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Post subject: 1957 Ltd Ed Strat (2007)
Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 4:29 pm
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Joined: Fri Aug 01, 2008 8:01 pm
Posts: 19
On Friday 8/1, I acquired my first Strat, a 1957 Ltd Ed 017-1957-801 (2007) along with a 1965 Deluxe Reverb Amp. One of the best Strats I've ever played. The easy to play soft V neck, signature vintage Strat tone, White Blonde paint and gold hardware made this Strat really stand out from the countless MIAs and MIMs on display.

I read through all of this forum's earliest pages and apparently most of the '57 LEs were shipped to GC/MF and sold for under $1K. My 57 LE arrived at my Fender dealer in Hagerstown, MD on July 31, 2007 and then sat on display for exactly one year. Although I paid a little north of $1K, it was perfectly set up and blemish free. The only item missing from the case was the 5-way selector switch and I received a free replacement.

A highly recommended book for new and experienced Strat owners alike is Paul Balmer’s “The Fender Stratocaster Handbook: How To Buy, Maintain, Set Up, Troubleshoot, and Modify Your Strat (Voyageur Press, c2007). According to Balmer, “Leo preferred Ash to Alder but Ash was occasionally prone to a disfiguring ‘raised grain.’ The body is not always ‘one-piece,’ and although many ‘50s Strats are one-piece, Leo never insisted on this.” (p. 21).

I've been a fan of Fender Teles and Strats for more than 25 years but I avoided buying an electric guitar until now because I never cared for the thinner low profile "C" necks. Before acquiring my Strat, I've been primarily an acoustic player who owns 6 Martin Vintage and Marquis/GE series 000/OMs and a Breedlove OM-M Revival, all made in USA between 2003-2006.

It’s interesting that compared to earlier ’57 Strat Vintage LE reissues, the 2007 White Blonde edition has generated very few comments on the forum. IMHO, it must be due to very low production numbers (500 or less?); price is far higher than most consumers are willing to spend; hundreds of cheaper and equally good new and used MIMs and MIAs; and today’s players prefer the Standard and Deluxe C neck over the Vintage V neck.


Last edited by WCRefLib on Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:51 am, edited 3 times in total.

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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 12:26 pm
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Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 3:28 pm
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Location: 22 Acacia Avenue
I got one last month off Ebay, tried to get one in November, Musicians Friend had them marked down some. They were sold out everywhere online by then.
Nice Strat, love the Blondes, neck is a little thin for me, but I didn't get it to play too much. have not been able to find anything about production #'s


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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:47 am
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Just a follow-up to my previous post concerning the Strat Ltd Ed 017-1957-801 (2007). I spoke to Dane at Customer Relations. Fender does not disclose production totals, but he guessed that Fender produced about 400-500 '57 Ltd Eds, based on dealer orders.

The '57 Strat LE was introduced in the Summer 2007 issue of Frontline in Home (p. 17), which is available on the Fender website:

http://www.fender.com/resources/catalog ... e_2007.pdf

The '57 Strat LE shown in the catalog is Serial #V168876.

Most of the '57 LE Strats were probably produced between June and August 2007. My '57 Strat LE (V172***) was made between July 13-17, 2007. The '57 LE is the only '07 Strat with a 017 prefix which indicates a special model created for Fender dealers. The '57 LE was not made in the Custom Shop since CS LE models have a 927 prefix. However, it's evident when you play these Strats that extra care that went into them compared to a regular production MIA Strat. The other '07 Strats to offer White Blonde (801) are the EJ (011-7702) and AV '57 RI (010-0102).

Years from now the 2007 '57 LE will be considered as one of the best VRI LE Strats ever made.


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