This 6.8 lb. 1957 hardtail Stratocaster comes to us from the family of its most recent owner, who owned the guitar since the pre-internet days. It was refinished in black by Hamm’s Music in August of 1972 according to the stamp on the bottom of the neck, and was clearly well-favored since. The body date is obviously not visible due to the refinishing, but all the tell-tale signs of an original Fullerton Fender body are accounted for. Neck is dated 5-57. The pickguard, pickup covers, and switch tip are all original; the knobs appear to be original Bakelite knobs that would have come from another guitar (the factory ran out of Bakelite knobs in early 1957, long before this guitar would have been completed). All the pickups read healthy at 5.3K across the board, and the original three-way switch was replaced in favor of a 5-way (original switch is in the case). The volume pot was replaced at some point with an older solid shaft pot, and the two split shaft tone pots are replacements as well. The phonebook capacitor is a Luxe reissue. The frets are original and play well considering their height, and the guitar retains the original Kluson Deluxe “single line” tuners as well. There is some minor chipping around the A and B tuner holes on the face of the headstock from the refinishing process. This is a fantastic player with fantastic vintage Strat tone. Comes in the original Koylon-badged tweed case.