Fender '57 Reissue Stratocaster

I have the mexican version of the '57 strat, I believe it was made in 2001, pickups are s/s/s with a 5 way switch. It is surf green with a maple neck and smallish frets. It has the vintage stamped tuners and a vintage tremelo.

I play everything from tom petty to AC/DC, the pickups are too brite for AC/DC but are great for clean sounds. I don't find it noisy unless I am near flouresent lights or a TV. You could cut glass with the sounds this thing makes thru my '72 gibson solid state amp.

The string buzz and the bucking of the pickguard drove me nuts until I added another screw above the middle pick-up and adjusted the action. I fell in love with this guitar and it's 1/3 tennis ball sized round neck and curved fret board. Stays tuned for days and days. The weather/humidty is about the only thing that will change tuning slightly.

This guitar will outlast me

I've had this guitar about 3 years and after trying many others I could not find a comparable replacement for what I paid.

Actually I'm just writing this review to try and explain Mr. Sony my point of view about the 57 fender reissue... It never ceases to amaze me how someone with 15 years of playing, gigging and gear experience could make such remarks about this particular piece of gear.
You don't by gear based simply on looks, you buy then because they sound good, at most, because they sound and look good, but never based "just" on the looks of it.
The neck is to fat? Well it's a 57 reissue, was it supposed to be "modern thin", what about the pickup issue! Why didn't they use noiseless? Is it so strange the fact that fender did not use noiseless pickups with a 57 reissue, please refresh my memory but since this is a reissue and I do not believe they had noiseless pickups back in 57, learn to live with the static man...
After reading your review I can't help but to feel sorry for you. I mean, you just spent 1200 euros on a guitar, that doesn't seem to live up to your standards, I believe you should stop and ask yourself wether that was a smart move... Maybe you need something like a standard model.
The only real flaw I can see with the reissues is the fact that the finish doesn't seem to be 100% nitrocellulose lacquer, which is not such a bad thing, if you think of it (even though I prefer instruments finished in oil, or 100% nitro).
So to sum it up, I believe fender has done a wonderful job with these vintage reissue series, these are truely great guitars, but you have to be logical about what you buy, and you have to know what you're buying...
In this case you bought a 57 reissue stratocaster, there is no complaining about low output pickups, static noise, fat necks or any other characteristics inherent to a reissue, you simply have to know what you're buying before you actually shell out 1200 euros for a guitar...

keep rockin...

2001 or 2002 USA same specs as the rest. ALder 2 tone sunburst. Nitrocellulose finish. v shaped neck, da-da-da-da-da... what it is is a strat - no extra features besides the face that Fender lets us have a taste of how they were originally made. Came with tweed case and all the other vintage goodies.

I have always wanted a '57 but lacked the $. It doesn't particularily fit my style as my main axe, but it is what it is - a legendary beautiful guitar with the best clean sound there is, period. It is noisy, but hey, thats single coils - but what a nice shaped sound they give. Not as loud as other stock SC strats. Everyone says the bridge pickup is trash. Maybe their amp is trash. If you want a guitar to put humbuckers in, buy a MIM strat and modify away and save your self some $. Eric Johnson gets a wicked sound out of his (original '57). BTW, it resonates unplugged better than most guitars, which is always good. Not the best axe for metal, but great for classic rock, jazz, country, BLUES, etc.

I got a deal on mine because the finish had a couple little blems. DO NOT HANG THESE ON STRING SWINGS OR PUT ON STANDS FOR LONG PERIODS! The synthetic rubber of stands interacts with the nitor and marrs it up. Be careful! Everything elese is great. Thes are not bookmatched, just pretty wood. V neck is awesome. I love the small frets and sometimes I hate them. Depends on what lick/style you're trying to do.

Strats are THE workhorse guitar of all time (along with Les Pauls, but you have to baby those somewhat). Jeff Beck said he threw his strat up in the air 15ft. and he missed it and it smashed onto the stage. He picked it up and it was still in tune with nothing wrong with it. That's a tank! Don't do that with a Gibson product though! Finish is meant to wear off like the old ones. Comes with the territory. Hey, people pay an extra $500 or more nowadays to have a "relic" look. I never gig without a backup.

I have only dealt with a Fender dealer and all was good.

Playing 21 years (since 9). If stolen, I may purchase one again if I could get another deal like this. I don't plan to play it too much as I have a MIJ strat modified to my likings. I own 2 other strats, A Marshall JCM 800 rig, Fender Precision bass, Martin D-16GT, and a Washburn J28SCEDL Jumbo acoustic electric.

I think mine was a 2002 version of the Fender 57 USA reissue. Sunburst and 22 Maple frets that looks like marble, and feels like marble too.

