This is a 1997 California Series Stratocaster in as new condition. The plastic is still on this one. If you know about these they were a great 2 year run guitar that Fender should have kept going with. Whoever buys this is getting a piece of Fender history.
The Fender California Series Stratocaster was a highly regarded, short-lived run produced only from 1997 to 1998. It is famous for being a "joint venture" model: Fender cut the alder bodies and maple necks in Corona, California, sent them to Ensenada, Mexico for painting/sanding, and shipped them back to Corona for final assembly using premium American hardware. It combined vintage looks with modern playability.
It's factory technical specifications stand out:
Wood & Body Construction:
Weight: 7lbs. 11.2 oz.
Body Material: Solid Alder (routed for a pool/universal or HSS configuration underneath the guard)
Body Finish: Gloss Polyester/Polyurethane
Pickguard: 3-ply White/Black/White, 11-hole modern configuration
Neck & Fretboard Specs:
Neck Profile: Comfortable, vintage-style '60s "C" shape
Neck Finish: Tinted Satin
Fretboard Radius: Modern 9.5” radius (making it much easier to bend notes without choking out compared to a true 7.25" vintage radius)
Frets: 21 medium jumbo frets
Scale Length: 25.5” (648 mm)
Nut Width: 1.6875” (43 mm)
Electronics & Pickups:
Standard Configuration: Three factory-original Tex-Mex Single-Coil Pickups with staggered Alnico magnets. (The middle pickup is Reverse-Wind/Reverse-Polarity for hum-canceling in positions 2 and 4)
Controls: Standard 5-way pickup selector switch, 1 Master Volume, Tone 1 (Neck), Tone 2 (Middle)
Hardware:
Bridge: Genuine U.S. Vintage Synchronized Tremolo with 2 3/16” vintage string spacing and stamped Fender saddles
Tuning Machines: Fender/Gotoh Vintage-Style "Kluson" slotted tuners
Neck Plate: Plain 4-bolt plate
How to Identify a True California Series:
Headstock Logos: The front has a vintage "Transition" style Fender logo, with a small decal on the ball of the headstock that explicitly reads "California Series"
Serial Number: The back of the headstock features a unique serial number prefix starting with "AMXN" followed by 6 digits.
This guitar also comes with the upgraded Fender case as these were initially sold with a Fender bag.