Tag: maple capped neck

Fender Japan 1968 Reissue Stratocaster Review

Todays review is on one of my favorite guitars I own, a Fender MIJ 1968 Reissue Strat. If you are familiar with this guitar, you know thats its not easy to attain as they aren’t made anymore. I had actually gotten lucky. One day I was gas-ing for this strat in particular and decided to check Ebay to see if any were listed. I had done this in the past, but only found one or two that were very overpriced due of the rarity of the instrument. But on this particular day, there happened to be one for about $500 or $600.

There was one catch however: it was a lefty strat. Being a big fan of Jimi Hendrix, I took the opportunity to flip the guitar upside down and play it that way. It was a ’68 strat after all. After another couple hundred to cover shipping, taxes, and a new nut for the reversing, this strat was ready to play!

The neck on the 1968 reissue strat is probably the best features on the guitar all together! Reason being is that its maple capped. What this means is that instead of the neck being all one-piece maple, the maple fretboard is separate and glued on, much like a rosewood fretboard strat. This was only done around this time period in the late 60s’. The result is one of the smoothest necks I’ve ever played on. Two things to note, the neck is extremely thin, which is ideal for fretting with your thumb a la Hendrix. The other notable is that the neck features vintage frets. The fret wire is thinner and smaller than the fret wire used today. I prefer this and find that it contributes to the vintage tone.

The tone of the 68′ strat is very very good. Some notes on the electronics: Many Japanese guitars are quite amazing, but are not usually known for their electronics. What I did is change out the pots and cap for a vintage electronics kit from RS Guitarworks. This really improved the overall tone and usability of this strat. The pickups are very very good though, and I am very happy with the tone they produce. Though I would consider some boutique pickup options is you are really trying to nail the 1968 tone exactly. But don’t worry, the stock pickups do enough justice.

Overall, I gotta say, this is a very very fine instrument, better than the majority of American Made Fender guitars made today (with the exception of the Custom Shop of course). I spent around $750ish in total for a guitar that is worth double that. Right now, it is my main stage guitar. The cleans are sparkling, and when it gets dirty, there is a very nice growl. If you are looking for the Hendrix guitar without shelling out the big bucks, this is it!

Fender 1968 Reissue Strat Sound Clips:

Blues Through a Fender Blues Deluxe

Rosewood Vs. Maple Fretboard

I can only speak from personal experience on what I think is better, and in the end, its all subjective and a matter of preference. I typically use a Fender Stratocaster, which I thought should be mentioned.

What I have always found is that I liked the playability better on a Rosewood Fretboard. Something about the Rosewood being glued onto the maple neck gives this great feel in the hands and I feel like I’m capable of doing more. But on the other side, I prefer the affect on tone that a Maple Fretboard gives. In my opinion, its brighter sounding, and more favorable as well. But its seems tougher to play than the Rosewood board.

On my Strat, I have the best of both worlds. I’m playing on a Fender 1968 Reissue Stratocaster. During that time period, Fender was making what was called a Maple Capped Neck. What this means is that they took a maple neck, and a separate piece of maple and slapped that on as the fret board much like they would do for a Rosewood fret board. So now I get the playability of a Rosewood board, but with the tone of a Maple board! Couldn’t be happier.

In the end, its all what you prefer. I have a few strats with both options, and while I have a number 1, I still play them all and like them individually. If you are trying to decide which to go for, I would recommend to go to your local music store and give both a try and judge it on what feels the most comfortable for you. Hope this helps!