Mick Mars' strat

[messenger]

There are other oddities too, like the fact that all the headstocks are large Fender, but none of them have a bullet truss rod adjuster at the end...probably Fender Custom Shop, relic, Floyd, non bullet truss rod, etc...when I saw them Saturday night it didn't have a painted headstock, maybe the neck was replaced at some point.

The large headstock came into production in '66, the bullet truss rod adjuster in '71. There are plenty of large headstock Strats out there without it...not an oddity at all. Just check out a few Hendrix pics.

How many with 22 frets though

True...but the same could be said of the bullet truss rod guitars

Absolutely. That's why I agree with the guy when he says probably a custom shop and not a vintage fender. But to be honest i know nothing about fenders (other than the old ones only had 21 frets).

 

[rupe]

There are other oddities too, like the fact that all the headstocks are large Fender, but none of them have a bullet truss rod adjuster at the end...probably Fender Custom Shop, relic, Floyd, non bullet truss rod, etc...when I saw them Saturday night it didn't have a painted headstock, maybe the neck was replaced at some point.

The large headstock came into production in '66, the bullet truss rod adjuster in '71. There are plenty of large headstock Strats out there without it...not an oddity at all. Just check out a few Hendrix pics.

How many with 22 frets though

True...but the same could be said of the bullet truss rod guitars

Absolutely. That's why I agree with the guy when he says probably a custom shop and not a vintage fender. But to be honest i know nothing about fenders (other than the old ones only had 21 frets).

I missed that...they are 100% newer Custom Shop guitars...I saw that in a recent interview with Mick that I read.

 

[80sGuy]

Zombie post here....
Large headstock Strats began somewhere in the mid 60s, probably late '65 after the CBS took-over. The ones with a 'bullet' truss rod started at around late '71 with a 3-bolt neck plate, and ALL Strats back then had only 21 frets. The 22nd fret can be added by a professional. By looking up closely at Mick's 22-fretted Strats, they might be custom built by Fender. He explained somewhere in an interview that John Cruz has helped him built some so that kind of explains the one-of-a-kind CBS-era looking Strats.

 

[PBGas]

Mick's more recent guitars are Fender Custom Shop strats. I believe that John Cruz makes most of them for him.

 

[Exo-metal]

It's just visible in Mick's rack here:

I can't see this.