Vintage guitar of the week #13 - 1969 Fender Stratocaster in Lake Placid Blue

Very expensive. But very cool.

The '69 Strat in LPB is not cheap at all. If you want this Strat, you will need deep pockets.

Now of course, this is one of my favorite Strat designs because of the "swoop" STRATOCASTER logo on the pegboard and WITH SYNCHRONIZED TREMOLO beneath it. That is just a very, very cool look. The only way to get it new right now is with a Malmsteen Strat. I so wish that Fender would put that logo treatment on a Mexico model like the Roadhouse. That guitar has the same pegboard, but Fender will not put the full logo treatment on it. And I've no idea why.

Anyway, aside from the logo treatment, what makes the '69 worth its price tag is if it's all-original, isn't a refin and uses a 4-bolt neck and not 3-bolt. It does however have "F" tuners. Some players don't like those, but I can get along with them just fine. These are the same tuners used on the Fender Classic Series '70s Stratocaster now, so if you've ever played one of those (which I have,) you know what the tuner feels and acts like.

If in addition it's not a refin, a naturally aged Lake Placid Blue usually results where the finish darkens, the blue diminishes and the green starts to come out more. There's just something about naturally aged LPB that gives a Strat a very elegant look.

Like I said, this '69 is expensive. But if it looks correct, it's unmolested and all-original, it should have quite a few years of life left in her.

Published 2015 Oct 3