I purchased the 62 Strat a few months back. I had been wanting one for a few years but the price kind of kept me from getting one. So everytime I had about $800 (or less) to spare, I would want to buy a new guitar. But instead of saving some more and just buying what I’ve been drooling over (the 62ri), I would just settle for “less”. But not this time! I consider it to be a pretty smart move. I’ve owned modern standard american strats and some mexican strats.
You most likely already know why vintage model strats are so pricey these days, but I’ll say it anyway. These guitars were simply made better back in the 50s and 60s. And you can really tell the difference between a new Standard American Strat and an American Reissue model. I paid $1499.99 for mine new at Musician’s Friend.
The fretboard is rosewood and is a 7.5 radius. Now, you’ve probably heard many mixed feelings about these more rounded fretboards, but in my opinion, you really can not tell a huge difference from the 9.5 radius. There’s this rumor going around that you will “fret out” alot when soloing with a 7.5 radius neck. But this hasn’t happened to me and is not exactly true. I think it might depend on the set-up of the guitar as well. Mine came set up pretty well from Musician’s Friend. I haven’t even changeed the strings yet, and that’s weird because that’s usually one of the first things I do when I purchase a new guitar. But there really was no need! The back of the neck is tinted and just feels great. Smoothe and quick. No skunk stripe either 
This guitar comes stock with some Fender vintage 57/62 single coil pickups. They are very clean and produce those bell-like tones. They also produce some very nice fat overdriven tones. These sound closer to the Stevie Ray Vaughan tone than the Texas Specials do. That’s just my opinion.
The body is fitted with a mint green pickguard which looks a bit aged. It’s an alder body coated with a nice nitro finish. This is great. Every strat I’ve had prior to this one has had a thick polyurethan finish. The poly just does not feel quite as natural and will not wear down with years of use. I personally can’t wait until my nitro finish begins to wear and the wood gets exposed. I considered getting it reliced but decided not to. I want it to wear naturally over the years of use. Perhaps I’ll slam it against some stages.
I am proud to say that I found the guitar for me. After first pulling it out of the case, it felt light and fit like a glove. It stays in tune extremely well. I probably have to tune it once a week, and that’s only a slight twist on the tuning heads to tweak it, and after I’ve been bending the hells out of the strings. I been trying to find something worng with it but I can’t. This thing is tough I advise to anyone that buys this guitar, to match it up with an equally amazing amp for a really magical sound you’ve probably been looking for. I use a Blues Jr. if you’re curious!
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Velly velly nice.
September 3rd, 2008 at 12:55 pm
The ’62 Strat is a very nice instrument. Plays and sounds great. I did have the issue with it fretting-out — usually the high ‘E’ and ‘B’ strings starting at the 12th fret — but rasing the action a bit solved the problem. The only other issue is that it buzzes (60-cycle) a lot. I wish they would shield the electronics better.
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:57 am
@ Geo – I’m beginning to not like bending the high E and B strings on my 62 strat. I still absolutely love the neck. The whole guitar is just such high quality. I’m just in a stage where I’m wondering if the 7.5 radius is for me or not. I’m not quite sure I’m exactly “fretting out”. It’s just that my fingers tend to slip, especially on the high E string.