1. This ’65 Strat’s original Shoreline Gold finish had been preserved by the pickguard, and removing it reveals the brighter, bronze color. The surrounding warmer gold hue is a result of the body being exposed to air for 55 years. Incidentally, when ordered with this custom color, not all Fender models came with a matching color peghead. 2. At some point, a Floyd Rose tremolo system had been installed on this vintage Strat. This mod required removing a section of the Brazilian rosewood fretboard and maple neck to accommodate the locking nut hardware. 3. Two counterbored holes had been drilled through the neck at the headstock. 4. Two smaller screw holes were also drilled to hold the Floyd string-retainer bar. Notice how the rosewood fretboard is radiused on both its top and bottom surfaces.
Recently, my friends from
solidbodyguitar.com gave
me a call and said they had a
really cool vintage guitar they
were going to sell, but it was in
need of some restoration before
they put it up for sale. They
wouldn’t say what it was, opting
instead to surprise me when
they dropped it off.
When the clients arrived at
my shop to show me the guitar,
we first began chatting about
their ’62 SG Les Paul. I was
in the process of restoring its
relic’d white finish, getting it
ready for market. It was as if
they were saving the best for
last, building up my anticipation
and curiosity about the
instrument they were delivering.
When they finally got
around to opening up the case,
I was surprised and delighted
to see a real and extremely rare
1965 Fender Stratocaster in
Shoreline Gold.
The guitar arrived to us with
the pickguard and electronics
already removed. Abruptly my
eyes were drawn towards the
finish outline of the pickguard.
Strikingly, there were two shades
of finish. The pickguard preserved
the original color underneath,
while the rest of the body
had developed this warm, gold
look from the open-air environment.
To me, the aged Shoreline
Gold is a much more soothing
and pleasing color to the eyes—less bronze and more gold. I’m
sure glad Fender was spraying
nitrocellulose finish back then,
as it allowed this transformation
to occur.
A quick aside: Shoreline Gold
is a finish seen by few and the
most misunderstood and incorrectly
used term for referencing
Fender gold colors. Shoreline
Gold was introduced in 1959
and was discontinued by the end
of 1965, and then replaced by
Firemist Gold, which was not
the same color at all.
As I checked out this cool
Strat, it became immediately clear
why it was brought to us. Ouch!
Someone had decided to rock
out and install a Floyd Rose locking
nut and tremolo. My educated
guess is that the procedure
was done some time in the ’80s.
I really like Floyds and we often
do this modification, but for no
amount of money will we do this
modification to a vintage guitar.
In our world, it would be considered
malpractice and a good way
to have a short-lived career in
the repair business. It’s true that
this 1965 Stratocaster is devalued
because of its alterations, but let
there be no mistake: This guitar
is still a highly valued treasure!
When we received the Strat,
its original vintage Fender
bridge and tremolo system had
been put back on the body.
But because of the Floyd Rose
installation, there were now
two screw holes going through
the maple neck and a slab of
Brazilian rosewood had been
removed from the fretboard
to mount the hardware. My
clients requested that I restore
the fretboard and neck portion
where the Floyd Rose nut had
been positioned. They were
pleased to hear that I had some
smaller pieces of vintage maple
and Brazilian rosewood in the
shop that would work perfectly
for this restoration. The issue
of legal and illegal wood has
been in the news recently, so
my clients were relieved when
I informed them that my
reclaimed and salvaged Brazilian
rosewood is properly validated
and permitted by CITES
(Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora).
I’ve seen some Indian rosewood
come very close to looking
like Brazilian for patching
purposes, but I really want to
use the real deal for such a spectacular
guitar. My approach will
be to get the restored fretboard
and nut to look era-correct and
match the original cosmetics as
closely as possible.
The two counterbored
holes that run through the
maple neck will not have an
invisible repair, but they will
be smooth to the touch and
structurally sound. There are
also two very small screw holes
in the peghead where the steel
string-retainer bar was positioned
behind the Floyd Rose
locking nut. These need minor
restoration as well.
When the section of the neck
was previously leveled to accommodate
the Floyd Rose nut,
not only was fretboard wood
removed, but also maple underneath
the rosewood. The slab of
replacement maple will need a
flat bottom and a 7.25" radius
top—the surface I glue the
Brazilian rosewood fretboard section
to. After the fretboard wood
is trimmed and fit, I’ll then slot
it for a nut. Fender began using
this style of veneer fretboard during
August of 1962.
In next month’s column,
we’ll be diving headfirst into
this restoration. I’m certain to
encounter challenges, and I’ll
share those gory details with you,
as well as techniques I use to get
the job done. See you then.
John Brown is the
inventor of the Fretted/Less
bass. He owns and operates
Brown’s Guitar Factory,
a guitar manufacturing,
repair, and restoration facility
staffed by a team of talented
luthiers. His guitar-tool and accessory designs
are used by builders all over the world. Visit
brownsguitarfactory.com or email John at
info@brownsguitarfactory.com.