placed on the pickguard between the Volume and Tone knobs, and behind the 5-way, or 3-way, selector switch. In one position, the humbucker(s) function as a humbucker should. And folks, the factory original humbuckers on these guitars have really got guts! In the other position, the toggle in-effect turns off half of the humbucker and makes the single coil sounds come to life.

$400. Includes a hard-case and stand.

Edited by Coyote
amp sold.
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This is a sweet axe for multiple reasons......

Most guitars simply come with allen wrenches that end up lost, whereas this instrument has them built into the trem bar - awesome idea.

Most "locking bridge" tremelo guitars use small socket-head capscrews and tiny saddle plates to lock the strings at the headstock, which wear out semi-quickly from tightening/loosening from restringing and need replaced every so often.....this design eliminates that cheap idea AND is adjustable for different string gauges - killer! Never should have been redesigned from this.

Coil tapping isnt used nearly as much anymore with all the digital effects on the market these days to give guitarists different sounds they want - another cool feature thats becoming a lost art, as well as cheap electronics/components that are sold in todays guitars (unless you spend a grand or more)

The single bridge tension adjustment at the back of the instrument is sweet because you can re-plane the bridge without having to bench the guitar, pull the backing plate, and fight to keep multiple springs adjusted equally......again, never should have swayed from this design.

Jap/Korean/etc guitars are very cheaply made anymore - this Fender was obviously a high-end Jap model in its day......and with its condition and age, I'm thinking you are giving this thing away Coyote! If nobody grabs it up here, I would definitely ebay it if I were you man.

I sold a late 80's USA custom Jackson last year for $550, and that was half what they sold for on ebay! Only reason I let it go that cheap was I had a friend in need and he really loves it.......just so your aware of what you got there, GLWS! Somebody needing a guitar or wanting to learn on an electric should check this out - very WORTH what he's asking

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Thanks for all that ^^ Hellmutt!

Like I said, reluctant but ready nonetheless. If it doesn't go soon, eBay will probably see it. The price here is the 'friend-price'...Basically what I could have reasonably received less consignment fees through a decent shop.

An exercise in letting go and moving on, but I guess I'd rather get this over with quickly...

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No problem man, just want to help a fellow musician when I can, ex player or not. If someone here buys it, they'll be getting one nice instrument that cant be found anymore, and at a killer price too - wish I had the coin myself, this would be a good one to add to a collection

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  • 2 months later...
  • 3 months later...

OK...5th Chance!!

Too many irons in the fire this year and I still have not gotten this thing sold yet...and any consignment shops want to take too big a chunk for me to do in good conscience.

It needs to be played...!

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