MIJ Contemporary Strat

[jimuc]

Thanks for that Adam.
Cheers,
Jim

[Ivan Pongracic Jr]

Have any members owned one of these and can anyone give me more information on this model.
My friend asked if I could value the guitar I would appreciate any help with this.

Hi Jim:

I have two of these - see the pic. They're actually very good guitars. They were indeed made between '85 and '87, though were changed a bit in '87. The 'classic' models are from '85 and '86. The tremolo in those years was made by Schaller, not Kahler. In fact, these guitars came with three different tremolo versions: System I, II and III. System III was the fanciest, and the guitars that are in good shape and fully in tact with those trems today can fetch US$800-1000 on eBay. I got mine a couple of years ago for about $700-800 (the Pewter-colored one in the pic below), but I've seen them go for more. The version with System I tremolo (like the Burgundy Mist one in my photo) are the most common, and they go for about $400-600. I think their pickups were not quite as good as the ones fitted to the guitars with System III trems. (The guitars with System II trems seem to be the rarest, and don't pop up very often.) In '87 they updated the Contemporary Strat with a real Kahler trem, the so-called Traditional Series. That didn't last long, and the whole series turned into HM Strats in '88. I've actually done a lot of research on these guitars, so let me know if you have any questions. I think they're pretty cool, and my two Contemporary Strats are really nice playing guitars.

Ivan

[jimuc]

Hi Ivan,
Thanks for the information.
My friends guitar is the same set up as the one on the left in your picture only it is more a light metallic gold colour.
Cheers,
Jim

[Ivan Pongracic Jr]

Hi Ivan,
Thanks for the information.
My friends guitar is the same set up as the one on the left in your picture only it is more a light metallic gold colour.
Cheers,
Jim

Jim, yeah, that is the 27-5700 model, as I think somebody already mentioned. I have a couple of brochures on these models and they only came in the following colors: black, pewter (metallic gray), frost white (metallic), emerald mist (green) metallic, and burgundy mist (metallic). If your friend's guitar is light metallic gold, my guess is that it was originally painted frost white metallic. I remember those guitars being just gorgeous when new, but the white has aged and yellowed a LOT on most of those guitars I've seen recently, and it doesn't look quite as good as it did back then.

Here's another tip: The earlier models, built in early '85, came with the serial numbers stamped on the neck plate, and are of the following format: A00xxxx. At some point in '85, they switched to the serial numbers on the headstock below the logo, and were made consistent with US-made Fenders in the designation, which took the form of: E5xxxxx.

Finally, if your friend's guitar has the intact tremolo bar AND the locking nut (with a little lever), it's worth a LOT more than without those two. Most of those guitars have lost those parts, and they're almost impossible to replace. With those parts and in good shape, like I said, the guitar is probably worth US$700-800, possibly as much as $1000, at least in the US. I'm not familiar with the British guitar market, so I have no idea how much it's worth there. But they really are excellent guitars, extremely well made and beautiful to play. The pickups on your friend's model sound really good, too.

Hope that helps!!

[jimuc]

Thanks for all that information Ivan, you have been most helpful.
Cheers,
Jim