Fender 'Mark Knopfler' Signature Series Stratocaster (0117800-815) - Owners list

[diremark86]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SIGNED-AUTOGRAPHED-FENDER-GUITAR-Mark-Knopfler/133361313183?hash=item1f0cf4259f:g:m6cAAOSwUyZebWDE

What even is this lol

What a ridiculously vague listing for an alleged premium item from apparently a member of The Doors???....

[quizzaciously]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SIGNED-AUTOGRAPHED-FENDER-GUITAR-Mark-Knopfler/133361313183?hash=item1f0cf4259f:g:m6cAAOSwUyZebWDE

What even is this lol

What a ridiculously vague listing for an alleged premium item from apparently a member of The Doors???....

I think it was a copy/paste from this guitar's description: https://www.ebay.com/itm/SIGNED-THE-DOORS-AUTOGRAPHED-FENDER-GUITAR-Hard-Rock-Cafe/133178431977?hash=item1f020d99e9:g:nGQAAOSwWq1dhVZx

The guy's inventory is pretty impressive. About 450 misc exotic car parts, a 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air, a Silk'n Flash & Go Express Hair Removal Device for Women and Men and two Hard Rock Café guitars including MK Strat and The Doors Squier. LOL!

[Knopflerfan]

From a Seller with 98.6 % feedback - erm!!

[All-the-numbers]

Hi everybody!
Still wondering about the "62 body" instead of "57 body" question... The truth is that, in fact, it made no sense to use a 57 body... The 62 body has a slightly different control cavity routing shape, allowing the pickguard screw located just below the selector switch. If Fender had used a 57 body it would have been impossible to use a 11-screw 62 pickguard... because that one screw in particular would have been of no use. I attach two pictures: one from my MK strat body (pointing at that area and the screw hole in question) and another one from a Japanese Fender ST57.

[Tomcaster]

Hi, first post!

regarding 57 vs 62 body, that might be a topic of body contours rather then the hole configuration?

on another topic: I am GASing a lot for the MK Signature Strat but prices are really high. A very good condition one starts at 2500 Euro. Recently there was mint one in the Netherlands for 3299 Euro and the selling company said they usually sell for that price (!).

In spite of being a huge Knopfler fanatic buying the Signature Model is just a no go with such prices. You could just ring up Fender Custom Shop and for 3000 Euro get a 1961 New Old Stock Hod Rod Red Strat in that very configuration incl. neck radius, fretboard radius and even fret size, but with better woods, more accurate string tree position, better PIO capacitor, hand wound Texas Specials and a better tremolo block (shallow string holes instead of the old deep ones accommodating Fender Bullet strings, therefore correct string tension as on old Strats). The only thing you'd miss is the signature on the headstock.

Your thoughts?

[quizzaciously]

Hi, first post!

regarding 57 vs 62 body, that might be a topic of body contours rather then the hole configuration?

on another topic: I am GASing a lot for the MK Signature Strat but prices are really high. A very good condition one starts at 2500 Euro. Recently there was mint one in the Netherlands for 3299 Euro and the selling company said they usually sell for that price (!).

In spite of being a huge Knopfler fanatic buying the Signature Model is just a no go with such prices. You could just ring up Fender Custom Shop and for 3000 Euro get a 1961 New Old Stock Hod Rod Red Strat in that very configuration incl. neck radius, fretboard radius and even fret size, but with better woods, more accurate string tree position, better PIO capacitor, hand wound Texas Specials and a better tremolo block (shallow string holes instead of the old deep ones accommodating Fender Bullet strings, therefore correct string tension as on old Strats). The only thing you'd miss is the signature on the headstock.

Your thoughts?

In my opinion, this guitar should not have such a huge increase in price, back in the day I've seen MK Strats selling for as low as $1,300-1,500 in mint condition, including shipping, so why should I pay double, triple that amount just because they don't make them anymore? That's ridiculous. I can understand when it's a signature LP where they made about 50 signed guitars or so, but even with signature LP a "regular" "cheap" 3 grand Custom Shop guitar is not a bad guitar at all. You're absolutely right about buying another guitar for that money.

But, with that said, sometimes a guy may just want to sell the guitar without 200% margin and put it out on sale for a decent price, not trying to rip you off. But that's rare.

[Knopflerfan]

Hi, first post!

regarding 57 vs 62 body, that might be a topic of body contours rather then the hole configuration?

on another topic: I am GASing a lot for the MK Signature Strat but prices are really high. A very good condition one starts at 2500 Euro. Recently there was mint one in the Netherlands for 3299 Euro and the selling company said they usually sell for that price (!).

In spite of being a huge Knopfler fanatic buying the Signature Model is just a no go with such prices. You could just ring up Fender Custom Shop and for 3000 Euro get a 1961 New Old Stock Hod Rod Red Strat in that very configuration incl. neck radius, fretboard radius and even fret size, but with better woods, more accurate string tree position, better PIO capacitor, hand wound Texas Specials and a better tremolo block (shallow string holes instead of the old deep ones accommodating Fender Bullet strings, therefore correct string tension as on old Strats). The only thing you'd miss is the signature on the headstock.

Your thoughts?

Hi Tomcaster,

I guess it's completely up to each individual what they would rather spend their money on with regards an MK Signature Strat or not ...

Very happy with mine and I'm sure all the other MK strat owners are too....

[dustyvalentino]

Hi, first post!

regarding 57 vs 62 body, that might be a topic of body contours rather then the hole configuration?

on another topic: I am GASing a lot for the MK Signature Strat but prices are really high. A very good condition one starts at 2500 Euro. Recently there was mint one in the Netherlands for 3299 Euro and the selling company said they usually sell for that price (!).

