1963 Fender Stratocaster Korina Pre-CBS Vintage Guitar Sunburst w/ Case

Up for sale, a 1963 Fender Korina-bodied Stratocaster in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with a vintage hardshell case. This Stratocaster is an exceptionally rare and fascinating piece of Fender history, one of just a handful produced between November of 1963 and early ‘64 with a Korina body; while ash and alder were used for the vast, vast majority of vintage Fender bodies, the Korina examples that have surfaced are still in the single digits. The body on this Stratocaster has been freshly refinished by Carson Hess, faithfully capturing the burst gradient of the three-tone nitro lacquer Sunburst seen on other documented Korina-bodied examples.

Notably lightweight at 7lbs 5oz, the acoustic properties of this Stratocaster are ample, and the Korina body offers a sweet upper midrange character and more expansive low end than a typical Strat, retaining excellent articulation and a responsiveness to picking dynamics. The neck is also notably chunky, with a dark, tight-grained Brazilian rosewood fretboard. While the depth of the neck carve at the nut is a modest .820”, the neck quickly gains considerable heft, filling out to a full “baseball bat” at .930” by the 5th fret, getting even chunkier in the higher registers for a delightful handful that frets easily.

The original trio of single coils all retain their stock windings, with black fiber bobbins, staggered alnico pole pieces, formvar wire, and cloth-covered leads. These pickups certainly dish out plenty of quintessential Strat sparkle and chop, but there’s a punchy robustness and low-mid “thwack,” especially notable at the bridge and “in-between” positions on the upgraded five-way pickup selector switch, which have a particularly funky hollowed-out quality, while the neck position is exceptionally smooth and broad. This Korina-bodied Stratocaster has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and accurate intonation.

Neck Specs:

-Wood: Maple
-Shape: Chunky C, measuring .820” 1st fret, .930” 5th fret, 1.005” 12th fret
-Fretboard: Brazilian rosewood, 7 ¼” radius, clay dot inlays
-Frets: Slender, leveled/crowned, light wear beneath the plain strings on frets 1-9
-Scale Length: 25 ½”
-Nut: 1 ⅝”
-Tuners: Kluson Deluxe single-line
-Serialization: L-prefix stamp (neck plate)
-Factory Markings: Nov, 1963 date stamp on neck heel

Body Specs:

-Wood: Mahogany
-Pickups: Black bobbin single coil x3 (B & M: 5.45k ohms, N: 5.75k)
-Controls: Volume, Tone x2, Five-way pickup selector
-Harness: CTS pots and switch (replacement, 1987 source date codes)
-Hardware: Synchronized Tremolo, jack cup
-Plastics: Three-ply mint green pickguard, knobs/pickup covers

The gloss three-tone Sunburst nitro lacquer refinish courtesy of Carson Hess is accurate in its hue and saturation, highlighting the distinctive grain of Korina and exhibiting horizontal checking and subtle wear as part of Hess’ aging process. The neck profile has a much older refinish with a smooth, clean feel in the palm. The original Stratocater waterslide decal and nitro lacquer finish is retained on the peghead.

A circa 1967 Fender black tolex hardshell case is included. The case features functional latches, the original handle, and raised Fender tail logo on the lid.