Fender '57 Reissue Stratocaster

I bought mt strat about three years ago, Us built reissue stratocaster, 21 frets enough for a predominant blues player. The guitar came in with a 3way selector, but I replaced it for a 5 way one . The tuners are the classic stratocaster ones and serve their purpose well. Other features which came along with the guitar were a beautiful tweed-case& a fender strap. This is not a heavliy-featured guitar, but if you are looking a authentic strat this is it.

The sound this guitar produces is just what I was looking for. With the 5way switch, you can easily get a southern-blues- sound. There is no need using any sound-effects, except of course my trustie tubescreamer. Combine this guitar with the green box and you'll just to wear a hat, to be the man; SRV. I play my strat through a Mesa/boogie DC5, which makes sure you get a good old fender tone with a nice dirty distortion.

This is probably the part i like best about the guitar. It plays like so extremely well. The action is great, the bridge is easy in use. What do you want more. Just play it and you'll love it, trust me.

What can I say. It's a fender, Built to last!

Haven't dealt with yet.

This guitar is everything I was ever looking for. I used to ask myself why does everybody play a strat, now I know, after three years of intensive use it still is in perfect condition. These guitars are as solid as a rock!

I bought this new this year (1998). It's the American made model, 21 frets, solid Alder body, maple neck and fingerboard, etc. It comes with a vintage style 3-position switch, but also includes a more modern 5-position switch, which I think is a real nice touch. They also include the extra tremolo springs (3 installed, 2 on the side) in case you install heavier strings (which I did). The three single coil pickups are supposedly replicas of the originals, and I see nothing in their construction or sound to dispute that claim. The wiring is all cloth covered, just like the old ones. In fact, the only area where I see a major departure is in the pre-aged (yellowed) lacquer they use on the neck to make it LOOK like an old one. The neck features the old-style 7-1/4" radius fingerboard (which was the main reason I chose this model). Mine came with the 2-tone sunburst finish, very nicely executed. It also included the tweed case (very neat) a thin strap (never used) and a bunch of other accessories. Tailpiece is tremolo, and tuners are replicas of the originals.
This is not a feature-heavy guitar, but I give it a 10 because it has exactly the features it's SUPPOSED to have, and does those exactly right.

This is an areas where the reissue may differ somewhat from my recollection of the originals -- this thing is QUIET! The tones were pretty much how I remember my last vintage strat. I have, however, removed the pickups and put them in my Mexican RolandReady strat, and replaced the originals with Lindy Fralins, which improved the sound considerably, while retaining the original personality. Again, it's a definite 10 because it sounds precisely like it's supposed to.

Finish is excellent. Setup was quite good (especially compared to my Mexican Fender!). The body wood is beautiful (easily visible with the clear finish), and the wiring inside was exceptionally neat (I've since remedied that with my own sloppy soldering and the installation of a Roland GK2A internal kit.) Still, Fender does not do quality like Gibson, so I have to give it an 8 -- excellent for Fender, though.

Well, everybody knows what you can do to Strats without killing them. These things are solid as they come. I replaced the strap buttons with straplocks, as I have on every guitar I own ever since my piano player picked up my Les Paul By the strap, dropped it, and broke the neck. The finish is good and thick (I know because I had to chisel through it to install the GK2A jack on the lower bout.)

My experience with Fender customer support has been about what you would expect if you bought the thing off some guy in an alley somwhere. They suck! I ordered (and paid for) my Roland Ready, then waited for nearly 4 months and still didn't receive it. I finally found one in stock somewhere (not the color I wanted), and ultimately got my money back. What really irked me was that I could never get a straight answer from them. I also don't like the fact that they don't have any provision for customer feedback at their web site (they should take a lesson from Peavey, who provides extensive support via web -- even to people who have bought their equipment used). I purchased the '57 before my experience with the RolandReady -- otherwise I would hav bought a G&L instead. I love this guitar, but based on Fender's 'we could care less' support, I would not buy another new Fender, ever.

I got this guitar at an unbeatable price, from an exceptionally good dealer (from whom I have bought several other instruments). I love the guitar, but if it was lost or stolen I would have to replace it with something else, simply because I will not send any more of my money to Fender. I like their instruments -- I do NOT like THEM.