I play mostly blues based rock. Problem i have is that the stock pups seems not strong enough. the bridge pickup is not too good for harmonics and stuffs. the neck pickup is great though. AND WHATS WITH THE BUZZ? Strange why fender used these pickups when they have noiseless ones.
i have experimented on different amps, I am using a fender blues deville, and some effects...but most of the time i have to get the volume of the amp really high to be heard in the mix(over the bass and drums).
Maybe i need to play it more often,but right now, its just a back up to my Gibson Les Paul.

From the store, it had a very light gauge strings(.08's). I used .10's and when i changed the strings the first time, the action was really high, it took me some time to get the proper action.
but on the physical side, this guitar is a beauty....its just too beautiful to be played in...when i initially bought it, i just looked at it admired it like a showroom guitar...

I do not like the neck so much because it is too fat for me, this is actually the 2nd thing i dont like from this guitar next to the pickups...but its brand new, might need some getting used to.

who knows? but Fenders usually last longer than life itself.

Fender has Cust Support?

ive been playing music for the past 15 years now and gigging for half that time.i think i have reasonble experience when it comes to guitar gears and stuffs. but it still amazes me to see and hear great guitars..the reason i got this guitar in the first place is that it just looks so sweet,the fretboard is amazingly beautiful and smooth. Too bad the neck is too fat, its not a fast neck like the Standards, or the clapton and blackmore series...

Basic strat SSS setup, American Made re-issue
vintage sytle guard and knobs
V neck
very nice guitar
got used with some buckle rash on the back

Had a beautiful full strat - clean/blues/classic rock sound
NOT suited for metal, hey buy a metal guitar (I've got 5 of them)
nice big open sound, great neck PU sound, nice 'quacky' bridge/middle combo
all around, it does what it's designed for

OK, so it was used and had buckle rash on the back, that aside

This is a very nice strat, I've had a few
The aged look of the neck is great as is the feel
I CAN play super fast runs on it, but try not to

An all around sweet axe

My stepdaughter is using this to learn on as it's the only electric I have without a floating trem
It's built solid so I have no concerns

I absolutely recommend it if you can get it used.
There is nothing so special about ti that I would advise paying the $1200+ new price
I would buy another at $650 if I NEEDED another guitar.

1999 us 57reissue, surf green. It's a strat It hase all the features it needs. To me there is nothing better than a nice vintage strat(even reissue) into a nice tube amp.

For my musical it's beautiful. I think it's funny some the reviews that sayed they didn't like them. That's it's not good for metal or punk, well no Sh#t! Play it with some soul through a nice warm tube amp and it can't get any better to me.

Even the originals,(I have a few a 56, 63, and a 72) are inconsistant. I recommend trying a few out to pick your favorite. I tend to like the heavier weight ones for some reason they just sound better to me. All I've tried are sweet, but some just fit me more than others.

This guitar, not on purpose, has been through hell and back. Off stages,down stares and countless other things. It now looks like one of those custom shop relics. But the thing is just as strong as it ever was. I picked it up after falling down a flight of concrete stairs and it was still in tune!

never have dealt with fender.

If I came across any guitar in this price range with this kind of vibe, I'd be all over it. Thats why my girlfriend keeps me away from the store.

1957 re issue 1987 manufactured made in usa
bought new in 1987. stock single coils never been worked on sunburst paid
$850 in 1987 came with twweed case

when new 1st thru 5 years it sounded kind of tinny. after playing many many countless hours and getting older it sounds soooooo swweet did i say it sounded sweet.is it noisy you bet. i think the hum should be recorded just from strats would make a nice cd, though cause it seems the more they hum the better they sound.bridge pickup is trash but so were the originals. with a tube head it sounds just fine though. you must set it up for thicker strings but thast is no big deal.

built like a brick shi-- house. the finish is cracked now every one wants to buy it. frets are worn down but that only enhances sound. back of neck is worn. when these strats age (be patient) they get a truly best sound. i think they are still number 1 for sounds including my areas local guitar boutique maker prs. a strat does it all hands down thank you very much

screws have rust who cares i do not. as dependable as my old chevy truck.finish is identical to a real 576. for someone who vares for sounds not looks buy an 80's usa reissue you will pay as much now as then but i think they are as close to the holy grail for a guitar can ben

huh

been plyin 35 years all kinda stuff old school guy slow but steady. if it was stolen i would find another one,

Purchased new in July of 2000 from musicians friend for $1159. Made in USA (no Mexican Crap thank you very much) 21 frets, maple neck, alder body.

The stock pickups were horrible. All three were trash in my opinion. This is a great guitar... with a little work. I put a seymour duncan little '59 in the bridge and also put a ssl-5 and a quarter pound in. This fully unlocked the potential of this guitar.
With a humbucker in the bridge you can get the distortion you need for more aggressive music. I play everything from miles davis and joe pass to Slayer and this covers almost the entire musical spectrum. Strats are the most versatile of all guitars and of course i bought this for the clean tone. If you want a metal tone get something else, unless you're Iron Maiden!. I play my slayer, metallica, megadeth, entombed ect. on my flying V, not this. The tone you get from the neck pickup is outstanding. I can really nail little wing with this guitar. I'm giving out a 6 for the tone category just because of the original stock pickups.

