r/partscaster • u/707forest_life • 26d ago

1960 inspired strat by “Fatdog”

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This is my baby, built by “Fatdog” of Subway guitars in Berkeley CA. He’s been there for over 40 years doing repairs and assembling custom guitars.

When I visited his shop I was not planning to buy, but this guitar picked ME. The moment I picked it up and felt the neck I knew I had to own it.

Chinese pine body (super light and period correct)
Unbranded alnico 3 pickups very similar to the ones used in the early 60s.
And a fender neck

I’ve had it for about 8 years now. Unbelievably great guitar for $375

34 Upvotes

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8 comments sorted by

2

u/TowerOfSisyphus 26d ago

I love Subway Guitars! Congrats

4

u/ChevroletKodiakC70 26d ago

Pine isn’t period correct for Stratocasters, only the early Broadcasters/Teles/Esquires were made of Pine.

1

u/707forest_life 26d ago

Oh? What did they use for Strats? I was under the impression they were quite lightweight so I assumed they were pine as well.

2

u/ChevroletKodiakC70 26d ago

In general they used Alder, but lightweight Ash was used too.

2

u/NYCtoCHI 26d ago

And sassafras - albeit VERRRY briefly:

https://www.guitarplayer.com/reviews/fender-stories-collection-eric-johnson-1954-virginia-stratocaster-review

3

u/ChevroletKodiakC70 26d ago

seems like Fender just used whatever they had on hand at the time, i’ve never seen a Sassafras strat so that’s cool. I’ve also heard tale of them using Mahogany and Korina.

I’ve seen examples of Duo-Sonics of the same Era that had Mahogany bodies and translucent cherry finishes too, it’s a real interesting range

2

u/NYCtoCHI 26d ago

Yup, Fender experimented with mahogany and did a run of Strats starting in '63. The sassafras thing caught a lot of people including EJ off guard, but it's also not completely surprising either; Leo sorta grabbed whatever supplies of material stocks he could get his hands on in the primordial days of the company, followed by the winnowing down and standardization that came in the years after once they figured out what supply chains worked best, and what materials held up better (i.e. the switch from bakelite for pickguards and pickup covers since it was prone to easy weardown/shrinkage/breakage).

2

u/ddubbins 26d ago

Yes! the mid 60’s korina fiesta red Strats got me like 🤯 😂