Up for sale, a 1986 Fender Stratocaster ‘72 vintage reissue model ST72-75 in exceptional, 100% original condition and in perfect working order. This exceedingly rare “Made in Japan” Strat, crafted at the venerable Fujigen factory during the golden age of Fender Japan production, is a non-catalog offering; it’s essentially a progenitor or very early iteration of the Yngwie Malmsteen signature model ST72-95DM (first released in 1988), sharing shred-ready features with that iconic axe including the scalloped fretboard and a pair of DiMarzio HS-3 (DP117) single coil pickups in the neck and bridge positions.

Tonewoods include a sen ash body and one-piece maple neck, and this guitar has an authoritative, cutting acoustic presence that translates well through the stock pickup complement. The pickups comprise a pair of USA-made DiMarzio HS-3 (DP117) stacked single coil pickups in the neck and bridge positions, with Fender Japan's ST-Current single coil sandwiched in between. The Dimarzio DP117s offers hum-free performance with a broad low end that's warm and tight with a smooth, glassy treble response. These qualities combine perfectly with a heavily distorted amp, because the sound won’t get muddy or messy, and the DP117 boasts a staggered pole piece design. This ST72-75 weighs 8lbs 3oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, slinky action, and spot-on intonation.

The maple neck has a slender C-shaped profile carve with well-rounded shoulders, measuring .815” deep at the 1st fret and .905” at the 12th. The scalloped fretboard has a 10“ radius, and the stock slender fretwire is practically perfect, with just a hint of wear beneath the plain strings on the crowns of frets 1-3. This guitar plays cleanly up the 25 1/2“ scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod. The nut measures 42.5mm (just shy of 1 11/16”) in width, carved from bone for optimal clarity and sustain. The large headstock sports a block logo, dual string trees and bullet truss nut, and the stock set of Gotoh tuning machines turn smoothly and hold pitch as they should. The back of the headstock retains the small “75” sticker, denoting the original price in Japan as ¥75,000, and the “Made in Japan” text and E-prefix serial are present above the three-bolt neck plate with micro-tilt adjustment. The neck heel and pocket also have numerous factory stamps, including ST72-75 on the neck heel.

All of the electronics function as intended; the pickups are wired to the stock harness with untouched solder joints and full-size Japanese pots that date to August, 1986. The bridge and neck DiMarzio pickups retain the small stickers on their baseplates, and the pickups are governed by a five-way selector switch and standard Volume/Tone/Tone controls. Plastics comprise the original trio of knobs and three-ply white pickguard. The vibrato has a full-size block, actuating smoothly and bouncing quickly back to pitch, with a light dusting of patina on the bridge base and block saddles.

The gloss Natural finish highlights the broad grain in the sen ash body, and this Fender is notably well-kept, with cosmetic wear limited to a handful of minor dings along the lower bout perimeter and a scant few faint scratches in the clear coat on the body as a whole. The smooth ambered gloss on the neck profile highlights subtle flame figuring in the neck, with two shallow marks behind frets 2 and 3 that have no impact on playability.

A padded faux leather gigbag is included.