"Kurt" decal on vintage Fender?

[Howlin_Wolf!]

Tuners are vintage Schaller; although not original I like them and they work well so they will probably stay. Under the 'D' tuner is a typical additional rout pin hole:



It also looks like it has had Kluson's at some point.

The base of the neck is stamped X ARMENTA and has the additional rout hole between the top two neck screw holes.



Headstock has the 'Kurt' decal which is not original, veneer board curve and correct shape string tree. Headstock seems to be shaped as it should.

[Howlin_Wolf!]

Based on what I see, I'm happy this is an original Fender neck, possibly a '69 or '72. Neck measurements conform with a B width neck. Any comments from the forum re originality?

[Howlin_Wolf!]

The body:

Body wood appears to be original alder, finish blacklights as it should and again, top coat appears to be nitro. Fine checking is visible all over the guitar. An acetone test dissolved a patch of finish with ease. As previously described, the guitar has at some point been oversprayed with Fiesta Red lacquer which has since been removed. This is still visible in all cavities. Rout marks are visible in the cavities and the neck pocket has a 'P' written in pencil visible below the red paint.

[Howlin_Wolf!]

Pickguard:





The pickguard looks good to my eye for the period; although the shielding is missing you can clearly see the outline of where it has been and the corresponding tape marks.

[Howlin_Wolf!]

Hardware looks legit:







Knobs are the correct shape:

[Howlin_Wolf!]

Both pots date to 1966:



Stackpole switches:

[Howlin_Wolf!]

Pickups:

[Howlin_Wolf!]

Neck looks like the first week of '68?



Bridge looks like the eleventh week of '72?

[Howlin_Wolf!]

Question:

If the latest date on this guitar is the bridge pickup then I am guessing it is a '72. I am not an expert on wiring however I would expect plastic / vinyl wiring from this period and it certainly looks original to the eye. If anyone has any more knowledge on this (or a similar year guitar they are willing to open up) then I would be really grateful if we can clear that up. The guitar has set up with no issues and no crackles, pops or hum. The pickups sound great. I have only spent £600 on this guitar so I am happy with what I have got. I plan to refinish the headstock with a suitable '68-'75 decal and clean the paint out of the cavities. I'll post pictures when this is done. I look forward to your comments, advice or feedback.

Thanks all, HW

[Howlin_Wolf!]

NB The bridge and neckplate are replacements. Seller states he has the original bridge and cover in a drawer at his brother's and I am hoping to get these at some point.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

That bridge is on backwards

Kinda strange that someone would go to the effort of altering the neck heel date to one that couldn't have existed* - block inlays in 1961.

All in all, it's a really nice looking guitar. Good to know those Schallers work well too. I'll bear that in mind for the future.







*Or they're terrible at writing the number 9.

[Pacafeliz]

my '64/'65 JM also has a weirdo logo...

[Axolotl]

Kinda strange that someone would go to the effort of altering the neck heel date to one that couldn't have existed* - block inlays in 1961.

Or, for that matters, Jaguars (which started selling in 1962).

In my experience, if the original decal and heel date are gone that usually means that the whole neck has been sanded and refinished (who and why would refinish the headstock and heel only?). I'd assume originally the neck was finished in poly, being this an early 70s example?

Also,it looks like it had a refret? Frets look a bit bigger than the ones I've seen. I see as well some different coloration in some of the inlays . Maybe some of them were changed at some point?


All in all, a fantastic bargain for £600. That board looks noble and old, and the burs is fantastic. Congrats and welcome to the forum.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Kinda strange that someone would go to the effort of altering the neck heel date to one that couldn't have existed* - block inlays in 1961.

Or, for that matters, Jaguars (which started selling in 1962).

Aah, was it '62? I couldn't remember.

All in all, a fantastic bargain for £600.

Absolutely! One hell of a deal!!

[Howlin_Wolf!]

Hi,

The bridge is on backwards so I could back the saddles back further for intonation (I promise!). I will probably change it to a Stay Trem seeing as it is not original. That pink JM is beautiful; a great combo with the green guard.

I have no explanation for why someone has refinished the headstock and heel - the headstock was clearly over painted red and stripped back however only the decal seems to have suffered as it's the original lacquer on the headstock face. The only assumption I can make is possibly the neck heel also lifted paint from the neck pocket and someone sanded it to clean it up. It wouldn't take much to lose the stamp - a lot of the late 60's / early 60's stamps faded out. The pencil date is, as you say however, ridiculous.

It is possible the neck has been refinished but if so it would pre-date the red finish as it is ultra thin and naturally worn, not reliced. I have a '73 Tele with nitro body and a '75 Musicmaster with nitro neck so I'm not ruling out originality on this one. Fender made it up as they went along!