A Sam Ash employee claims that they have in their hands the second Stratocaster that was ever made.
The question and song to ask is – could you be my #2? Is this the actual second Fender Stratocaster, or is this just another hyped up vintage guitar?
A guy apparently from Sam Ash made a bold statement at Reddit, saying that they have found the “second Stratocaster ever made”.
The story begins with a 94 year old man and his son coming to a Sam Ash branch to sell a beat up Fender Stratocaster guitar. We can deduce based on the pictures that the guitar was sold to a Sam Ash branch.
The old man then told the story that he used to play with Count Basie and Les Paul back in the day. The old man wanted money for his family and since his son doesn’t know anything about guitars, he decided to sell it instead of leaving it unused. Sam Ash employees easily recognized that it’s a genuine vintage Fender so they bought it from the old man for a price that they did not disclose.
According to the guy who posted it on reddit, “maip23”, the guitar still has all of its original parts with the exception of its modified tuning machines. They inspected the guitar and found the signature of the original builders that were also found in other ’54 era Strats. They also saw a “#2” writing under the neck, which gave them the idea that this guitar could be the second Stratocaster ever made.
Sam Ash then called on luthiers and other knowledgeable people to look at the guitar, and they are betting that this guitar is the real thing, the second Strat that was built.
As expected, there were many contentions to their big claim, some pointed out flaws on the back story, and then another one pointed that the 0103 number on the Tremolo plate is indicative of a May/June 1954 production and not of the March 1954 run which is where the #2 Fender Stratocaster should have come from. Another thing that was pointed out was the round string tree which was said to have only been seen on the second run.
Some of the vintage guitar aficionados were asking to have the pictures of the volume and tone pots taken, they say that it is an easy indicator of the guitar’s vintage correctness – redditor Code347 said that they should show 100ohm and have shafts that are solid brass.
The guy from Sam Ash then replied that they found a January 1954 date on the neck which according to them is a good indicator that the guitar is built within the first batch of guitars and could really be the second.
Disregarding the technicalities, many are convinced that the Strat is a genuine 1954 vintage Fender instrument, and this is great news by itself. It is said that the guitar will go on sale with a starting negotiable price of $50,000. If it could be proven to be the real thing, we can expect more big players coming into the picture, we might be seeing Fender themselves look at this “historic” guitar.
If you are interested on the guitar and for more information, you can check out the conversation thread at Reddit.
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Wow aren’t you a bunch of bitter, distrusting people. I am the Sam Ash employee who bought the guitar. I suppose it won’t matter what I say, someone won’t believe me if the story checks out, and the man was paid up a fair price, will you? I told the man and his Grandson I’d pay more than he asked for, and disclosed the amount I’d hope to get for it. The guitar was laid for by check the following day.
My was buying used gear. I do it work for Sam Ash anymore. I Haven’t for years. This guitar came into the queens store. I was at the main office in Hicksville. After asking a number of questions I realized this was not a reissue, fake and drive to the queens location. I examined the guitar, and determined it was a pre-production 1954 prototype-Miniskirt knobs (one missing) oval string holes, football switch tip, early sunburst style, crude contours, and aerial on trem plate (0102).
Thats why I thought it’s possible to be the 3rd Strat. I don’t know why the person who posted this said #2. Maybe cuz that’s what the owner said
For pre productions 0100 would be #1 0101 #2 and so forth. The neck date (Tadio) is the earliest I’ve ever seen or even heard of (January). How many of thaw have you guys run through? How many of you like to be called a thief with no morals? Stealing from old men ain’t my thing. Shame on you all
I personally know the Sam Ash employee who bought it. Just to put some of the “rip-off” claims to rest, let me say this: Obviously, I can’t say what Sam Ash paid for it, but they have a somewhat strict method of figuring out what they pay for used guitars and equipment. Would this old man be able to get a better price if he really worked hard at selling it himself? Probably. However, it’s more likely that he wouldn’t be able to sell it at all. The average person simply doesn’t have the resources to find enough people who would consider buying such an item. I think the owner made away with the best he could have, and Sam Ash will hopefully find a buyer. It’s not a crime to make a profit.
I don’t know if the seller got a fair price or not – no-one but the people at Sam Ash really know that.
But I do question the claim “The average person simply doesn’t have the resources to find enough people who would consider buying such an item.” After all, it isn’t that difficult to list something on eBay.
I thought this was a interesting story, but it would have been better if at least a paragraph was included on the first Stratocaster…where it, what it’s worth, etc.
I doubt that the music store gave nearly enough cash for this instrument to the seller, but you know the old adage: Let the seller beware. That’s not it? Well, something like that then.
I don’t think anyone knows where the first strat is.
Here’s a guy who thought he had it – but didn’t:
http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25166
Here is a claim that Dave Gilmour owns it:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_owns_the_first_Fender_Strat_and_how_much_is_it_worth
I agree those big box stores always rip people like this off, the old man should have called dealers that specialize in vintage guitars to get a reasonable offer or even have one of them consign it and make the old dude some serious money….
This whole story sounds ssssoooooo fishy to me! I’m sure that the good people at Sam Ash disclosed everything to this poor man (not likely). If this is what they think it is, it could go for 6 figures. Just another reason we all should stear clear of the big box stores like Ash & GC !
This is why I constantly tell people to do your research before you buy or sell musical equipment.
Someone should follow up on that for sure….
So, they bought it from an “old man” for an “undisclosed sum”? And did they bother to “disclose” to him how much Strats of that era are now selling for? Let’s just forget for this discussion whether it is indeed Number 2, because it doesn’t matter in the least. ANY ’50s-era Strat in the condition shown is going to be worth multiple 10s of thousands. Did they bother to tell the guy, this “old man,” what exactly it was he was selling to “get money for his family”? Thanks for posting this story. You’ve piqued my curiosity to the point that it’s worth it to me to send out a couple of P.I.’s to follow up on this one. You think they dealt fairly with the seller? I’ll put money on it that he got the royal shaft job from this deal, considering the sort of con artists and gutter musicians who staff most Sam Ash stores. While we’re at it, you want to bet on whether you or I follow up first and put the facts of this story onto the Internet where the resolution of this likely rip off belongs? You have my email; let’s see just how much “news” there is to your “Guitarsite News.” The backing story sounds so fishy that any fool can see that some kind of scam went down.
http://home.provide.net/~cfh/strat54.html
It’s interesting that there is another early Stratocaster with an unexplained #3 written on it in the trem cavity.
Please keep me posted on the results of your investigations, I for one don’t belive this is the second one made…
I’d be suprised if they gave him more than $5K for the guitar.
I’d bet all I own they ripped the old guy a new one, thats why it not disclosed. I’d never buy anything from Sam Ash or Guitar center. Good call Telenator.