1957 Fender Stratocaster – Blond – Gold Hardware (Mary Kaye)

1957 Fender Stratocaster – Blond – Gold Hardware (Mary Kaye)

We present an all original 1957 Fender Stratocaster in Blond finish with Gold Hardware (Mary Kaye). Made in Fullerton, California.

History

A 50’s Fender Stratocaster in Blond finish with Gold hardware is often referred to as a Mary Kaye Strat because of its association with guitarist Mary Kaye – a Fender endorser and member of the Lawrence Welk Orchestra in the mid-1950s. A surprising fact is that Kaye actually never owned a Blond Strat with Gold hardware. In 1956 Fender simply loaned her the guitar for a promotional photo with her band as well as for the Mary Kaye Trio’s appearance in the film Cha Cha Cha Boom! Due to all the exposure around these two appearances – and probably due to the fact that she was one of the first women to promote a guitar like this – she quickly became synonymous with the translucent Blond Strat with Gold hardware.

Although Fender never used her name officially, the visual link between Mary Kaye and this distinctive Strat led collectors to later adopt the term “Mary Kaye Strat” for this specification. There is no doubt that this is one of the holy grails from Fender’s golden age.

Condition

Overall, the Blond finish on this ash body is stunning. The beautiful wood grain shows clearly through the original see-through Blond finish. Not only does the guitar look incredible, it also plays fantastic, with an exceptionally woody and resonant vintage tone. The original Gold hardware, including the Gold truss rod nut, is well preserved with attractive aging.

This very rare 1957 Mary Kaye Fender Stratocaster is collector-grade, but it absolutely deserves to be played. It comes complete with its original Gold bridge cover and Gold tremolo arm. It features a comfortable, great-playing V-shaped neck with original frets and nut. Cosmetically, it’s in excellent condition, with only minor nicks and dings around the edges and light play wear. The one-piece maple neck is as clean as can be, showing minimal wear. The original Gold one-line Kluson tuners are in excellent condition and work flawlessly.

Originality

This stunning ’57 Mary Kaye Strat is 100% original throughout – completely untouched down to every single screw. The original black-bottom single-coil pickups paired with the solid maple neck produce a punchy, twangy tone. All three pickups are well balanced and sound fantastic.

The pickups and electronics/wiring are entirely untouched and intact, with no broken solder joints and no re-wound pickups. All original and correct.

Comes complete with its original Fender hardshell tweed case. Latches and handle are in perfect working condition.

Key Note:
It’s important to note that on vintage Fender guitars from the 1950s and 1960s (pre‑CBS) with gold hardware, the gold-plated parts were the visible components such as saddles, bridge plates, tuners, pickguard screws, bridge plate screws, and string trees. All visible parts were gold-plated, but the height adjustment saddle-screws and the tremolo claw in the cavity still used nickel/chrome. Gold is soft, wears quickly, and does not adhere reliably to small / tiny functional parts, so Fender still used nickel or chrome components even on guitars with gold-equipped bridges. However, on Fender guitars with gold hardware, the truss rod nut was also gold up until around 1963. From 1963 onward, the truss rod nut was not always gold.

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