FENDER STRATOCASTER, 1956 |
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two-tone sunburst. Welcome
back to Fender's Olympus! Ash body, contoured in a
masterly way, an extraordinary example of what 'contour
body' orignally should be. This is an especially
interesting instrument, which features many transitional
peculiarities of the earliest-production models and later
ones: body is dated April '56, and neck May '56; neck
date is preceded by XA initials, and it's one of the very
last Fender guitars with the name of the worker who
shaped the neck (a rule until '55... XA initials
are known, see Duchossoir's Fender Telecaster
book, but they haven't been associated to an identified
worker, for example: TG/Tadeo Gomez). All the
parts (knobs, pickup covers) are still in bakelite, but
neck already has a slight 'v'-shape, which would become
more evident since '57. Tuners are Kluson Deluxes,
the earliest 'single line' we have seen. Pots, code 304 6
05, are Stackpole, fifth week of '56, and one has been
replaced in the '60s by a '65 CTS (137 65 49). Except for
this pot and for a pro-refret, the guitar is absolutely
original in every detail: Spaghetti Logo,
black-bottom pickups, 3-way selector switch, circuitry,
shielding, bridge with Fender Pat. Pend. saddles (vibrato
arm is missing), and - of course - finish. Conditions, as
you can see from the pictures, are more than excellent:
top is in great shape, normal checking and a few
nicks here and there, but finish is intact. White-plastic
pickguard has a small broken piece next to one screw. On
the back, typical 'belt-buckle wear', and a little more
checking and scatches, some edge-wear, but really a
great-looking guitar, no breaks or repairs, really a
clean one. We took off some rust from tuners,
still a little rust on bridge-plate and saddles. Very
light clear overspray to protect logo and neck's original
finish which shows some sign of playing wear (no
overspray on body). |