SRV Strat, Custom Shop, strange logo?

[BWH]

Hi Guys,

Love this forum, lots of knowledge here. Thanks to all. I'm hoping you can help me with some info on a fender headstock logo. I just picked up a 'vintage' SRV artist/signature model. I don't know much about these guitars, but enough to know it's an early 90's (likely a 94) and the SN matches the hang tag. it also suggests this time period. (more on that if interested)

Take a look at the photos. the headstock log is kind of 'burned in' rather than the normal fender decal. Any ideas on what this means? I think I may have seen this a time or two before.

The neck is a real Fender neck, and yes from what I can tell is the original SRV neck that came with the guitar. hang tag SN matches the SN on the neck.

Any help with more info or suggestions to research the topic is much appreciated. I picked it up because it plays enough like my R0 But still different too. (nothing is like a Rx)

[Mark H]

That may be one of the Fender custom shop replicas of "#1", that Jim Cara (creator of Ace's smoking guitar) took and aged, kinda like a Tom Murphy? In its final version #1 had a replacement neck, so maybe it is made to look like that version?
Still a cool logo!

I think that there was a legal thing, between Fender and Cara, over those too?

[dennistruckdriver]

I know the regular production-line SRV model didn't come with a logo like that.

[Exluthier]

Weird. It looks like somethings somebody did a job to. As far as I know #1 never had a logo like that, and I've never seen one of the copies with one either.

[acstorfer]

I have a SRV neck on my Strat and Fender isn't burned in like that. Mine is a 98 neck, you can date yours by the serial number very easily.

If I had to guess, a prior owner burned in the Fender logo. But hell, maybe Fender did that on a few guitars, who knows. I would maybe call Fender to see if it is original. I love my strat, it has the SRV neck (by far my favorite Fender neck, and perhaps my favorite neck all together. It also has EMG DG-20 pickup set, which is just toneful as hell and can do a very tasty sounding humbucker tone.

I have owned I think three Strats before I got this one, and this is the only Strat I ever really loved because of that SRV neck mostly. I hope you enjoy your SRV tribute, if I was to ever buy another Stratocaster, it would be that model. Damn, I love that neck!

[dennistruckdriver]

Originally Posted by acstorfer

....maybe Fender did that on a few guitars, who knows....

I'll go on record here in the forums: I'd bet five dollars that Fender never did that. Prove me otherwise, and I'll send five dollars to the stork man.

[BWH]

Guys, thanks for the comments. Mark H - I think you may be on to something. I thought I've seen that same logo on some older CS models. I'm going to contact Fender. I'll let you know what I find out. The guitar (especially the neck) has some relic to it. hard to tell if it came from Fender that way or if after 15 years of playing it ended up that way. I'm not sure what to think about that logo... I like it either way (factory or PO created).

Keep the comments coming if you have them. thanks

[1959burst]

not factory original.