Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster 1959 Vintage Custom Hardtail Time Capsule, Faded Aged Sonic Blue

Lovingly reissued by the Fender Custom Shop, this is an early version from 1959. While Strats with one-piece maple necks were still being produced at the beginning of this year, in the spring they switched to providing the necks with a thick slab board - glued flat onto the neck blank and then worked out with the corresponding fingerboard radius of 7.25".
From this point on, the dots in the fingerboard and on the neck flank were no longer made of black Bakelite and later of ABS plastic, but were made of a cellulose-containing material for the next five years. Round rods were cut into flat discs, the "dots", and glued into the fingerboard, where they were then sanded flat. This material is no longer available today and Fender uses an authentic-looking material.
On a new Fender guitar manufactured at that time, these dots were a dirty white or slightly grayish. Over the years, the dots tend to take on a brownish-ochre shade, which is due to the high content of essential oils in the Brazilian rosewood. Originals can be easily checked by treating the fingerboard with suitable oil, which quickly soaks the dots and makes them a little darker.

Fender describes the neck shape as a '59 Esquier D format with 0.79" at the first fret and 0.98" at the 12th fret. Depending on who worked on the neck in the Custom Shop, the flanks are more or less pronounced. The range extends from a rather delicate impression to tending towards bulk. The Stratocaster shown here has the typical slim and pleasantly rounded profile of these early '59 models. The fingerboard has a compound radius of 7.25" - 9.5" - a tribute to playability that is even accepted by vintage fetishists.

While the first pickguards on the Rosewood '59 Strat were initially single-ply and attached with 8 screws, after the introduction of the three-ply celluloid pickguard, there were various rare versions with 8, 9, 10 and, from May 1959, with the well-known 11 screws. Our model has 8 screws, so it is a very early version of the first Stratocaster with a rosewood fingerboard. The pickguard looks very authentic, like one that has been exposed to environmental influences over the decades. Originals were - similar to the dots - lighter at the beginning and only took on this coveted color over time. Fender has done an excellent job here too and the pickguard looks very authentic.
The paintwork is made of 100% nitrocellulose paint, which guarantees vibration behavior that is as true to the original as possible. Beautifully decorated in Sonic Blue, it is in no way inferior to the specifications from 1959.
The pickups are hand-wound '59 models with values ​​of 5.70 / 5.61 / 5.57 kOhm (bridge / middle / neck). The pole pieces are slightly rounded, as Fender made them until the mid-1960s. Electronic values ​​and appearance correspond to the originals.
Even when played unamplified, the dry, round and percussive sound of this Stratocaster is immediately noticeable. The pickups reinforce this impression and the entire set sounds very balanced, throaty and powerful. This guitar compares favorably to an original '59 Stratocaster of the same design!
Additional Notes: NOS Flash Coat-No Buff, Vintage Hard Tail Bridge, String Ferrules Flush On Body, CC Pickups, CC Hardware, 2022 Vintage Custom Collection