Fender Japan '62 Strat, surf green, made in Japan 1989. This is right up there with the absolute best Strats we've ever had, it's seriously good. Back in the 80s/90s, Eric Clapton was quite a big deal in Japan, so the Eric-ish Fender Japan model was a black/white '54 Reissue Strat with a V-neck, Lace Sensor Gold pickups and a mid-boost. A stack of those were sold for many years, they're fairly common and very good... but this is the much less common '62 style model, which sports the same electronics and controls and very similar specs, but you get the slim, rounded neck profile, a lovely dark rosewood board, and a sweet classic 60s surf green finish. The sought-after finish has a few miles on the clock, so the blue/green has yellowed to a sweet Shrek-green hue; it's an awesome look, especially with the now-creamy plastics. The best thing about these Lace Sensor models is the tone: this sounds absolutely brilliant. The pickups are extremely articulate, sensitive and dynamically responsive; the clarity on offer is exceptional. The mid-boost knob allows you to dial in a heap of grunt and grit, opening up the possibilities beyond normal Strat-spank. This era of Fender Japan manufacturing benefitted from consistantly excellent craftsmanship and very picky wood selection, so this has that 'thing' when you pick it up; it just makes you feel good. Japanese, American or otherwise, this is just about as good of a Strat as you could wish for, with the added bonuses of being highly collectable and supremely stunning. Resist if you can!

Model: Fender Stratocaster '62 Reissue (ST62-770LS)
Made: Japan, Fujigen plant, stamped 27 Nov 1989 (serial G015585)
Finish: surf green (SGR), 3-ply white guard
Body: alder
Neck: maple with rosewood board, dot inlays
Mods: none
Pickups: original Lace Sensor Gold single coils, active mid-boost circuit
Case: non-original vintage faux leather gig bag

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. There's a fair few very shallow scratches around the body, it looks like it may have been cleaned too aggressively at some point. The cavities have some red paid in them, which may have been a shielding thing; not exactly sure what happened there but there's no reason to believe it's been refinished. The plastics have discoloured and have minor checking with age. Backplate is missing, minor chip on the edge of the recessed trem cavity. Overall: good condition (7.5/10).

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electrics tested and working properly. Frets look amazing, they've either been replaced or very nicely dressed recently, 9/10 for life left. The don't come much better than this!