In spite of being a huge Knopfler fanatic buying the Signature Model is just a no go with such prices. You could just ring up Fender Custom Shop and for 3000 Euro get a 1961 New Old Stock Hod Rod Red Strat in that very configuration incl. neck radius, fretboard radius and even fret size, but with better woods, more accurate string tree position, better PIO capacitor, hand wound Texas Specials and a better tremolo block (shallow string holes instead of the old deep ones accommodating Fender Bullet strings, therefore correct string tension as on old Strats). The only thing you'd miss is the signature on the headstock.

Your thoughts?

In my opinion, this guitar should not have such a huge increase in price, back in the day I've seen MK Strats selling for as low as $1,300-1,500 in mint condition, including shipping, so why should I pay double, triple that amount just because they don't make them anymore? That's ridiculous. I can understand when it's a signature LP where they made about 50 signed guitars or so, but even with signature LP a "regular" "cheap" 3 grand Custom Shop guitar is not a bad guitar at all. You're absolutely right about buying another guitar for that money.

But, with that said, sometimes a guy may just want to sell the guitar without 200% margin and put it out on sale for a decent price, not trying to rip you off. But that's rare.

Hardly ripping someone off.

Any item in this world is only worth what someone will pay for it.

No one is forcing anyone to buy a used MK strat.

MK probably paid about £30,000 for his 58 Les Paul in the early 90s. He could have bought 15 brand new and therefore “better“ guitars for that money.

Flip side of the argument is that his 58 is now worth 10 times what he paid for it...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Tomcaster]

Fair enough, it's the law of supply and demand. From my side I just wanted to show that alternatives were possible if somebody was ok not to have MK's signature on the headstock. The price of his signature LPs inflated just as much. People seem to ignore that these are simple historics. Only the aged and signed version has True Historic specs.

Coming back to the Strat, I always wondered if Mark himself had a "true" production model. Wouldn't be difficult for Fender to throw in a piece of selected wood and some more work on the guitar to get it perfect before sending it to the artist. Any insights here? Does anybody know if Mark had a real connection to Fender Masterbuilder Todd Krause? There are some sources around that say Todd was working on Mark's guitars?

https://reverb.com/item/5889900-2008-fender-custom-shop-todd-krause-masterbuilt-mark-knopfler-hot-rod-red-60-s-strat#full
https://www.makenmusic.com/products/fender-custom-shop-1960-stratocaster-mark-knopfler-signature-model-masterbuilt-todd-krause-nos-new-old-stock-solidbody-electric-guitars-hot-rod-red

[ds1984]

Add that producing limited series is already feeding the "collector" market.

The Fender MK signature was not a limited series while in production but the LP was from day one.
So in that I would call Gibson a deluxe decorative item manufacture...

Fair enough, it's the law of supply and demand. From my side I just wanted to show that alternatives were possible if somebody was ok not to have MK's signature on the headstock. The price of his signature LPs inflated just as much. People seem to ignore that these are simple historics. Only the aged and signed version has True Historic specs.

[quizzaciously]

Coming back to the Strat, I always wondered if Mark himself had a "true" production model. Wouldn't be difficult for Fender to throw in a piece of selected wood and some more work on the guitar to get it perfect before sending it to the artist. Any insights here? Does anybody know if Mark had a real connection to Fender Masterbuilder Todd Krause? There are some sources around that say Todd was working on Mark's guitars?

https://reverb.com/item/5889900-2008-fender-custom-shop-todd-krause-masterbuilt-mark-knopfler-hot-rod-red-60-s-strat#full
https://www.makenmusic.com/products/fender-custom-shop-1960-stratocaster-mark-knopfler-signature-model-masterbuilt-todd-krause-nos-new-old-stock-solidbody-electric-guitars-hot-rod-red

I think that's impossible that Mark uses a regular guitar from the shelf, especially bearing luxury serial numbers like 00000 or 00001-ish. Tommy Emmanuel plays seemingly regular Maton 808, but actually it's a 10,000 dollars Custom Shop instrument.

[dustyvalentino]

Flip side is that MK was using Glen Worff's MK strat for a while, would Glen have had a special version too?

I'm sure MK's strats are set up better than most of us could manage but at the end of the day he chose the specs so there wouldn't be much point doing that if he didn't like them.

[quizzaciously]

Flip side is that MK was using Glen Worff's MK strat for a while, would Glen have had a special version too?

I'm sure MK's strats are set up better than most of us could manage but at the end of the day he chose the specs so there wouldn't be much point doing that if he didn't like them.

Also, in the 09.09.09 Princess Trust show Mark used not a signature strat at all, but some unknown red strat, and I think it had the greatest sound on MK's record since a long time, so go figure... I actually like the fact that all things are messed up like that, even in Mark's early history there are countless speculations on strings (.008 strings? Was Sultans recorded on a black strat which David Knopfler sold recently? Etc.) and many other things. Mark had his own 61 strat refinished, so anything goes.

I think the whole Stratocaster guitar design is a pretty much utilitarian thing, you can replace every part you can think of. I once had an MK signature neck on a Japanese-made body, and I sold the guitar. The next owner got the vintage strat body with vintage hardware and all, installed my MK neck on it and now the thing sounds and looks like a dream. But it's not an MK signature strat, because that's not the real deal, but it has a signature on the headstock. My mind is a blank

[hunter]

Most people who buy the MK signature Strat do so because they are fans and/or collectors, not necessarily because the guitar is that special. As indicated above, you can either get a similar guitar without the signature for a lot less, or a lot better/nicer guitar for the price of what the MK Strats go for these days.

[dustyvalentino]

Certainly the early batch of MK strats were highly regarded as very fine instruments in their own right, don't know if that continued.

All that said, yes, a strat is a strat, and paying thousands for one is kind of silly. MK played Mexican strats at the 2002 charity shows and no one knew the difference.