1957 Fender Stratocaster – Gold – Gold Hardware

1957 Fender Stratocaster – Gold – Gold Hardware

We present an exceptional and 100% all original 1957 Fender Stratocaster in its original Gold finish with Gold hardware. Made in Fullerton, California.

History

This is without a doubt one of the rarest Fender Stratocaster’s to come across. There is no official record on how many Gold Strats there has been made, but we know they made a batch and only a handful have been found. This is the only example that we know that is available to the public right now. This incredible pre-CBS custom color Stratocaster has been in a collection and stored away since the late 80’s, therefore this is the first time it is publicly available.

Condition

Overall, it’s in great condition with nicks, dings and other cosmetic wear. Because the guitar has been stored in its case without any air circulation since the late 80’s, the Gold plating in both the lacquer-finish and the hardware-finish has oxidized over the years. It is common that the Gold plating oxidises in this way and something we have seen seen happening to other Fender guitars. It’s a process where it reacts with itself, resulting in a slightly more rough texture on some spots on the lacquer and especially also on the hardware parts such as the neck plate, bridge cover and saddles that also have turned into rust. It all adds up to the incredible atmosphere and MOJO of the historical Fender guitar. There is a few spots on the body of the guitar where you can see the Desert Sand undercoat.

Features an ash body which is rare since Fender went over to alder body wood in 1957 except for on Blond finishes. It features a beautiful flamed maple neck with a “V” neck profile and lovely play-wear on the side. The headstock is as clean as it can be. The original frets and nut are in good shape and of course has been dressed and levelled at some point, but there is a lot of life left. The 6x original Gold one-line Kluson tuners turns smoothly and works as intended. Every single Gold screw on this guitar is factory stock and features of course the Gold truss rod nut.

Originality

This stunning and historical ’57 Strat is 100% all original with no breaks or any repairs. It appears just like it left the Fullerton factory back in 1957. It even comes with the original Gold bridge cover and tremolo arm. It’s all there! A true collectors dream! The 3x original black-bottom single-coil pickups are well-balanced and sound fantastic.

It features a mixture of polystyrene (bakelite) parts and plastic parts which is common for a mid-’57 Fender instrument, since 1957 was a transition year for Fender where they went from using polystyrene parts to plastic parts. It’s therefore common to see a mixture of the two materials. The original white 1-ply pickguard is fully intact without any cracks. The string holes in the plastic tremolo back plate have been enlarged a little, to make it easier to change strings without having to take off the back plate.

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

It comes with the original Fender tweed hardshell case. Latches and handle are intact and works as intended.

Besides from us at Guitar Hunter, some of the best and well-respected vintage expects in the world have inspected, verified and documented, to leave out any doubt, that this is in fact a 100% all original 1957 Fender Stratocaster in its original Gold finish with factory Gold hardware. An untouched example.

Specs

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With your purchase you get picture documentation on a USB drive and a Certificate of Authenticity. Read more