By 1957 Fender had tweaked and restyled the Stratocaster until it was absolutely perfect. Within just a few short years new company ownership would destroy much of the hard work that had gone into creating a true American icon. But 1957 was a great year for the Stratocaster. It was the year that a little-known singer from west Texas started getting some national exposure, armed with an early Sunburst Strat, and it was the year that Fender officially introduced the first of their Custom Colors, which would soon see the company’s products selling like proverbial hotcakes.
Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly’s Sunburst model was one of the first Stratocasters to gain prominent television exposure, as that new-fangled rock’n’roll music began breaking out across America in the second half of the fifties. Soon it seemed like every 15 to 20 year old in the country was in a band – and they all wanted a Strat! When Fender introduced their Custom Color range in 1957, with such visual treats as Lake Placid Blue, Fiesta Red, Inca Silver, Black, and of course, Candy Apple Red, suddenly you could make great music… and a personal style statement!
When Fender get it right
Post-CBS ownership, the ’57 reissues were the first American built Stratocasters to come out of the all new facility at Corona in California and this superb 1989 model Strat has so much going for it, it’s almost cruel. Not only an American Vintage model, but now officially vintage itself, having clocked up 25 years last year. An almost impossibly fine example of “When Fender get it right, they really get it right,” the guitar has aged and worn beautifully, looking every part the vintage beauty it was designed to be.
Classic Strat tone
And the tone! Click on our soundfile and hear the incredible Tele chime of the bridge pickup – that is worth the admission price on its own. The three American Vintage ’57 pickups have more wire in them than the thinner sounding, under-wound units produced after 1998. They deliver that sweet, classic Strat tone in spades. With the equally classic Alder body and Maple neck, here is an American Vintage Strat that sounds exactly like a vintage American Strat.
Leo Fender’s favorite custom color
Nitro-cellulose based Candy Apple Red* was said to be Leo Fender’s favorite custom color – it’s also the most difficult and time consuming finish of them all, with first a white undercoat, then a silver base coat, followed by Candy Apple Red and finally a clear coat, all culminating in a lustrous effect like nothing else. And as with many old Candy Apple Reds, the finish here has developed the very fine dimpling that is often referred to as an “orange peel” effect, further adding to the outstanding vintage appeal.
That age old classic feel
Along with the body, the single-piece Maple neck/board is also nitro finished, for that age old classic feel. Most AVRI models came with a soft-V neck profile, but could also be custom ordered with the more modern C-profile here. The 7¼” vintage-radiused board and ’57 vintage frets are both in Near Mint condition.
Condition
Now out of production, our ’57 American Vintage Stratocaster is in Excellent++ condition, with virtually no playwear on the fingerboard or frets and just the right amount of tiny nicks and dings to the body, mostly on the lower front, which we have tried to show in pic # 6.
100% original
Built across May and June of 1989, the guitar is 100% original, including its original tweed hard shell case, itself with a nice, lightly and naturally vintaged look to match. Inside the case you will find the original Fender hang tags, vintage-style Fender strap and lead, case keys, spare chrome whammy tip and the optional 5-way switch.
A very special Strat
It is an understatement to say that this is a very special Strat. This is a Strat that will make a world of difference to both your music and your life. Once this beauty is in your possession, you will never want to part with it.
Free courier delivery
As with all Just Guitars instruments, FREE COURIER DELIVERY is included to any address in Australia. ($100 airfreight to New Zealand, $175 to the US, Canada, UK and mainstream European countries)
*True Candy Apple Red, as with this guitar, features a metallic silver base coat beneath the nitro Candy Apple Red, for a rich, dark lustre. Around 1965 Fender began using a cheaper gold base coat, which gave the finished guitars more of a maroon look, and which was also prone to ageing to a quite brown shade. Unlike their other Custom Colors, which were all existing colors used in the automotive industry, Candy Apple Red was the truest of the Custom Colors, being a 100% creation of the Fender paint shop.
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