Framus Stratocaster (thermoset plastic), 1974

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Instrument: In 1974 Framus and practically all other German manufacturers were already in... more
Framus Stratocaster (thermoset plastic), 1974

Instrument:
In 1974 Framus and practically all other German manufacturers were already in massive financial difficulties. At Framus, bankruptcy was foreseeable. During this time, copies of the most successful US models were increasingly offered and desperate efforts were made to reduce the much too expensive production costs. So they also experimented with new materials and equipped, for example, some of these Stratocaster guitars with a Duroplast body! This model never found its way into a catalog and has neither its own name nor a model number. Besides this one, only a few models of the futuristic Framus Memphis were equipped with the black Duroplast body made of polymer plastic. It didn't help anymore, the great time of the German brands was over, the image was in tatters, the Japanese competition had been smiled at for too long and current product developments had been slept through. Those who had the money bought the expensive US originals, those who had to save money found cheap and good alternatives at Japanese manufacturers like Ibanez, Aria or Tokai. Our guitar has the punch 74E, so it dates from May 1974.

Material:
The guitar has a black lacquered thermoset body. The material is feather-light, strong, easy to work with and long-lasting. The surface is slightly textured, remotely similar to a vinyl guitar, but just as insensitive. The neck is a solid piece of maple throughout, including the headstock, and has a truss rod and fingerboard of East Indian rosewood. This bears dot inlays of pearloid in five frets as well as side dots. The solid hardware is nickel-plated, pickguard is one-piece white plastic, knobs and pickup covers are black plastic. Fully compensated roller bridge and open tuners. Despite everything, the manufacturing quality is very good.

Electrics:
The basis are two single coil pickups built by Shadow. The circuit is standard with a three-way toggle switch for pickup selection, master volume and master tone control. The connection is made via a current standard jack socket.

Instruments history:
Unknown. We were offered the guitar by a private middleman and gladly took it over. The immaculate condition indicates that it has not been used much and has spent a quiet life in a case.

Restoration work:
We completely cleaned the guitar, polished all surfaces, slightly sanded and re-oiled the fingerboard, and polished the frets. The tuners also got a small dose of fresh oil. Finally, the Framus got a new set of 10 Pyramid pure nickel roundwounds and a basic setup.

Current condition:
Even the sometimes fantastic replicas of the US best-sellers did not save the German manufacturers. These models were not very popular back then, at the same time quite expensive and therefore hardly sellable. In the following years, most of them disappeared, because a Framus Stratocaster wasn't something you treated or received well. We remember the then mostly pitying looks that one reaped with such a German copy. In addition, the plastic body - no one wanted such a thing. Accordingly, few have survived in good condition. Yet our Strat is a great guitar, flawless in terms of quality, sound and handling. The sound is more reminiscent of the sixties or chicken picking and delivers plenty of twang. It is a great player with easy handling thanks to its straight neck and low string action. Of course, all the electrics work perfectly as well. There are practically no playing marks, both the completely robust body surface and the white pickguard don't even show any plectrum marks. There are hundreds of thousands of Strats, but such a rare collector's item in this condition can only be found once in a lifetime. And anyone who stands on stage for a longer time should have a lot of fun with this lightweight, because 2.3-kilogram Strats don't usually exist.

Measures:
Overall length 38.2”/97 cm, body length 18.1”/46 cm, lower bout width 12.6”/32 cm, waist width 9”/23 cm, upper bout width 11”/28 cm; body depth 1.8”/4,5 cm, scale length 24.6”/62,5 cm (zero fret to saddle), fingerboard width 1.6”/4 cm at zero fret, 2”/5 cm at 12th fret; overall weight 2.340 g, string action on 12th fret 0,04-0.08”/1-2 mm (adjustable).

Purchase and payment:
Just send us an email to info@german-vintage-guitar.com and you will receive your invoice immediately. Or simply order here through the shop.

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