There are guitars that make you smile, and then there are guitars that make you stare. This 1992 Fender American Vintage ’57 Stratocaster is firmly in the second camp — an excellent time capsule from the early years of Fender’s Corona plant, when craftsmanship and obsession with vintage accuracy were running at full throttle.
 
 
Dressed in Candy Apple Red nitro, it looks every bit the rock ’n’ roll icon — vibrant, glossy, and aged just enough to tell you it’s been around the block (but never dragged through it). The neck, stamped October 9th, 1991, has that perfect vintage C-shape and a slick nitro gloss that feels familiar the moment your hand wraps around it. The over-the-lacquer headstock decal, the narrow 12th fret dot spacing, the single-ply off-white guard — all the pre-’98 details that make early AVRI examples so quietly desirable.
 
 
Under the hood, it’s a museum of original hardware and wiring — untouched, unmodified, and gloriously intact. The staggered-pole American Vintage single-coils are the real deal, bright and dynamic with that unmistakable midrange chime. The CTS “dimple” pots date to the 41st week of ’92, paired with an Oak Grigsby 5-way switch, ceramic tone cap, Switchcraft jack, and cloth wiring, just like Leo’s blueprints. The aluminium cavity shield is still sitting neatly under the guard. The only "mod" that the original owner have done is the little "notch" in the body and pickguard that allows access to the truss-rod adjuster without the need to take the neck off! Genius! Thanks to this the neck fitment is excellent and there's no movement or loose holes in the neck pocket.
 
 
The body is alder, light and resonant at 3.5 kg, with the proper shoulderless control cavity that you only find on proper US vintage Strats. The vintage-style trem with cold-rolled steel block and bent steel saddles keeps everything ringing and honest.
 
 
Condition-wise, it’s the kind of guitar that led a quiet life — a few tiny dings and light ageing, but no cracks, no excuses. It’s survived three decades with dignity, grace, and maybe a hint of swagger. Just a little bit of a ding on the bottom bout and some surface wear on the body and pickguard - but the neck is pristine, with just some very light fret-wear.
 
 
It comes with your choice of period-correct Fender USA “Red Label” ABS case (one latch valiantly missing) or a vintage-style non-Fender tweed case with red interior, depending on whether you’re feeling more California classic or British Invasion.
 
 
All-original early Corona AVRI ’57s in this condition are getting harder to find every year — and once you plug it in, you’ll understand why nobody wants to let them go.
 
 
This instrument received a full professional setup with deep body cleaning, body polish, neck deep clean, full electronics check, truss-rod and action and intonation adjustment. Restringed with D'addario 10-46 Nickel-plated steel strings.
 
 
This guitar will be shipped around UK with Parcelforce courier, safely packed into a sturdy guitar cardboard box. 24h courier service provided to UK customers. We also ship to USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and many other places, but at the moment we don't ship to EU or Northern Ireland.