This guitar was setup good, although I raised the action and put 13's on to get an even better tone. You should always play a guitar first before you buy it. The '57 reissue models have very sticky necks. Don't fret though, you'll get used to it and eventually in time the wood sets in and the neck becomes very smooth.

Very durable. It took me 3 and a half years to finally get around to writing this review, but over time my tremelo bar has started to rust and some of the screws have rusted as well. I never really polish my guitars so i'm sure that is the reason. But who cares about a little rust, it's only cosmetics.

never had to deal with fender.

Been playing about 5 years. I have a truckload of effects, a '62 reissue fender strat (USA), a gibson '67 flying V reissue, a marshall tsl 100 jcm 2000 amp and blah blah blah. This '57 strat is great and i would definitely buy another if i had to replace this one. If you have any more questions about this guitar you can email me, ladies don't be shy, i'll email you my picture if you live in the Albany, NY area and we can make beautiful music together.

New in 2003. American Vintage 57 Strat. 21 Vintage Style Frets. Alder Original Contour body (fits like a glove). 3 New American Vintage Strat Single-Coil Pickups, Vol,Tone,Tone. Fender/Gotoh? Vintage Style Tuning Machines, One piece Maple neck 7.25? Radius. American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo with ?Ash Tray? Bridge Cover. I immediately changed the 3 way switch to a 5 way witch that came with the guitar. Came with a tweed case loaded with goodies. Basically loaded with the original features.

I play Rock on this bad boy, and Rock it does! I have it plugged in to a little 30 Marshall DFX amp. It has that original crisp 50's style sound, and with the 5 way switch upgraded. You can get that 60's Eric Clapton sound too. I haven't found any dislikes yet. I'm still in awe over the work of art. I have a Gibson, and I wasn't used to the A/C hum that Strats produce. But I had already read about it, so I got used to it real quick.

The guitar was set up nice from the factory. The manual did warn about a bunch of factors that could alter the setup before arrival to its final owner, but mine came in great. Everything flawless.

Come on this is a Strat... A guitar for the rocking masses. All the vintage hardware is Sweet! I wouldn't think twice about needing a backup for this one. The body has a lacquer finish instead of polyurethane, and the finish was excellent. The neck had the nitro finish which is also excellent.

Limited Lifetime Warranty. This was a funny one. After reading the warranty. Fender basically warranties the body and neck for life, but nothing attached to them. So if the body crack, or the neck cracks. It's covered. Everything else had a shorter warranty.

I play a Gibson ES-335, and I bought this guitar for my wife. She was absolutely ecstatic. She rocked out on it right away. I got a chance to play it later, and I was very impressed. We've both been playing 25 years. If we lost it I would have to get another immediately. It is everything that I hoped it would be. I can't afford a 64' or earlier Strat. And this one is truly a faithful representation of the original. I can't say enough about the low cost and great vintage sound this guitar has.

This is just a standard reissue jap strat, so the features are somewhat lacking. However, if you are looking for that straight strat sound with no messing about and with a not so hefty prive tag, then this guitar is as good as it gets.

I play a fusion of jazz, rock and blues, so this guitar suits me down to the ground. It sounds like a strat should sound. Clean and jangly but when used with some valve overdrive (i use a JCM 800 with two 4x12's) it really opens up especially at the bridge. When using a clean sound, I suggest that the 2nd and 4th pickup positions as they are nice and fluidic. The only negitive point is that as the pickups are factory standard, when not used out of phase, they can be quite noisy, but are bearable!!!!

I simply cannot complain, the set up was spot on, the finish was prestine and there was not one flaw in the finish.

I love jap strats (hence why i got one) and i would say that this strat would stand up to anything that gigging and studio work would throw at it
The tuning pegs are stong and it has never let me down as yet. (fingers crossed eh!!!!)

N/A

I have been playing for 14 years and own a les paul black beauty custom and a '52 reissue US tele, so this strat is price wise the bottom of the pile, but when purchasing it, i tried a plethora of us strats and various other models, and i have to say that this is one of if not the most comfortable strat i have played. OK its features are basic and it doesnt have the monetry value or the poser status of a yankee job, but all that said and done, its sound and playability really blew me away and i would advise anyone who is looking for a good priced stat to try out one of these (if they come your way!!!) as with any guitar, its down to the individual of what you like and what you dont, but like i said, this guitar is well worth a look, I would most definatly be vexed is this was stolen, and would definatly buy another!