Specs: 57 strat, 2 color sunburst, 3 50's single coils, vintage hardware This is absolutley the best guitar i've ever played. The rounded neck is the most obvious and best feature that boosts playing ease. The finish is the best i've seen and the "aged" neck is terrific!! I also love the vintage tweed case. Although sometimes my strings come out of tune if i overly use my tremolo, the vintage tremolo is great looking and easily accessible

The sound these pickups put out through my hot rod deluxe are great. Meaty lows, rich mids, and peircing highs:all stratocaster standards. Although i have to agree with a previous submitter, the bridge pickup is a little weak, and does not produce the ballsy tone it should. No effects in use, the 57 has great tone. The middle pickup is the best i've heard on a strat. I love the harmonics i can get, they are clear and sustain well. The bass strings thump very well too.

The action is great, low to the fretboard, just like i got it from the store. No flaws were apparent when i purchased it. In fact i got it mainly on account of it's awesome appearance. The wood in this guitar is spectacular!

The 57 comes through every time for me. I am positive it will be with me for a very long time. It is very solid, although i have had to tighten the screws on the peg heads once before. Would i use it without a backup? No!!! That's stupid! Always gotta have a backup!!

N/A

I've had this guitar almost 1 year and it's my number 1. I love it's playability and the tone i can get out of it. It is one of many of Fender's fine products, the best on the market!

98 model in Candy apple red. Niceley colored neck. This guitar came with a tweed case, strap, 5 way selector switch, polishing cloth, and extra tremelo springs. A beautiful guitar!

I love the middle and neck pickups but the bridge is just missing something. I am thinking of replacing it with a Texas special or something else. The middle pickup is suprisingly good sounding. The neck pickup is very good too.

This guitar was purchased from musicians friend. It came very well set up from them. The finish is excellent. It is so smoothe!

I'm not sure. Have had it for 5 days.

Not sure.

This guitar is very easy to play. It may take some getting used to for beginers though. I have another strat from Mexico with EMG pickups on it. It sounds alot better but is terribly made. The only drawback on this guitar is the bridge pickup. Everything else about this guitar is great!

This U.S. made strat features a solid alder body, one-piece maple neck with 21 small vintage-style frets, nitrocellulose lacquer finish on the neck and body (mine's a 2-color sunburst...beautiful), 1 ply pickguard, 3 staggered reissue pickups with cloth covered wire, vintage tremolo, and kluson-style tuners. Attention to detail on these guitars is amazing! They even got the decal over the finish like it's supposed to be. Also includes a hip looking tweed case, strap & cable. Lots of cool vintage features.

This strat nails that classic cluck tone. It's a pretty ballsy sounding ax through any old tube amp. The tone is rich and clear. I like the way it responds to change in attack. You can hit it pretty hard and it begs for more. Three thumbs up here.

I always ditch the factory settings 'cause I use 11's. The nitrocellulose sunburst finish looks extremely nice. Everything is well detailed (as it should be) and I've had no guff with it whatsoever.

This is a very well made strat, and I wouldn't be afraid to take it anywhere. It should last as long or longer as the originals from '57 did.

I've tried contacting Fender to get them to send me a replacement flathead pickguard screw for my 52' Reissue Tele - and the customer support is not adequate. As far as structural problems, I've never had any kind of problem with any Fender I've owned, so I can't speak on their warranty service.

I give this guitar an overall rating of 9. I still would love to own a daphne blue custom shop strat...but this one will suffice for now. It's a blast to play and sounds like a million bucks! I'd recommend this guitar to anyone looking to duplicate the early strat sound without taking out a third mortgage.

3 Vintage "'50's" single coil pickups. Vintage temolo, vintage tuners, Nitrocelulose finish. 3 way pickup selector. Single ply, 8 screw Pick Guard. This guitar holds true to the original. I really like the heavily laqured maple neck, as well as fret work. This guitar comes w/ a vintage 10' cable, polishing cloth, "ash tray" tremolo cover, 5 way pickup selector w/ diagram, 5 tremolo springs in addition to the three installed, and all the tools that you need to adjust the tremolo. The only thing I don't like about this guitar is the fact you HAVE to take the neck off to adjust the truss rod. I also got a "custom shop" tweed case, not the "reissue" style case.

