I wanted a Fender Stratocaster, but didn't know which to get. After looking at many possibilities (in or near its price range), and after days of research, I decided on this beauty, the Surf Green, Fender American Vintage '57 Stratocaster.
The reason? It speaks to me. Vintage Vibe Dude! This one's got it all and then some. Originality is the name of this game. Right down to the cloth-wrapped internal wiring and three-position switch, (5-way switch is included in kit, if you prefer) this guitar is faithful to the era, and definitely no shortage of that totally cool vintage Strat vibe.

No other Fender I demoed sounded-or looked-quite like this. Played through a 40 watt, Fender Blues Deluxe tube amp, this guitar, with its 'New American Vintage Single-coil Strat pickups' demonstrates pristine, glassy, bell-like highs, clean, distinct midrange, and, (how to say it) sort-of foamy, wiry, cool-sounding overall tone with plenty of beef in the bass. I never knew why the old, vintage Strats were so popular. Now I do. If you've played a recent American strat, or perhaps, the American Deluxe Series, you know they sound very good. But, this sounds even better, that is, if you prefer that revered vintage Strat tone. They're still just like they used to make them: very simple to use and maintain without a bunch of complicated parts.

This guitar is well put-together. Very nicely finished in that awesome vintage '57 Chevy Belaire, two-door coup, surf green mirror-gloss lacquer body, together with the highly-polished, (also lacquer) aged-looking, one-piece, lightly figured maple neck. It is a joy to behold! And playability? Smooth. The polished, vintage-sized, nickel-silver frets gleam a golden hue in the moonlight-y-night. The action out-of-the-box is just how I like it: medium-low, with just a tiny, tiny bit of buzz when really laying it down. Nut depth and spacing-right on. Strings lie parallel with neck and equal on both sides. Vintage tuners are tight, easy to tune and stay put. Mine stays in tune. The attention to detail on this guitar is excellent. And, its upper middle-of-the-road price-range makes it affordable.

I also own an American Telecaster with the 43 mm, 9.5" radius, 'C' neck and thought the '57 Strat's narrower 42 mm, 7.25" radius, soft-'V' neck would be a problem fit for my fingers, but it somehow accommodates me and I can play-maybe even better. Very comfortable neck overall.

One little problem I had was with this particular chrome bridge cover fitting too closely to the tremolo arm, causing the cover to slip off when the arm is actuated. There is an indentation in the cover's side which allows space for the arm, but it is not enough. Seems it needed to be expertly adjusted with a little rotory-tool action (the cover, not the arm). I did not address this with Fender, but they should be made aware of this problem. Some covers fit fine, I hear.

So, if you happen to be one of those players who wants to actually hear and discern what the guitar itself sounds like, and you want that elusive true Fender vintage vibe, then this is the one to get. I did, and am not at all disappointed.

In the late 90's Fender updated their reissue range of guitars to make them more accurate to the original specifications. By most people's accounts they did a great job. Which is why its amazing that some people complain about little things like the nitrocellulose finish and its relative lack of durability compared to the horrible, thick polyurethane finishes that are normally used today. Hey folks, your guitar may have been made in the 21st century, but it’s SUPPOSED to be exactly like a real '57. In 1957 they used nitrocellulose. Sure you wouldn’t expect it today, but you would have in '57, get it? Actually nitrocellulose is a much nicer finish because, unlike polyurethane, it doesn’t smother the wood. Nitrocellulose has a more porous quality to it, which allows the wood to "breath", which brings out the best in the natural tonal qualities of the wood. And even though it is less durable than polyurethane, nothing looks cooler than a well-broken-in (or even downright beat-up) Strat! It’s a good trade-off, in my opinion, and most importantly its accurate! But if you don’t like it, buy a more modern model.
This guitar is a God-send for people who love the sound and look of real vintage Strats, the kind played by Clapton, Buddy Holly, SRV, Jeff Beck, Hank Marvin, Joe Walsh, George Harrison, Jimmie Vaughan etc, but cant afford the extremely prohibitive prices of original 50's Fender instruments. You get the real deal, warts-and-all. A number of people have had complaints about the vintage bridge/vibrato system and the inherent tuning problems involved with this system. Well, if you can live without using a whammy bar the tuning problems can be fixed by setting the bridge flush with the body. You can do this by adding two extra bridge springs to the back of the guitar and/or tightening the existing one's until the bridge is pulled back tight against the wood. They say this also improves sustain, I don’t know, never tried it.

Another modification that's definitely worth making, and I highly recommend, is to improve the shielding. There is next to no shielding on these reissue Strats (just like the originals), and this is one reason they're so noisy. Yes, there is an inherent hum in these single-coil pickups, but it doesn’t have to be as noisy as it is. Get a luthier to shield the guitar properly for you, or do it yourself. There are websites with information about this. It’s an absolutely essential modification IMO, and wont change the original tone of your guitar. In fact, it will even broaden the range of tones you can get because you'll be able to crank it more without worrying so much about excessive noise!

At any rate, this is a great instrument. Don’t buy it if you play in a Megadeth covers band, that’s a given. But if you play blues, "classic" rock, soft rock, jazz... Almost anything, this is a great instrument to have. The heaviest you can go, rock wise, is probably Deep Purple territory, but it still can cover a lot of musical ground.

The tint that this neck has looks so good with the surf green color. Definitely reminds you of the 50s. A very vintage sounding guitar however it is a quality vintage sound. I mainly use this guitar for blues and some light rock. I inspected this guitar when I got it and it was flawless. Everything was perfect. The tweed case is nice too. Its yellow tweed outside and orange plush(i think its plush) inside. I am so happy I got this guitar.