1966 Fender Stratocaster Candy Apple Red in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
A few weeks ago I made the 6.5 hour drive to Carlisle, Pennsylvania to pick up this gorgeous 1966 Stratocaster from the previous long-time owner. This is the first custom color stratocaster that has come through the shop and I'm thrilled to have it. In the 1960’s Fender offered one standard color, sunburst. If you wanted a guitar in a different color you could pick a color from Fender’s custom color chart but you would have to pay an extra 5%, which explains why most vintage Fender guitars you see are sunburst.
I love all Fender guitars made before 1980 but I especially love 1960’s Fender Stratocasters in custom colors. Have a vintage Fender guitar you are looking to sell, or need an appraisal? Contact me
Candy Apple Red Stratocaster
Candy Apple Red was one of the most, if not the most popular custom color guitar in the 60’s. The value of custom color stratocasters can be traced back to its rarity, and originality. All custom colors are worth more than their sunburst counterparts, but some are worth significantly more than others. Some colors such as candy apple red are typically worth around 1.5 to 2x sunburst guitars, but more rare colors such as foam green can be worth much more. Wondering what your vintage Fender custom color guitar may be worth? Contact me
This stratocaster was modified, but still a fantastic player’s guitar. It was routed for a humbucker, the pickguard, bridge pickup, knobs, and two pots were replaced. Modifications like this significantly impact the guitar’s value, but it is still a very valuable guitar.
I was happy to find the paint stick mark in the neck pocket. After mid 1963 all original Fender finishes have the paint stick marking, versus a painted over neck pocket in a pre-1963 Fender.
The neck heel stamp on a vintage Fender guitar tells us 3 things. The 13 indicates the model code, 13 is the code for a Fender Stratocaster made during the CBS era (post 1965). SEP 66 tells us the month and year the guitar was made. B is the width of the neck at the nut, Fender had 4 widths (A,B,C, and D). B is the most common neck width for a Stratocaster.
