Fender Stratocaster Solid Body Electric Guitar (1957)
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Item # 11566
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Fender Stratocaster Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1957), made in Fullerton, California, serial # -17673, sunburst lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck, original tweed hard shell case.
This beautifully preserved honey of a Stratocaster dates to summer 1957, just about three years after the model's introduction. The body sports the older 2-color color sunburst lacquer finish which would be supplanted the next year by a flashier 3-tone 'burst. It is made of alder, then recently changed from the ash used previously. It exhibits a nice sweeping contour on the back; these were all done by hand on a belt sander and there is a decent amount of variation even in a given year. The body is dated 8-57 in very small digits in the trem rout on the back; the serial number on the neck plate is preceded by a minus sign, a quirk common at this time.
The great-feeling one piece maple neck is pencil dated 7-57 on the heel. It has the "V" profile used in 1957, but feels much softer than many without a hard spine along the back. The natural lacquer finish has remained cleaner and clearer than many, without too much ambering and very little of the play wear on the fingerboard seen on many 50's Fenders.
"Under the hood" the guitar remains completely original. The pots are a beautiful matched set, all three date coded to the 15h week of 1957. The wiring and solder joints remain untouched, just as they left Fullerton. All three pickups are nicely balanced and sound great, even the rubber grommets under the screws remain original. The original three-way switch has a very solid feel selecting the "in-between" tones easily for some truly righteous Strat sounds.
This guitar has apparently seen only light use over more than six decades and managed to avoid the major indignities that many old Fenders went through like refinishes, humbucker routs, massive jumbo refrets, and locking tremolos. It remains exactly as Leo and his crew intended, a versatile tone machine par excellence. It is simply a wonderful-feeling guitar, a great reminder why the world fell in love with the Stratocaster in the first place!
Overall length is 38 1/4 in. (97.2 cm.), 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) deep. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This Stratocaster is really extremely clean for its 65+ years on Earth, showing typical signs of light use but no notable damage, repair or even serious wear. The completely original body finish has no overspray and shows only some very small dings, dents and scrapes, more heavily on the back than the front. The face has some very light checking, while the deepest scratches are confined to the back and lower edge. The area around the backplate has a few small chips.
The neck has very little wear on the back, the fingerboard showing only a couple of small divots in the first position and minor nicks up to around the 6th fret area. The original single-layer pickguard is in excellent shape with no cracks or damage. The knobs and the pickup covers are also clean with cracking or notable wear. All of the screws are still original. All external hardware remains original including the trem arm, often broken or lost and the nearly always missing snap-on bridge cover.
Internally the wiring rig is untouched, with correct original pots, cap, switch and solder joints. The bridge assembly is original; the steel saddles shows a minor corrosion but nothing that affects adjustability or play. The tuners also have some minor corrosion on the buttons; the Fender decal on the headstock face is perfectly preserved.
This old Stratocaster appears to be still waiting for some serious play time. It sings with the magical sound typical of its two-tone maple-neck breed, easily conjuring up the ghosts of Buddy Holly, Clapton, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Richard Thompson, Ike Turner or any of a number of early Strat-slinging idols. The original "knuckle-buster" tweed case is still present, slightly worn externally but still well preserved with the "Koylon foam" tag intact under the lid and the almost always damaged or lost small metal "Fender" badge on the top in better condition than almost any we have seen. Truly a magical Strat! Overall Excellent + Condition.
This beautifully preserved honey of a Stratocaster dates to summer 1957, just about three years after the model's introduction. The body sports the older 2-color color sunburst lacquer finish which would be supplanted the next year by a flashier 3-tone 'burst. It is made of alder, then recently changed from the ash used previously. It exhibits a nice sweeping contour on the back; these were all done by hand on a belt sander and there is a decent amount of variation even in a given year. The body is dated 8-57 in very small digits in the trem rout on the back; the serial number on the neck plate is preceded by a minus sign, a quirk common at this time.
The great-feeling one piece maple neck is pencil dated 7-57 on the heel. It has the "V" profile used in 1957, but feels much softer than many without a hard spine along the back. The natural lacquer finish has remained cleaner and clearer than many, without too much ambering and very little of the play wear on the fingerboard seen on many 50's Fenders.
"Under the hood" the guitar remains completely original. The pots are a beautiful matched set, all three date coded to the 15h week of 1957. The wiring and solder joints remain untouched, just as they left Fullerton. All three pickups are nicely balanced and sound great, even the rubber grommets under the screws remain original. The original three-way switch has a very solid feel selecting the "in-between" tones easily for some truly righteous Strat sounds.
This guitar has apparently seen only light use over more than six decades and managed to avoid the major indignities that many old Fenders went through like refinishes, humbucker routs, massive jumbo refrets, and locking tremolos. It remains exactly as Leo and his crew intended, a versatile tone machine par excellence. It is simply a wonderful-feeling guitar, a great reminder why the world fell in love with the Stratocaster in the first place!
Overall length is 38 1/4 in. (97.2 cm.), 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) deep. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This Stratocaster is really extremely clean for its 65+ years on Earth, showing typical signs of light use but no notable damage, repair or even serious wear. The completely original body finish has no overspray and shows only some very small dings, dents and scrapes, more heavily on the back than the front. The face has some very light checking, while the deepest scratches are confined to the back and lower edge. The area around the backplate has a few small chips.
The neck has very little wear on the back, the fingerboard showing only a couple of small divots in the first position and minor nicks up to around the 6th fret area. The original single-layer pickguard is in excellent shape with no cracks or damage. The knobs and the pickup covers are also clean with cracking or notable wear. All of the screws are still original. All external hardware remains original including the trem arm, often broken or lost and the nearly always missing snap-on bridge cover.
Internally the wiring rig is untouched, with correct original pots, cap, switch and solder joints. The bridge assembly is original; the steel saddles shows a minor corrosion but nothing that affects adjustability or play. The tuners also have some minor corrosion on the buttons; the Fender decal on the headstock face is perfectly preserved.
This old Stratocaster appears to be still waiting for some serious play time. It sings with the magical sound typical of its two-tone maple-neck breed, easily conjuring up the ghosts of Buddy Holly, Clapton, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Richard Thompson, Ike Turner or any of a number of early Strat-slinging idols. The original "knuckle-buster" tweed case is still present, slightly worn externally but still well preserved with the "Koylon foam" tag intact under the lid and the almost always damaged or lost small metal "Fender" badge on the top in better condition than almost any we have seen. Truly a magical Strat! Overall Excellent + Condition.