1958 Fender Stratocaster Sunburst

1958 was a year of big changes for the Stratocaster and the end of an era as well. It was the last year for the maple board (until the maple cap in the mid 60's). It was the last full year of the single ply guard. It was the first year for the three color sunburst (note they hadn't yet figured out that they could save a nickel's worth of red paint by not painting the red under the guard). This 58 is all original including the frets (which play fine but are getting pretty low). It shows very little fade especially in the red which is very photoreactive meaning it fades in the sunlight. There is very little wear and very fine checking all over. The finish in 58 is very thin and tends to flake but this one hasn't done that. The neck profile is chunky with just a hint of the V profile of 57. It measures .86" at the first fret and .98" at the 12th. Weight is 7 lbs 9 oz. Pickups measure 6.1K, 5.9K and 6.1K (bridge). Case is tweed with red knuckle buster and about as clean as they come. The case shows almost no wear and other than a big coffee stain on the top, it's nearly a museum piece (and the springs still work in the latches). This is, I think, the cleanest 58 out there other than the $55,000 one on Reverb. Save yourself $25K and use that to buy a nice 335 from me.