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Catch of the Day: 1963 Fender Stratocaster

1963 Fender Stratocaster

Well, here's a situation that comes up more and more. This lovely 1963 Strat has 2 very desirable features: it's painted in the custom Fiesta Red color and it has the non-vibrato, hardtail tailpiece. (As much as I like the sound you can get with a whammy bar, I don't use it often and I find it a pain in the butt to maintain them. Maybe that's why I prefer Teles to Strats.) Anyway, this guitar is in fine condidtion, plays great and it sounds very good. Except that the original neck pickup doesn't work. The good folks at Mandolin Brothers are admirably upfront about the issue and have opted to leave the pickup as is and let the buyer make the decision about what to do about it. At the oddly precise price of $24,738, it's defintely in the collector's guitar category, a rarefied sphere where originality is everything. But's it's also one of the best sounding guitars ever made and one that deserves to played. If the pickup had been dealt with ten years ago no one would have battted an eye, but since it has come to us in original condition, someone has to figure out wht to do about it. So, do you preseve a classsic guitar in "as found" condition or fix it, therby ruining its originality but increasing its utility? As for me, I'd fix it and play it. What would you do?