I have a 2024 Fender American Vintage II 1957 Stratocaster Reissue here, with its deluxe tweed case and paperwork.

Conditionally, this guitar looks nice.

The body top shows one tiny little scratch that is about the same intensity as if you rubbed a guitar pick against the sensitive finish. It's below the bridge and is about an inch long. There's also a light, minimal amount of guitar pick strumming on the plastic pickguard. Any similar superficial swirling will be minimal anywhere on the body top. There is no accumulated sheen of any soft swirling. There are no notable marks, nor any buildup of soft pattern playwear.

The body sides/edges look great. I found no chips, dings, or indentations, nor any buildup of pattern playwear. There are no neck pocket cracks. Near the forearm area of the body edge, I found two little micro marks about the size of a sharpened pencil tip. They appear to be just a little bit of discoloration in the seafoam green finish. Any surface swirling type minor playwear will be very minimal along the body edges. There will be traces of it, but I didn't find any built up patterns of swirling.

The body back shows one surface scratch near the back plate that runs diagonally upward toward the forearm contour. That is about three or four inches long, but is a shallow, typical surface scratch in the soft lacquer, comparable to if you took a guitar pick and rubbed it up the surface. There is an even more superficial similar surface mark on the lower portion of the body. There is also a small hairline crack in the plastic back plate under a screw. This commonly happens to these vintage style one ply pickguards and back plates.

I did not find any buckle rash or worming. There will be just faint scattered traces of superficial playwear. There's no clustering of playwear. The body back looks very attractive. The mentioned surface playwear here is the type that you have to scrutinize to find. You have to turn the guitar in the light and then you will see it.

The neck shaft contour looks and feels excellent. The headstock is nice and clean, showing no chips or dings. The setup plays fantastic. I have taken the time to perfectly dial it in as well.

The only criticism I have of the American Vintage Reissue series is that the stock setups usually come completely decked, with the bridge flush against the body, and play stiff and rigid. The necks themselves often need adjustment, which requires taking the neck off to adjust the truss rod.

I have created about half a millimeter of float on the bridge and radiused the saddles so that the wound strings are just under the modern gold standard of 2 mm at the 12th fret, with a slight downward taper on the unwound strings, with the high E measuring about 1.8 mm at the 12th fret. I have also adjusted the neck to give it optimal neck relief.

This makes the guitar play easier, with a slinky feel that is more comfortable to fret and bend. It has the beautiful bell like sound of a vintage Strat, but plays more like a modern Strat. It's beautifully dialed in.

The frets are tall and full, showing no fretwear, and the original electronics are working perfectly. The hard shell case is in excellent condition.

This guitar rates a 9.2/10 and grades as excellent. I found just a couple of shallow surface scratches as the only notable playwear on this guitar. The lacquer finished Fender guitars usually have a bit more playwear. So this one is actually on the better side of what I see on Fender reissue guitars. The pictures do it justice. It's gorgeous. It is structurally and sonically sound and plays and sounds great.

This is in my opinion Fender's finest production model line. The American reissue series. It's has an emphasis on traditional historic correct features and specs. Making it a pretty straight forward no frills no bells & whistles Strat, but done with the utmost quality of core ingredients. The highest quality tonewoods, tone metals for the hardware, old world lacquer nitro-cellulose finish. And custom wound pickups are used here.

It has a nice strong tone with very clear bell like cleans. The bridge, trem block and saddles i believe are steel, and this contributes beautiful overtones and coloration to the guitar voicing. It's really a great sounding Strat in all regards, whether you play with overdrive or want pristine cleans. The 57 has a slightly V shaped neck.

So overall this is a very good choice for a Strat. Short of the very expensive Fender Custom shop, an American Reissue Strat is the way to go. To my ears they have the most pure and musical tonality to them.

Note that this listing may come down at anytime as I am a multi-platform seller and do sell locally and on my own site in an effort to keep sales fluid. State sales tax will be charged on Reverb sales when applicable, so factor that in to your purchase.

I will immaculately pack it as well. I use quality shipping boxes, ample tape on all sides. And sufficient bubble wrap filler and bracing inside the box. And always Marked/denoted as fragile. I generally detune guitars 1/2 half step prior to shipment as well if needed.

Thank you for reading and considering!