1959 Fender Stratocaster Sunburst

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Here we have a 1959 Stratocaster that has seen it all.  If you're looking for that vintage Fender feel and sound in a guitar you can play and enjoy, this is your ticket.

Pictures included with the guitar go back to what appears to be the early 60s, when it looked nearly new.  One picture shows the son of the original owner holding the guitar as a young boy, sitting in his parent's laps with his cowboy hat on and the guitar with the name Johnny Reb on the front.  The Strat hit some smaller stages and definitely saw some good times over the years!

As it goes for some vintage instruments, and for us humans, life changes.  The original owner's passing saw the guitar handed to his brother.  By this point, the bridge pickup had been removed and lost, and perhaps by this time some localized routing was performed in the bridge pickup cavity.  The guitar was subsequently dismantled and stripped, a state it stayed in for years.

The guitar then was passed to the son of the original owner.  In 2005, he solicited Fender for a new logo as he began to approach the restoration of the instrument.  Back then, if you could prove the originality of your guitar, they would send you an appropriate logo to apply to a refinished headstock.  They examined the guitar's history in pictures and sent a headstock decal.  

In 2006, the guitar was refretted by Jim Cook, a Redding, CA based luthier.  The work was nicely done - the frets remain on the guitar today.  They are of appropriate size for the vintage and they show little to no wear as the guitar has barely been played throughout the protracted restoration process.

In 2023, the pickups were addressed.  Two original pickups were sent to Tom Brantley, whom we use for our vintage pickup rewinding and repair.  He repaired one pickup and rewound the other.  He built a third to replace the missing pickup.

The guitar was refinished in 2024.  The logo that was sent from Fender in 2005 was finally applied to the headstock.  The guitar was reassembled and shows as you see it today.

I'll go through what is original and what isn't, but first I'll say that this is a really well playing Strat.  It weighs in at just over 7.5 pounds, as is typical for most from the era. 

1959 Fenders are known for their skinny necks, but in fact the thickness did change throughout the year.  This one is thicker than many I've had at .81" at the first fret - a very comfortable shape and thickness. 

Throughout the stripping and refinishing process, the neck has retained its original shape - edges of the headstock and the shape of the heel appear to be as original and not sanded or recontoured. 

Thankfully, no tuners other than the original Klusons were ever put on the guitar so the tuner post and screw holes are original.  The original tuners are on the guitar and they work well.  The nut has been replaced with a nicely-cut bone nut. 

There was never a date on the neck, as is typical for Fender guitars in 1959.  The truss rod is fully functional, allowing for future neck relief adjustments.  Tooling marks are present that you want to see on a vintage Fender neck.  The string tree is original, as are the neck and tuner screws.

The body was treated similarly when stripped, though the lower edge does feel just a bit flatter than the late 1959 Slab Board Strat we have in stock.  All other areas of the body feel correct, with the deep belly cut and other areas looking original in shape.  There is the small bridge pickup route, which thankfully is more tastefully done than many I've seen.  

It is clear that the body is an earlier 1959 example that was originally outfitted with an 8-hole pickguard.  Later in 1959, 11 hole pickguards were used, requiring a different control cavity route that provided a landing spot for a pickguard screw near the pickup selector switch.  The original owner had a different pickguard on the guitar at some point.  There are several filled pickguard screw holes, all in areas that are covered by the repro pickguard. The pickguard screws appear to be original.

The refinish was done in nitrocellulose lacquer, and the color on the body is pretty right on.  The finish is a bit thicker than stock for sure.  With some play, it'll age well.

As  for the electronics - the pickups are mentioned above.  Their height adjustment screws appear to be changed.  The covers for two pickups look original.  The three-way switch is original.  It is tough to get the neck/middle and bridge/middle setting to hold.  I might just swap in a 5-way switch as the guitar is obviously a player, but I thought that it would be good to keep it as is for now.  The switch mounting screws appear original as does the switch tip.

There is one original pot, the one nearest to the output jack.  The volume pot nearest the switch is vintage, but not original.  The tone capacitor is changed, as is the output jack but the jack cup is original. 

Wiring from the two original pickups back to the controls is original as are two of the wires from the switch to the pots.  Other internal wiring is not, including the wires to the jack and the ground wire to the tremolo claw. 
The trem claw and screws are original.  Tremolo springs look like replacements, but the all-important tremolo block is original.  Intonation screws have been changed, along with the saddle height adjustment screws.  The saddle springs surprisingly look original, as do the saddles. 

The volume and one tone knob are original.  The other tone knob is a reproduction.

The case is a brown Custom Shop case.

Included are the picks from the original owner, along with the paperwork show in in the pictures.  

Color: Sunburst refinished
Weight: 7lbs 8.7ozs
Body: Alder
Neck: Maple
Neck Profile: See picture
Fretboard: Maple
Inlays: Black dots
Frets: Re-fret
Fret count: 21
Nut: Replaced
Nut width: 1 5/8"
Scale: 25.5"
Radius: 7.25"
Neck thickness at 1st fret: 0.81"
Neck thickness at 12th fret: 0.99"
Action 1st String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
Action 6th String at 12th Fret: 2/32"
Total length: 38 7/16"
Lower bout: 12 11/16"
Waist: 9"
Upper bout: 11"
Body depth/thickness outside edge: 1 3/4"
String gauge: .010-.046"
Hardware Color: Nickel
Bridge Pickup/Brand: Fender
Bridge Pickup Reading: 8.28k
Pickup Original?: Rewound
Middle Pickup/Brand: Fender
Middle Pickup Reading: 8.08k
Pickup Original?: Yes
Neck Pickup/Brand: Fender
Neck Pickup Reading: 8.26k
Pickup Original?: Rewound
Pickguard: Replaced
Bridge: Original
Tuners: Original
Switch: Original 3-way
Pots/Codes: 1 original tone potentiometer, both the volume and 2nd tone potentiometers have been replaced along with the tone capacitor
Case: HSC
Notes:

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