Solid Body Classics, Vintage Electric Guitars
A Player’s Legacy: Tony Gilkyson’s 1962 Fender Stratocaster
Aug
Few guitarists have built a career as diverse and respected as Tony Gilkyson. A fixture of the Los Angeles music scene for decades, he’s best known for his work with seminal roots-rock outfit Lone Justice, influential punk-rock pioneers X, and legendary songwriter and performer Chuck E. Weiss. Tasteful, versatile, always exactly what the song needed, Gilkyson has contributed to countless recordings, live performances, film soundtracks, and television projects throughout his career.
This 1962 Fender Stratocaster served as one of his primary working instruments during a particularly prolific stretch of that career, the guitar behind some of the defining recordings and performances to come out of L.A.’s roots-rock and punk scenes.
A Guitar That Did Exactly What It Was Built To Do
There is something special about a Stratocaster that has spent decades doing exactly what it was built to do. This is one of those guitars, a genuine player’s instrument that wears its history proudly.
The guitar retains its original character and feel, with the honest wear, resonance, and broken-in comfort that only comes from over sixty years of use. The neck and body have developed the kind of natural aging and patina that collectors and players spend a lifetime searching for. This isn’t a closet case dressed up to look played. It’s the real thing.
A Quick Word on the Stratocaster Itself
It’s worth remembering what you’re actually looking at here. Leo Fender introduced the Stratocaster in 1954, three years after the Telecaster, and it’s arguably never been improved on since. A contoured body that actually sits against you instead of digging in. Three pickups instead of two. A synchronized tremolo nobody else had figured out yet. Leo wasn’t chasing a vibe, he was an electronics guy solving problems, and that’s probably why the design has never gone out of style. Every genre since 1954 has had somebody reach for a Strat when it mattered.
Pre-CBS Touches
Fender sold to CBS in January of 1965, and collectors have used that sale as a dividing line ever since, mostly because it lines up with a handful of construction details that shifted around the same window. Early ’60s Strats like this one come from the slab-board era, a thick, flat piece of Brazilian rosewood glued straight onto the maple neck, before Fender later thinned that board down into a curved veneer. That slab construction adds real mass and resonance to the neck, and it’s one of the first things players and collectors look for when dating a guitar from this period.
Bodies from this era were selected from lighter alder and ash, finished in thin nitrocellulose lacquer that lets the wood age and breathe over decades instead of sealing it under something thicker. Small, elegant headstocks and spaghetti-logo decals round out the period signatures. A 1962 example like this one sits right in that window, carrying the build character the era is known for.
The Changes That Come With a Life of Use
As is often the case with vintage instruments that have remained in service for decades, a few changes have been made along the way. The neck pickup has been replaced with a 1970s Fender gray-bottom pickup, and the volume and second tone potentiometers have been changed. The original three-way switch has also been replaced with a five-way selector, providing the familiar in-between Stratocaster tones many players prefer.
These aren’t blemishes on an untouched museum piece, they’re the marks of a working relationship between a player and his instrument. Despite them, this remains an inspiring pre-CBS Stratocaster with all the feel, response, and unmistakable sound that have made early-’60s Fenders among the most desirable electric guitars ever produced.
On the Records
Recordings featuring this guitar include:
Lone Justice – Lone Justice
X – See How We Are
X – Live at the Whisky
Exene Cervenka – Old Wives Tales
Exene Cervenka – Running Sacred
Chuck E. Weiss – Extremely Cool
Chuck E. Weiss – Old Souls & Wolf Tickets
Chuck E. Weiss – 23rd & Stout
On Stage and On Screen
The guitar can also be seen in numerous music videos and live performances, including:
X – “See How We Are”
X – “4th of July”
Lone Justice – Live at the Ritz
Lone Justice – The Old Grey Whistle Test
Chuck E. Weiss – “Cub Scout Suit”
Chuck E. Weiss – “What Am I Gonna Do?”
Final Thoughts
Some vintage guitars are collector pieces. Others are working instruments that happened to help write a chapter of music history. This one is both.
With its honest wear, documented recording history, and undeniable pre-CBS Fender mojo, this Stratocaster helped create and document an important era of American rock and roots music. It ships with a non-original hardshell case.
Specs: Weight 7.2 lbs. Neck depth .785″–.984″.
Notes: Back plate #74594 confirms 1962. Bridge and middle pickups are original black-bottom; neck is a replaced ’70s gray-bottom. Switch is now 5-way. Neck tone pot is original Stackpole. Volume and middle/bridge tone pots have been replaced.
