CRS-59 Stratocaster.

[roger bayliss]

Does anyone know much about the pickup specs on the CRS59 ... what are they nearest too in PU terms compared to the current off shelf types and whats the resistance values . Just curious.

[Geoff Alderton LH]

Hi Roger
I think you will find the spec for the guitar in David Marin's original post. There is also a picture showing the electric's under the bonnet. I cant remember if the picture includes the CAP.
Regards Geoff.

[roger bayliss]

Thanks Geoff have seen that and looks like a 0.1 cap... was wondering what pickup winding specs were like and nearest too ..

[Stevox]

Hi all,
I see Oasis Music still have a new 50th CRS-59 for sale only 8K

Regards

Steve

[Established1958]

I know several people who play theirs regularly.
One is me and I gig it every time I play a venue with a decent stage. I use it the same way I would any Strat so sometimes it gets to rock out. Even the drummer in the band knows when I am playing the CRS from the sound alone.
The other is Bruce who is very fond of his "copy" as far as I can tell and he would be "the one" to know how close to the original it is in sound.
There are a couple of guys who live near to our shop who have them too and play them at home. I also get to speak to some of the owners on the phone from time to time, one person loved theirs so much they bought a second one. They all love the the look as much as the sound. I won't try and the hide the fact that I am very proud to have been involved in the whole project and it will be a long time before I get as much satisfaction out of what I do as I did from working on the CRS-59s with Bruce, Mick Johnson, Greg Fessler and the guys at Fender GBI.
By the way the one we have for sale was bought by a non Shads fan collector who has sadly never played it and by the time it arrived a couple of others had sold for higher than new prices so he decided not to even take it away. He chose the asking price based on the last sale.
Thanks to everyone in the community who encouraged me over the three years it took to see it through and a special thanks to those who not only bought one, but still have and love theirs, it means a lot.
Howard

[Geoff Alderton LH]

Hi Howard.
And so you should be proud of it . It's a super guitar. I only wish the left handed one, that did'nt materialize, had been a runner, remember we spoke in late 2009 about one.
What I am suprised at is the shortage of postings, from the owners, recently. From the original posts by DR and DM and the recent one from Tone I think the guitar has it's own voice and I think it sounds great.
I suppose it's only human nature that if you have a treasure you look after it.
Regards Geoff.

[Tone]

Hi Geoff

I'm glad Howard has added his own comments which are very interesting. The fact that one famous owner endorses the guitar should be sufficient to confirm what a superb instrument it is

In one of your earlier posts on this thread you referred to "Scouser Joe." He is no longer a member of this forum so cannot reply directly. However, I'm in frequent contact with him and he has asked me to say that he still has his CRS-59 and plays it as much as ever. He thinks that the guitar when used with a TVS3 and Vox AC30 gives a sound as close to "That Sound" as you could hope to achieve 50 years on.

Cheers.

Tony

[Amanda]

An interesting point - Does Bruce's original still sound like it did when new in 1959?

If I'd have had the spare cash lying around when they came out, I'd have seriously considered it!!

[keithmantle]

I know several people who play theirs regularly.
One is me and I gig it every time I play a venue with a decent stage. I use it the same way I would any Strat so sometimes it gets to rock out. Even the drummer in the band knows when I am playing the CRS from the sound alone.
The other is Bruce who is very fond of his "copy" as far as I can tell and he would be "the one" to know how close to the original it is in sound.
There are a couple of guys who live near to our shop who have them too and play them at home. I also get to speak to some of the owners on the phone from time to time, one person loved theirs so much they bought a second one. They all love the the look as much as the sound. I won't try and the hide the fact that I am very proud to have been involved in the whole project and it will be a long time before I get as much satisfaction out of what I do as I did from working on the CRS-59s with Bruce, Mick Johnson, Greg Fessler and the guys at Fender GBI.
By the way the one we have for sale was bought by a non Shads fan collector who has sadly never played it and by the time it arrived a couple of others had sold for higher than new prices so he decided not to even take it away. He chose the asking price based on the last sale.
Thanks to everyone in the community who encouraged me over the three years it took to see it through and a special thanks to those who not only bought one, but still have and love theirs, it means a lot.
Howard

Many thanks Howard, I've still got my 'Lucky 7' CRS , A fantastic guitar !!

[5tratocaster]

I had the opportunity to play one last year and was really excited at the prospect, but I have to say the experience was less than I had expected.
Firstly, I thought the colour was wrong - darker than I remember the original strats in the 60s - though I know both Bruce and Hank agreed on that colour. It appeared to be more like the present colour of 34346 than the original. However, that is purely a personal opinion. Everyone's memory is different.
Secondly, the tremolo arm was quite loose in the socket and there was a fair amount of play before it became effective, a fault that really irritates me and one I have managed to eliminate from my guitars.
Thirdly, I think the nut was badly cut as the first string was quite dull sounding compared to the others and lacked sustain when played open.
I was really surprised to find these two faults on such an expensive guitar.
The sound was good, but not significantly better than the sound of my USA Vintage '62. It was brighter, as you would expect from a maple neck, but not so different in character. Then again, I am really pleased with the sound of my '62, so I was not expecting it to be jaw-droppingly different.
This isn't just sour grapes. I had once seriously considered placing an order for one after it was announced at Shadowmania and having seen the increase in value, I wish I had. However, I think I would have had to keep searching for the 'one' guitar that would be a keeper, as I don't believe I would have gained the satisfaction from this model that some of its owners have expressed.
As I said, purely a personal opinion and not intended to detract from the pleasure of owning one. It may be just the one I tried that was badly set up.
The message is, for anyone considering trying to acquire one, as with any other guitar, try it first.
Geoff