Fender Stratocaster Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1959), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 42133, sunburst lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original tweed hard shell case.

Looking for the REAL genuine relic early slab-board Pre-CBS Fender Stratocaster? Here is a HUGELY worn and played in but original and fantastic sounding 65 year old instrument showing many decades of actual use behind it with that Rory Gallagher/SRV vibe in spades, not the modern day "relic-ing" of hammers and sandpaper. With a truly beautiful deeply aged patina and vibe to spare this is one of the most perfectly worn-in Fenders we have seen in a long time, with decades of music already played on it and lots more remaining.

This guitar dates to the end of 1959; as is typical it has no date marks on the heel of the neck but a body date of 10/59. The pots are a matched set coded to the 20th week of that year. Mid-1959 saw the introduction of rosewood fingerboards on Fender instruments, a major change from the original style one-piece maple necks. This Stratocaster shows typical period features, noticeably different in several ways from its 1950's maple-board ancestors. The rosewood fingerboard is the original thick version now referred to as a "slab board" to distinguish it from the much thinner laminates Fender substituted after mid-1962. It is inlaid with the "clay" dots that would also be phased out at the end of 1964. The neck carries the original smaller Pre-CBS style headstock with the older gold "Spaghetti" logo decal also replaced in 1964.

(What is left of) The original finish on the body is a fairly dark sunburst that has faded to a 2-tone look; all the red pigment is long gone. The pickguard is a truly beautiful example of the lovely 3-layer greenish nitrocellulose that replaced the single-layer white plastic in mid-'59 with no cracks or splits showing noticeably less shrinkage than most. Underneath is all untouched original wiring EXCEPT the neck pickup has been expertly rewound by Norio Imai, New York's Fender Whisperer. All three pickups have a strong well-defined tone, and the "in between" settings offer up a "Stratty" quack without sounding as glassy as many earlier or later models.

These early 1960s slab board Stratocasters have become a player's favorite over the last few decades, often offering up a meatier tone than either the earlier maple fingerboard guitars OR the later CBS period examples. The cult of Stevie Ray Vaughn is particularly focused on early slab-board Strats, but they have a wide appeal to players in many styles. It is fairly rare nowadays to turn up one like this that was this heavily used but not also seriously modified.

This fine example of prime Fender mojo is still housed in its original Tweed case, which shows a lot of wear but remains functional. The original trem arm and trem cavity cover are intact. This is simply a great-sounding very early slab-board Strat, a lovely example of what Fender's reputation and success were built on well before "things started a-changin" in Fullerton with the January 1965 sell-out to CBS.
 
Overall length is 38 15/16 in. (98.9 cm.), 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).

This is a SERIOUSLY worn in but largely original guitar, with a very old larger-wire refret, 5 out of 6 slightly later Kluson tuning pegs and the neck pickup perfectly rewound but otherwise surviving unaltered. Obviously it shows heavy wear pretty much everywhere, beautifully weathered but still an excellent instrument. The original finish on the body is completely worn off several large areas, heavily "smoked" with scuffs, dings, dents, scrapes and chips everywhere. There is epic armwear on the upper body, while the area over the neck pickup has deep pick marks from zealous plectrum attack. There is no overspray or other finish tampering visible. The original 3-tone sunburst has faded to a perfect two-tone look.

The back of the neck is completely worn down to the wood and feels fantastic; the headstock finish and decal are also heavily "smoked" and visibly worn. The "contour body" decal is gone, the spot where it was is still evident. The high E string tuning peg is an original single line Kluson Deluxe; the other 5 are mid-'60s double-lines and small holes from something else are present. The frets are larger wire likely added in the '70s or 80s, they show some wear and recrowning, mostly in the lower positions but are still quite playable. The dark rosewood fingerboard has some light smooth divoting from play, and visible "strumwear" at the body end.

Internally this guitar is original and unaltered with all original components, just the neck pickup recently rewound. The "green" pickguard is one of the best preserved we have seen in a while with no popped-out ends or cracks and only slight pulling at the outer screws and a bit of wear by the truss rod. The volume knob has a SLIGHTLY different color patina from the other two; it matches the tones perfectly in every other way; it may simply be from a different factory batch. The black-bobbin pickups are all very strong and sound great in any combination. The bridge saddles have a lot of corrosion; some of the height adjustment screws are likely replaced but all are the correct original style.

While this guitar shows signs of SERIOUS play, it remains more original than many period Stratocasters, which were often heavily worn and then stripped, refinished, routed or otherwise modified through the '70s and 80s. Someone played this guitar a LOT, but left it as God and Leo intended down through the last 65 years. As a "played but straight" Slab-board Strat this has been one of our more requested instruments, and we are thrilled to offer this super vibey example still residing in its original Tweed case. Very Good + Condition.