1955 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster

Fender Stratocaster Sunburst 1955 full front view

Fender Stratocaster Sunburst 1955 full rear view

Comments	Following the success of the Telecaster, Leo Fender decided to expand his product range and in 1954, introduced the Stratocaster. It was an instant success, and addressed many of the concerns players had expressed about the Telecaster – a somewhat uncomfortable slab body, the inability to intonate each string, and no vibrato unit. This 1955 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster is a decent example of early Stratocaster production. It’s been played heavily over the years and had a fair amount of maintenance, including a refret and two pickup rewinds, but it has the look, feel and sound.
Serial Number	8360, dating to 1955. Built at the Fender facility in Fullerton, California, USA.
Pricing	$13,000 Canadian with original case. SOLD
Neck	Maple neck with walnut skunk stripe. The sides of the neck have been built up to better fit the neck pocket. The neck has a pronounced V profile, with a full but not thick size.
Frets	This instrument has been refretted, and there is a lot of fret left.
Body	Leo Fender’s classic, deep cutaway Stratocaster body in swamp ash. The contours are very comfortable. There’s an amount of wear around the edges and in the usual areas on the back and above the neck pickup.
Finish	Original nitrocellulose tobacco sunburst finish on the body. There’s lots of normal, expected play wear. Much of the neck’s clear lacquer finish is original or old, but the fingerboard may have been refinished or resprayed as part of its refret.
Hardware/electronics	All of the plastic components – pickguard, pickup covers, switch tip, control knobs – have been replaced. The neck and bridge pickups have been rewound. The bridge, output jack and tuners are original. The backplate (tremolo spring cover) is missing.
Playability/Action	This guitar has been serviced, and it plays quite well. Part of the genius of Leo Fender’s design is that the instrument’s geometry is easily adjusted to any player’s requirements. There are no concerns about major costs for things like neck resets if the action is beyond the range of simple saddle adjustments!
Case	Original Tweed case included.