NGD Strat

[R_T_Hermit]

Friday the 17th I ordered a used, Buttercream guitar from GC. Since the Thanksgiving/Christmas shipping season is coming up, I went ahead and paid for Next Day Delivery to stay ahead of the package glut. Knowing full well I wouldn’t get it on Saturday, I fully expected it to arrive Monday—or Tuesday at the latest. When that didn’t happen I dug into UPS Tracking and saw that it had been sent UPS Ground—which I think is different than Next Day Delivery. Maybe someone can correct me if I’m wrong. Thanksgiving is tomorrow, so I doubt I’ll see it then.

Anyway… if anyone wants to guess the actual guitar…. CBS headstock, maple board & 12” radius. Anything else gives it away if I already haven’t.

[windmill]

tele custom ?

[Fiddy]

I don't want to make another stupid and overplayed Harley Benton joke, but how about...

Harley Benton, and Feb 29?

[Fiddy]

Squier or Fender Tele Deluxe?

[R_T_Hermit]

Okay… Lol on the Harley Benton, it made me laugh… but no.

In fact not a Tele at all.

[BoringPostcards]

Some kind of strat?

[R_T_Hermit]

Some kind of strat?

Well, that was quick. Yes. It’s a Strat. Since the Ultra line came out, I’ve called them the poor-man’s Ultra. But it isn’t an Ultra.

[R_T_Hermit]

It arrived 8 days after being shipped… so much for Next Day Delivery.

It’s a 2016 MIM Deluxe Roadhouse. Having bought a Classic 60’s Lacquer Jaguar back in—well—2016, I was ready for what I got. Long ago I made a rule not to start changing things as soon as I got a new (new to me) guitar, but I had to break it with this one. Luckily I’m no stranger to Strats. Before I had it 30 minutes I lowered the strings 2 1/2 full rotations each. The trem was knocking obnoxiously against the body but that was fixed in less than 5 minutes and the plate is now free and back up on the bevel. After that I tightened the already not-bad neck about 1/4 turn. The neck has settled in nicely over the past couple of days so, hopefully, I won’t be messing with it again.

Overall: It’s in perfect shape. Dent free, chip free and scratch free. I even had the pleasure of ripping the plastic covering off of the pickguard and back plate. That makes me believe the original owner didn’t bond with it. I already have. I mistakenly believed that all MIM Roadhouse Strats had a 12” radius, but a serial number check shows Jan 2016 mfg date. So it’s 9.5”, and although it was described as buttercream, the same # check shows it as vintage white<= just a comment because it’s plenty yellow enough for me. I went with the earlier Roadhouse timeline because I wanted the CS Texas Specials instead of the “Vintage Noiseless.” I have Specials in my CS ‘59 limited Strat and really like the sound. And since it is Jan 2016 mfg it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that the ones made later that year have. No matter because I’ve already bonded with it. Thinking that if my Strat Plus, that I gigged heavy for years, had a maple fingerboard I just might only have one Strat. There’s just something about a maple board that feels right in my hands.

[BoringPostcards]

Oh, that’s lovely. Good score!