{"product_id":"fender-stratocaster-solid-body-electric-guitar-1957-14212","title":"Fender Stratocaster Solid Body Electric Guitar (1957)","description":"Fender Stratocaster Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1957), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 024071, sunburst lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck, original tweed hard shell case. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis beautiful lightly played-in Stratocaster carries dates from the end of 1957, around 3 1\/2 years after the model's introduction. It was probably assembled and sold in early '58, but in both looks and character has the classic '57 feel. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis Strat has an odd anomaly; the middle pickup is magnetically out of phase with the other two, with the poles mounted south end up instead of north. Normally this would indicate that pickup was replaced sometime after 1959 (when Fender switched the polarity) but internally the guitar appears bone stock including perfectly matched pickup flats, wire, hardware and what appear to be original solder joints. Although most official wisdom would say it is unlikely, it is *possible* a Fender employee somehow assembled the magnets into the coil upside down in 1957; over the decades we have seen more than a few error oddities on vintage Fenders. It is also possible the guitar went back for factory service very early on around 1959-60 or so and the center pickup was replaced seamlessly with the work to perfect factory spec, including the soldering and masking tape wraps around the leads. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn either event the result of this is that the \"in-between\" multi-pickup switch positions are HUGELY out-of-phase, with a \"Burns Wild Dog\" character. This would NOT have been flagged as a problem when factory tested in either case, as at the time blending the pickups was not considered part of the Stratocaster's official tone palette. According to both Buddy Merrill and Dick Dale, Leo Fender himself thought the multi pickup combinations \"sounded terrible\" and he specifically designed the switching to avoid them. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eApart from this oddity this Stratocaster is typical for the period. The body is dated 12-57 in the center pickup rout and sports the older 2-color amber\/brown sunburst lacquer finish which would be supplanted in 1958 by a flashier 3-tone 'burst with an added red layer. It is made of alder, recently substituted for the ash used previously. The body exhibits a nice sweeping contour on the back; these were sculpted by hand on a belt sander and there is a decent amount of variation even in a given year. The nominally 5-digit serial number on the neck plate is preceded by a \"0\" and the plate is also double-stamped; there is another serial number on the backside. Both quirks are common at this time, when Fender's stamping contractor seemed to be having a hard time getting the job done to correct spec!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe great-feeling one piece maple neck is pencil dated 12-57 on the heel. It has the fairly slim \"V\" profile used mostly in 1957, but feels softer than some without a hard spine along the back. The natural lacquer finish has some typical checking and minor play wear on the fingerboard commonly seen on '50s Fenders. The checking on the neck is largely lengthwise, which is oddly specifically typical of Fenders from 1957-8. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Under the hood\" the guitar appears completely original, beyond the polarity mismatch offering no evidence of later alteration. The pots are a beautiful matched set date coded to the 23rd week of 1957. The wiring and solder joints appear untouched, looking like perfect Fullerton work. Even the rubber grommets under the mounting screws remain original. All three pickups individually sound great, with the classic '57 shimmer. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis guitar has seen some use over almost seven decades but managed to avoid the major indignities that many old Fenders went through like refinishes, humbucker routs, massive jumbo refrets, and locking tremolos. While the pickup quirk is quizzical, the guitar remains as Leo and his crew intended, a wonderful-feeling great reminder why the world fell in love with the Stratocaster in the first place!\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOverall 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.). \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis Stratocaster is really pretty clean for its 69 years on Earth, showing typical signs of light use but no serious damage or repair. The completely original body finish has no overspray and shows moderately heavy checking and a collection of dings, dents and scrapes, more heavily on the back and edges than the front. The face has some small dings and chips, while the deepest scratches are confined to the areas around the edges. The back is surprisingly free of belt buckle wear.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe all-original neck finish has fairly heavy checking (enough to be feelable on the back) but not too much wear through, just some dings and chips but no larger areas worn to the wood. The fingerboard shows a couple of small divots in the first position, other than that it has noticeable checking but only light wear-through on the edges. The original single-layer pickguard is in excellent shape with no cracks or damage. The knobs and the pickup covers are also clean with no cracking or notable wear; the covers have ambered quite a bit. All hardware remains original and complete except for the trem arm, which appears later and the snap-on bridge cover is long gone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInternally the wiring rig appears untouched with correct original pots, cap, switch and solder joints. As noted above we can't say for sure if this area was factory re-worked a couple of years after completion, but everything appears to be stock period Fullerton factory work. The bridge assembly is original; the steel saddles and chromed baseplate shows a minor corrosion but nothing that affects adjustability. The original tuners have some noticeable corrosion on the casings as does the string tree. The Fender decal on the headstock face is perfectly preserved.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe original small-wire frets show some moderate wear (mostly under the B string) but still play well; the bone nut remains original as well. Despite the anomaly with the super out-of-phase wiring when set as intended this old Stratocaster 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, Ike Turner or any early Strat-slinging idols. The original \"knuckle-buster\" tweed case is still present, worn externally but still solidly functional. Overall Very Good + Condition.","brand":"Fender","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51127437918348,"sku":"14212","price":65000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0672\/8702\/3756\/files\/01_7a62407d-8a61-4055-9ead-36a30e0a2644.jpg?v=1782776601","url":"https:\/\/retrofret.com\/products\/fender-stratocaster-solid-body-electric-guitar-1957-14212","provider":"RetroFret","version":"1.0","type":"link"}