1997 USA Fender Custom Shop Relic slabboard Strat neck. This is no ordinary Custom Shop Relic neck...this is a Yamano Mastergrade neck. Yamano is the top distributor in Japan and both Gibson and Fender send their very best guitars with the highest quality woods and craftsmanship to Yamano for the very particular Japanese market. These guitars were only built for a few years between 1997-99 and only in very limited quantities. Excellent, 100% all original condition. Original Fender spaghetti logo (minor scratch across the “F”), original Fender Custom Shop decal on back of headstock (under the finish), original frets, original nut, string tree, tuner bushings, etc. Original, thin, amber tinted, nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Beautiful amber colored clay dots. This neck looks like a real vintage Strat neck...and by the way, it is already nearly 20 years old so it has a head start on becoming “old wood”. No modifications, no repairs, zero issues. Frets are in excellent shape and show virtually no wear. Neck is straight and true with no twisting or any issues whatsoever. Truss rod works as it should but is not needed as this neck is straight as an arrow. Mounted on a body, the neck played flawlessly with low action and great feel, sound and playability. Finish is completely intact and there has been NO attempt to sand away the finish on the back of the neck or any other fake relic wear. Finish is still glossy and looks great...just like a vintage Strat that was well cared for and not abused. Just a few minor dings and light playing wear. I would rate it in solid 9 / 10 condition. 5A, exhibition grade flamey, birdseye maple. Every square inch of maple is deeply figured and the 3D flame changes and comes alive from every angle. I am not sure what the fingerboard wood is but it sure looks an awful lot like Braz. rosewood. Perfectly quartersawn, rich, dark orange-ish brown rosewood with black “landscape” streaks. Definitely the highest quality woods were selected for this neck. Very comfortable medium C shape with a thickness of .84 at the 1st fret and .97 at the 12th fret. (I had an original, near mint '62 Strat back in the day and this contour feels almost identical). 1- 11/16” nut width, 10” radius fingerboard. Date written in pencil on the end of neck is 8 – 15 – 97. Custom Shop USA logo and “Yamano Mastergrade” are printed in red ink on the heel of the neck along with “YFMS 61 / TRV195 and someone’s signature (H. Axxxxxx?) written in pencil.Sorry, but I do not have the rest of the guitar this neck originally came on. I bought the neck only a couple years ago and am selling it to fund another purchase.  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire one of the best necks to ever leave the Fender Custom Shop. The Mastergrade guitars are the best of the best handcrafted by Fender’s top luthiers using the finest materials available. This is an investment grade neck and I doubt that it will ever go down in value. I’ve been looking for over a year now and have yet to see one of these come up for sale anywhere. My advice...if you can afford it, buy it. You won't regret it. This is a NO RESERVE auction, so any bid can win.  Please ask all questions before bidding. I will be happy to provide as much info as possible to ensure you are satisfied with your purchase. Negative and zero feedback bidders must contact me before bidding. I reserve the right to cancel and block bids. Item is as described and is the one pictured. What you see is what you will get. I am not a dealer or a store...just a guy that loves to buy and sell cool stuff. All of my items are sold as-is with no returns. I have no tolerance for people who buy stuff and then return it due to their financial issues. Please do not bid if you cannot afford to pay. My stuff is legit and my descriptions are accurate. Check my feedback rating and bid with confidence. Payment via Paypal only and due within 24 hours of end of auction. Item will ship for a flat rate of $25 in the CONUS. International buyers must contact me before bidding. I will only ship to certain countries and buyer will pay all international shipping and insurance costs. I will not falsify any customs documents. Item will be well-packed and fully insured. I have decades of experience shipping vintage guitars and amps all over the US with zero issues to date.  Here are some quotes I found online about the Yamano Mastergrade:"Mastergrade refers to a number of extremely low volume, limited run guitars built to the exacting specifications of Yamano, a Japanese Fender distributor. The ones I'm aware of were from the '97-'99 timeframe; I don't know if such guitars are still built."
"The early Yamano Mastergrade guitars, however, predated the Time Machines and are, to some degree, its parent. For that reason, I would consider them historically significant since they were more period correct than anything else built at the time." "they were made for the Far East market and are Custom Shop guitars with the finest woods(light,grainy) etc, built to really high standards/exact vintage specs" "Mastergrade refers to a number of extremely low volume, limited run guitars built to the exacting specs of yamano music, a fender japanese distributor."  "...so we developed the Master Grade series. MB supervised, CS staff built, highest grade materials, killer detail. I think these must have started around 1996"Keywords: Master Built, Vince Cunetto, John Page, John Cruz