Up for sale, a 1990 Fender Stratocaster ‘57 vintage reissue model ST57-500 in 100% original condition and in perfect working order. Produced at the venerable Fujigen factory during the golden age of "Made in Japan" output and marketed to the Japanese domestic market, this Strat is rarely seen outside its country of origin. It’s a notably well-made instrument, with the attention to detail and quality fit and finish work befitting Fender Japan's reputation.

Tonally, this guitar channels the essence of the best '50s Strats, retaining its trio of original alnico magnet single coil pickups. The guitar offers a chewy, chiming bridge position tone, with presence, power and sparkle as you toggle towards the neck pickup on the five-way switch. The "in-between" settings have that quintessential Strat quack, and the neck pickup has girth and warmth, while still having a balanced EQ curve and plenty of top end snap. The guitar weighs 7lbs 11oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action and accurate intonation.

The one-piece maple neck has a medium C-shaped profile carve with full, inviting shoulders and lightly rolled fretboard edges, measuring .835” deep at the 1st fret and .965” at the 12th. The maple fretboard has a vintage-spec 7 1/4” radius and retains the stock slender frets which show only light wear beneath the plain strings on frets 1-6. This guitar plays cleanly up the 25 1/2” scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod. The stock bone nut measures 42mm (1.650") in width. On the headstock, the guitar features the proper '50s-style logo and Kluson-style Gotoh tuners which turn smoothly and hold pitch well with an even dusting of surface patina. The neck heel and pocket retain their factory stamps, and the heel is pencil dated to 9/11/90. The “Made in Japan” text and I-prefix serial number are present above the four-bolt, Fender-embossed neck plate.

All of the electronics function as intended, with untouched solder joints and the original trio of black bobbin ST-Vintage single coils wired to full-size Japanese potentiometers which date to August of 1990. The chrome-plated hardware displays consistent patina, and the vibrato responds smoothly with a full-size trem block, jumping back to the original pitch with ease. Original plastics include the one-ply pickguard and uniformly yellowed pickup covers and knobs.

Cosmetic wear on the gloss two-tone Sunburst finish includes a cluster of dings on the lower bout on top, light buckle rash and a few minor marks on the back, and a handful of faint finish scratches on the body as a whole. The ambered gloss finish on the neck profile is smooth and clean, with one small ding on the bass-side shoulder at fret 11 that has no impact on playability.

A gigbag is included.