Fender American Vintage '56 Stratocaster (Aged White Blonde)

Fender American Vintage '56 Stratocaster (Aged White Blonde) Overview

Fender American Vintage '56 Stratocaster Overview by GAK

For the guitarist who craves pure vintage Fender style, the American Vintage series presents original-era model year guitars built with meticulous attention to accurate detail that bring Fender history and heritage to authentic and exciting new life.

The American Vintage '56 Stratocaster guitar takes you back to mid-1956, when the model was still new and a brand-new musical phenomenon called rock 'n' roll was making its first raucous waves. Built with original tooling and based directly on real-deal 1956 models we tracked down, this U.S.A. made guitar returns you to that electrifying era when the Strat was just beginning to stake its claim, with pure tonal magic, style and feel.

FEATURES
Deeper body contours
Thick one-piece maple neck with "soft V"-shaped profile and comfortably rounded edges (one of the most prized and popular Stratocaster necks ever)
Specially voiced pickups with modern five-way switch; optional three-way switch includedv
Vintage-accurate bridge saddles, tuner spacing and more
Single-ply eight-hole white pickguard
Reformulated vintage colors

PERIOD CORRECT NECK PROFILES
This instrument’s "V" neck profile (the shape of the neck in cross section) is sculpted to the most accurate period-correct specification possible, imparting an authentic vintage playing feel straight from the individual model year. A ’50s-era design, it’s notably less rounded than other neck profiles and is ideal for players with large hands whose thumb extends well over the side of the fingerboard.

FLASH-COAT LACQUER FINISH
The term flash-coat lacquer refers specifically to the quickly applied thin and final "flash" of topcoat lacquer applied to most American Vintage instruments. The composition and method of application for this finish layer lets an instrument "breathe" with a more natural resonance, and imparts a more authentically vintage appearance.

BONE NUT
A string nut fashioned from bone contributes to superior tone and performance, not to mention being an authentic original-era Fender design element. Many players consider bone string nuts more "organic" sounding, with tonal quality unmatched by string nuts made using synthetic materials.

NEWLY VOICED AMERICAN VINTAGE PICKUPS
American Vintage instruments feature specially voiced pickups meticulously researched and crafted to reproduce the authentic design, voice and performance of specific instruments from individual model years in the 1950, ’60s and ’70s. Their superior sound and style is one of the defining hallmarks of the American Vintage series.

PERIOD-CORRECT CASES AND EPHEMERA
American Vintage instruments are complemented by cases that are every bit as vintage-authentic as the guitars and basses they so stylishly contain, accompanied by a fascinating wealth of in-case reproduction extras and accessories, such as straps, cables, polishing cloths, wiring kits, bridge covers, owner’s manuals and more.

IMPROVED NECK AND BODY RADII ACCURACY
The meticulous vintage authenticity of this instrument even extends to carefully researched measurements of the various degrees of rounding on the edges of the body, neck and headstock. These subtleties are reproduced here with Fender’s highest-yet level of period-correct accuracy, and contribute to a truly faithful vintage-instrument experience.