Oh baby... There isn't much better sounding than this guitar (grounded at least) plugged into a Fender Hot Rod Deville amp! It has an almost humbucker fatness to it. I wouldn't change these pickups with anything other than the David Gilmour EMG's (I bought this guitar cuz of him, it's even Candy Apple Red!). The neck is smooth and silky, no mud, the mid, well, is mid, but I like it w/ wah and phaser effects, and the bridge is bitey! Pretty versatile in sounds in my opinion. This thing even sounds good through my Deluxe 112 Plus se! I won't be installing the 5 way pickup selector, at least, not for now.

This guitar came from TX to MI for me to get it in the finish I wanted. When it came here, it was perfect. I took off the nines, and put on 10s, and all I had to do was tighten the tremolo springs. The intonation was still perfect, and so was the neck. After MUCH playing, I fear that the bridge needs some adjustment, but that happens. The finish is gorgeous. I love maple necks, and this one is so laqured, it's golden. I love the candy apple red too. Only real complaint is that it seems to pickup the rubber from my guitar stands a lot, so I have to wipe it off. DONT BUY THE FIEST RED! It looks like warm tomato soup!

Very durable. Gilmour's been playing one for over ten years, the same one infact, so, I think it lasts... I've got no complaints here.

Never dealt w/ them, but from what I hear, I don't want to either...

I own three other electrics (LP Standard, NightHawk 3 PU, and a Chet Atkins SST), and this one is my favorite to play! I LOVE Fender necks! I LOVE Maple FRet Boards! I LOVE heavily laquered necks! This guitar is perfect. It is probably the finest factory stock Strat made today.

3 piece alder body, maple neck, 21 vintage frets. 3 vintage Fender single pickups, volume, tone for neck, tone for middle. Chrome hardware. Basically, pretty standard Fender vintage features. Originally had only three way swtich, though. Basically, don't buy this guitar if you're expecting mordern versatility.
That said, I bought this guitar because of the feel and the sound, and I love to make custom modifications. I replaced the three-way switch with five-way, routed the bridge pickup to the middle tone pot, and replaced the bridge pickup with Duncan Little '59 and installed a coil tap switch for that in the place of neck tone pot.
So I'd give 3 for original features. I'd give 8 with the modifications I made. When I get to replace those vintage tuners (which I have trouble with) Sperzel-type locking tuners and install more springs (it currently has three) for the bridge, it will be even better.

If you're looking for classic Strat sound with all the quacks and glass and bite, it's there! The vintage pickups sound excellent with neck, middle and in-between positions, with nice note definition and presence, solid bass and pronounced high end. But for the bridge pickup I needed much more bass and fatter mid range and quite a bit less top end - the original vintage pickup sounded thin and very harsh, often with piercing high end when I turn it up. So I replaced it with Duncan '59 and added a coil tap. The Duncan is still sweeter in single coil mode than the original pickup, and when engaged in humbucking mode it is very quiet and much beefier. Very good sustain for a Strat type guitar, too. Obviously it is a Strat so it will not be as thick as a Les Paul type guitar but its tone is brilliant, present and clearly defined.
The guitar is very resonant and feels and sounds great when played unplugged. So putting the right pickup and matching it up with the right amp can create a great result.

Since I bought it used I cannot say how it was set up at the factory. I set it up to suit my needs and overall it works great. I stripped the finish and put some wood finishing on it, too.
There is a very slight flaw with the string spacing because as the strings run from the nut to the saddles the top two strings seem to run a little "wider" than the rest of the strings. But in reality, it really is not a big deal - so far.

The tuning does slip a little after some serious playing. I am hoping that replacing the vintage tuners with Sperzel-style locking machines will improve that.
Otherwise, the guitar is absolutely solid - it's comfortable and has remained reliable through numerous rehearsals and gigs.

I have not dealt with them myself but I heard that there is no such phrase as "customer support" in Fender's book.

If you are looking for a solid axe with vintage features, this guitar is great. If you also like to modify your guitar and turn it into something of your own, as I have, it is also great. If you're looking for a modern versitility, well, this doesn't come with it from the factory. It is a solid guitar with fabulous vintage Strat tone with all the bells. Like previous posts say, this is probably as good as it gets short of hand-made/custom shop models. I just love the resonance of the body and the great neck. However, I have heard that alder is not a very consistent wood. I must have run into a good one.
I give my guitar a 9 for its current status. When I'm done doing all the modifications, I'm sure it will be a 10 guitar for me.

