Looking for that Layla tone? Look no further than this 1957 Fender Stratocaster.

By 1957, Fender’s continuous development of the Stratocaster had reached a pinnacle and represented the essential basis for all subsequent Strats from then on in. This and its connection to players such as God himself (Eric Clapton) has made it a go to guitar for players seeking out its particular brand of tone and feel.

This guitar certainly looks the part. The body has quite a few honest battle scars with some impressive belly wear and other bumps and scrapes as is befitting a gigged guitar. It simply oozes character and the alder body looks so good, almost ash like in appearance.

The neck has a wonderfully comfortable feel with a nice feeling V shape similar to the neck on Clapton’s Blackie Strat. It has been refretted with slightly larger frets and a new nut was installed so from a playing perspective, it is just about as good as it will get with no funny business going on in the string bending dept.

The plastics are in great shape as 1957 was the first full year Fender used plastic instead of bakelite for their knobs and pickup covers. The pickgurad too is still flat without any warping.

The electronics are all correct and the three pre-CBS black bottom pickups are all evenly balanced and ring with classic wholesome vintage Strat goodliness. The guitar comes with its correct tweed ‘Koylon’ hardshell case which like the guitar itself is in very good shape.

This writer is a big fan of 50s Strats. The V neck is so very comfortable, plenty of wood shaped in the right places. The pickups too are just the right mix of twang and girth. This guitar is no exception. The neck pickup has that smooth chewy sound. The middle pickup expands on that with a little more twang before we get to the bridge where its strident tone never gets too shrill. It covers a lot of ground as Stratocasters do but with more body which makes them more appealing to the non-stratocasterist.

Theres no doubting that 1957 was a good year for the Stratocaster and even though this guitar might not still retain all its original features, nothing has been taken away from this instrument and the musical potential it still has. Grab it before it gets away as 1957 Strats are one of the most sought after of Strat years…