Fender Japan ST-57 TX Stratocaster CIJ $650+ In Mods Roasted Neck Super Clean!!

Description: 2006-2008 (Crafted In Japan “S” serial #) Fender ST57 TX in a 2 tone sunburst finish. This was one of the higher level guitars to come out of the Fender factory in Japan with an alder body and USA Texas Special pickups. It is super clean and in excellent overall condition as shown in the photos. There are a few small impressions on the top of the body, most noticeably the 2 that are shown in photo #7. They are very small dents in the finish that are almost unnoticeable and the poly has not chipped away. On the bottom edge of the body just below the input jack there is one dent/chip about the size of a pencil eraser that has been touched up. Due to its location and color it is out of sight and can barely be seen as shown in photo #8. The guitar looks and plays fantastic and embodies the expertly crafted Japanese version of this iconic vintage 1957 Stratocaster. It has a fresh set up with low action and D’Addario NYXL 10-46 strings. These are amazing instruments right out of the factory but are a perfect candidate to tastefully modify with modern appointments to bring it to another level. There are over $650 worth of high quality modifications and its playability and sound quality is incredible. Here is some info on the upgrades and specs: NECK - The Neck has been upgraded to a beautiful Allparts SMO-CRQ quartersawn roasted maple neck that was also made in Japan. I am a huge fan of Japanese guitars as the quality and craftsmanship are second to none. It has 21 tall frets (.079” x.051”), 10 degree radius, and a comfortable C shape (".84 at the first fret and ".94 at the twelfth fret), and the truss rod adjusts at the heel. The tuners are nickel Gotoh SD91, the nut is Graph Tech TUSQ, and the string tree is a Fender butterfly style with a metal spacer. It has a mid 50's Fender spaghetti headstock logo and is finished with a semi gloss lacquer and a smooth satin lacquer on the back of the neck. The roasted maple neck is visually stunning, makes this guitar super resonant, and has a huge overall impact on the tone. See photo #22 for additional specs from Allparts on the neck. ELECTRONICS - The original 1-ply white pickguard is in very good overall condition with only light marks from picking and playing the instrument. It has slightly yellowed over time to more of a parchment color that enhances the vintage vibe of the guitar. One of the well known weak points of these Japanese guitars is that the electronics and pickups are substandard compared to the rest of the construction quality and craftsmanship of the instrument. The original pickguard has been rebuilt with all top quality components and vintage cloth push back wire. The pickups used in this guitar are the new Fender Pure Vintage ‘57 pickups and they sound incredible. Surprisingly there is very little info or fanfare for these pickups online. I have had Fender Pure Vintage ‘59 and ‘65 pickups in the past as well as Custom Shop ‘69 and these ’57s are one of the best yet from Fender. They are clean and glassy yet break up perfectly with some overdrive or distortion. The original Texas Special pickups that came in this guitar sound really good, but these PV ’57s are amazing and the perfect upgrade for this model. The pickup covers, knobs, tremolo cover, switch tip, and tremolo tip have been replaced with a Fender aged white accessory kit to contrast the color of the original pickguard. Other parts used for the pickguard rebuild include CTS 250k pots, Fender .05uf 150 V.D.C tone cap, Oak Grigsby 5-way switch, and a Switchcraft #11 mono 1/4” input jack. The pickguard is also wired with the Lindy Fralin blender wiring schematic. In my opinion it is the single best Strat mod and all of my 3 pickup guitars wired this way. The middle tone knob is the master tone control for the instrument and the bottom tone knob is a CTS blender pot that blends in a typically unused pickup for the setting on the 5-way switch for an almost infinite color palette of tones. Some guitars have a toggle switch wired in to achieve a similar effect but with the toggle switch the additional pickup is either off or on. With the blender mod you get to fade in the additional pickup for a slight change in tone, completely mixing in the additional pickup, or somewhere in between. See photo #23 for more details on the blender wiring mod. Overall the pickguard upgrade greatly enhances the look, sound, and quality of this guitar by adding the modern day appointments that come on much higher priced boutique instruments. TREMOLO - Another weak point of the MIJ Stratocasters is the quality of the tremolo system. Some MIJ Strats use a steel block for the tremolo while other models have a cheaper die cast block that can reduce the quality of the sound output in many ways. The ST57-TX model was equipped with the cheaper die cast block from the factory. The tremolo system has been rebuilt using a new Fender base plate, Callaham steel block, Callaham stainless steel Pop-In tremolo arm, and modern nickel block saddles. The updated tremolo greatly improves the sustain, resonance, and tone of the guitar. It has a very fluid feel and also has much improved tuning stability being paired with the Gotoh SD91 tuners. All in all this is a killer guitar that has been selectively and tastefully upgraded with premium high quality parts that bring it to a much higher level with a modern boutique feel and vintage sound. As these guitars get older they are getting harder to find in such good condition. Includes the original Fender gig bag and warranty pamphlet as shown in photo #17. The listing also includes the original knobs, tremolo cover, pickup covers, pots & wiring harness, 5-way switch & tip, input jack, tremolo base plate, die cast tremolo block, and Fender stamped saddles as shown in photos #20 & #21. The tremolo arm that came with the guitar does not appear to be original but will be included in with the original parts as well. The original parts will be shipped separately from the guitar. Email any questions. Will ship to the lower 48 States ONLY!! THANKS!!

Price: 1395 USD

Location: Carlsbad, California

End Time: 2024-10-10T17:52:29.000Z

Shipping Cost: 100 USD