I bought it used from Guitar Center so I'm not sure exactly when it was made. It's an American-made very faithful repro of a '57 (even down to cloth-covered wire). This guitar has a "V" serial number which supposedly distinguishes it from a lesser type of "57 RI.
Stock configuration: maple neck, 3-pc alder body w/ tobacco sunburst nitro finish (medium-thick), three SC PUs, vintage style trem, Kluson tuners, and standard Volume/Tone/Tone controls on a single-ply pickguard.
As played (holy grail) configuration: Changed 3-way switch to 5-way, replaced stock PUs with Duncan Anitquity II set and moved one Tone control to bridge PU, other Tone knob is connected to neck/middle PUs.
Except for the 3-pc body, this guitar seems like a VERY faithful repro of a '57 strat. I've never seen nor played an actual '57, so this is just my impression. I give it high marks for only including those features found on the original, but one cannot rate a guitar like this very high on features (IMHO).

I play a lot of different styles (except rap and metal) and I use various guitars at various times. This guitar is expected to do one thing - sound like a vintage strat. It delivers in spades. The guitar is wonderfully resonant. It is the brightest guitar I own. I found the stock Fender PUs VERY BRIGHT and the lack of RWRP middle PU was a huge disadvantage - I play on positions 2 and 4 a lot. Changing the PUs out with top-quality aftermarket PUs (the aforementioned Duncans - handwound by Seymour himself) really completed this fine instrument.
The neck PU alone has a great smoky feel (ala SRV) to it, positions 2 and 4 chime like Westminster Abbey (ala Dire Straits) and the bridge PU is bright but with a nice round tone. It sounds just like a vintage strat should (IMHO).

I give the instrument high marks for the nitro finish but would have preferred it applied a bit lighter - lots of overspray in the trem cavity and PU routs. The burst is expertly done. This guitar looks killer.
The neck properly includes very small low frets. a bit of a challenge to master, but exactly as the real ones used. I've grown to like it quite well.
The 3-pc alder body is bookmatched, I find this kind of bizarre... why not just use a 1-pc alder body? However, it is expertly glued and is every bit as resonant as many 1-pc bodies. So, OK I can live with that. Maybe real '57s actually had 3-pc bodies. Like I said, I've never seen one.
I always factor a pro setup into any purchase price. This instrument now plays beautifully. Fender setups are middle-of-the-road. Definitely not in the stellar PRS category, but workmanlike. I maintain the instrument at Fender factory PU height and action settings.

Again, faithful repro here. High marks for using authentic materials. This is a very durable guitar, of course I'm not in the habit of abusing my gear. I suppose the medium-thick finish is somewhat of an advantage here. It's picked up a couple of dings, but still looks killer.

Fender support is a joke.

I swapped a near mint Strat Elite and $300 for this guitar. I've rarely been happier with any deal! I figure I'm into the guitar for about $875 with the new PUs, etc. These list new for around $1,200. I think at list, they are overpriced.
This guitar is just under "Custom Shop or Relic" quality for around 1/2 the $$$. The only significant downgrade in quality is the 3-pc body. Otherwise, this is a world-class vintage strat at an "American Standard" price.
Other guitars I own are PRS Standard and G&L ASAT-3. This guitar anchors the "twangy" end of the tonal spectrum for me. The PRS anchors the dark end of the spectrum and the G&L fits somewhere in the middle. This is the guitar I grab when I need to cover surf, country and clean tones. It's not as versatile as the other guitars, but has a unique voice that I find inspiring. I'm a huge Mark Knophler/Richard Thompson fan, this guitar gets me squarely into those tonal zones. After that, it's up to me.
I've previously owned two other strats: a beat '72 and the Elite. I should've never sold the '72. I found the Elite to be very versatile but somewhat of an impersonation of a strat instead of a real strat. Also the Elite's active PUs injected a lot of stray noise into the tone. Noise is just part of a strat's sound, but I found the Elite's noise signature was particularly unmusical. The Vintage RI strats are IMHO the epitomy of stratdom in the "under-Custom Shop" price range.