Now here's something you don't see too often - a top-of-the-range Fender American Plus Stratocaster all the way from 1988. This was only the second year of production for these models - and they were proving to be much more successful innovation on the classic Stratocaster design compared to their previous counterparts (the Elite series and The Strat from the early 1980s).
 
Fender wanted to solve two main issues: tuning stability and pickup noise. Tuning was improved by introducing locking tuners (early models like this one used Sperzel tuners) with staggered posts and elimination of the string tree as well as the roller nuts. From 1987 till around 1993, all Plus models came with a bulky Wilkinson nut, but it proved to be hard to use with thicker string gauges, so many guitars have the later Fender LSR nut upgrade (like the one we have for sale).
 
The single-coil noise issue was proving to be a bit trickier to solve. Enter Lace Sensors! These proved to be a raging success among players of all genres thanks to their true single-coil sound reminiscent of the 1950s Strats, and fully noiseless operation. American Plus models were the first to receive these newly developed pickups and since then they became a mainstay on different high end guitars.
 
The wiring was improved with the introduction of a TBX pot - essentially two potentiometers stacked together that allow to enhance the bass and the treble response without the use of any batteries. Rolling the pot down from 5 to 0 rolls down the treble in the traditional way.
 
The Strat we have for sale has a neck date of 2-11-88 which means it was born on the 11th of February 1988. Glorious Fiesta Red finish matches with the maple neck and off-white pickguard very well. There's a lot of surface wear, small scratches and dings all around the body and neck as well as some truly gorgeous fretboard play wear, but there's no nasty modifications or structural damage anywhere. Original "swimming pool" route has the factory shielding paint applied underneath, with a separate grounding wire. Bridge posts are stable and the tremolo works like a charm, allowing for expressive action without compromising the tuning.
 
These guitars came with rectangular plastic ABS cases, that proved to be quite fragile on the road, so many of these have too many holes in them. Our Stratocaster will come in a original Fender guitar-shaped hardcase from the 2000s.
 
This instrument received a full professional setup with deep body cleaning, body polish, neck deep clean, full electronics check, truss-rod and action and intonation adjustment. Restringed with D'addario 10-46 Nickel-plated steel strings.
 
This guitar will be shipped around UK with Parcelforce courier, safely packed into a sturdy guitar cardboard box. 24h courier service provided to UK customers. We also ship to USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and many other places, but at the moment we don't ship to EU or Northern Ireland.