Missed one!



A better representation of the pickup covers with slight yellowing.

Joe

Thank you! I'm a real nostalgic kind of guy, and I have always loved strats because to me they are the perfect combination of form and function, and are just straight out beautiful. I hope that these beauties will wind up only in the hands of people like us who really love them! This was a "bucket list" thing for me. A bit over my head, but I'll never let it go if I don't have to.

Also screwed up and forgot the bridge!



Now I think I've got them all. Hope you all enjoy the look. Always happy to post more pics. I got it all photographed down to the screws!!

Joe

I told my father about this thread which then reminded us of one that "got away".

It was a burst '57 just like yours and it was in a pawn shop in Nashville for $2200 back in 1987. We had the voice of reason with us (mom, haha) who shot down the idea in a heartbeat.

He asked me what that guitar would be worth now and all I said is "ignorance is bliss"

_________________
The mind is like a parachute; it doesn't work unless its open-FZ

Regarding the bekelite. That's interesting. When I read the part about
worn white bakelite, I thought makes sense as I've never personally seen
white bakelite. Black and brown I have seen. (not to say there weren't others)
So I did a search on bakelite colors and lo and behold there was time in the early 20th century that jewelry was made with the material in a variety of colors.
I learned two new things today so far. How about that.
I am guessing the vol and tone knobs are bakelite too as they exhibit a very similar shade of white as seen on the pickup covers. Am I correct?
Perhaps even the trem arm end knob(?) was bakelite too.

Also, as an artist (oil painting), I am very sensitive to color variance when it comes to duplicating colors. I noticed the slight variation in the tint of the neck right off and seeing the crisscross checks in the finish is a dead giveaway of aged paint.
The relic guitars I've seen don't have the age checks that occur when the paint has thorougly dried and expanded and contracted with temperature and UV.

Word of warning to anyone who ever wrecks their car and get it repainted.
Insist on repainting the whole car. Patch work will show from day 1.


Anyway, thanks for sharing the strat comparison, Joe.

Hi Twinhit: actually, this is a misunderstanding arising from yet another of those Fender misnomers (tremolo/vibrato, etc). The original white plastic parts were not Bakelite, although they got called that at the time and on to this very day.

In fact, they were made from a version of polystyrene, believe it or not. That material aged and crumbled very quickly, which is why Fender moved on to something else as soon as possible - and why I was asking Joe the question regarding the pup covers.

I have a foggy memory there's some stuff about the Bakelite/polystyrene mix-up on one of those provide.net pages, if anyone knows where and cares to give a link...

Cheers - C

Hi guys. You have it right. Bakelite was the name given to the original plastic for the knobs, pickup covers and trem arm tip. Bakelite was never used in the pick guards. The "Bakelite" of Fender lore is really polyethylene plastic. It was standard on all strats till late 56, when then began to switch to Polystyrene plastic.

This guitar has NO bakelite. If it did, the parts would be more rounded and worn, but retain a white brilliance. Bakelite did not yellow like polystyrene. You will see in this original, that the plastic parts have yellowed. Bakelite to this day, would be as white as a sheet of paper. Some 57's had all bakelite, but this is very rare. Most have none (like mine), or some. Typically, the pickup covers would be bakelite and the knobs polystyrene. A bakelite trem tip is very rare on a 57. I've never seen one, but hear they are out there.

This guitar is an example of pretty good condition polystyrene. It is a 5 57 body, so the bakelite was probably gone by then. For anyone interested, the potentiometer numbers 304 715 indicate: 304 means stackpole manufacturer, 7 is the year, and 15 means they were made in the 15th week of 1957, i.e., around early May. All the dates are reasonable on this guitar, 7 57 neck, 5 57 body, and May pots.

It is most common to see a later neck on an earlier body. For example, had the neck been a 58, the guitar would be considered a 58, despite the body. It is also quite common to see pots that are much older than the neck and body because Fender did a few large purchases. So sometimes the date range in the dating of a vintage is pretty large. This one is pretty tight, and all early to mid year.

Joe

I can't believe I forgot the picture people seem to gravitate to the most, the neck date. Here it is.



I will post a photo of the original case this evening. I have it in a box, and the guitar stays in a new reissue tweed case.

Joe

Sorry....had the plastics backwards....Ceri has it right. Bakelite is polystyrene (54-late 56) and the rest (including my guitar) are "ABS" plastic.

Joe

Check out this link. It is a very good source.

http://home.provide.net/~cfh/fender.html

Joe

Just awesome! That's a lot of money in your hands!

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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Thank you. I am very luck, and have been targeting it for many years just hpping for the right time. I'm thrilled to share the pics with all of you who share the same disease!!

Joe

Just don't tell us where you live! HEHE! Just kidding!

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


facebook.com/313DBC

Someone asked for a pic of the case. Here you go, with a few more goddies.



Case



Case opened. You can see a period brochure, the original strap, a flat wound string and the hang tag.



Koylon tag in interior of case. I have seen two different versions of this tag on 57 cases.



Brochure of the period



Guitar's original hang tag!



Hang tag opened to reveal 18854 serial number matching guitar.

Hi Joe. Well it is a beautiful guitar in excellent condition for its age. What a find! I'm still curious about how you hooked up with its seller. Through a dealer, or an auction house, or the internet, or...? Of course, your secrets to keep or tell as you choose.

Also: what a really fine selection of photos. Thank you very much for sharing them. A model example of how to go about that particular job. This thread is now bookmarked for future reference.

Now then. Five million?

Cheers - C