FENDER USA American Vintage Reissue Stratocaster "Mary Kaye Blonde + Rosewood" (1987)

Everyone that sees this one has to ask, "Is that a real 60s Strat?" It has the vibe that a new 62 Reissue just ain't gonna get. Early Corona built reissues are hot right now. Whilst these aren't  quite the investment you would get from a 1982-1984 period  Fullerton vintage reissue, they are next in line and are far superior in build quality then its newer arrivals. Built in 1987 as part of the 1984-1998 US vintage reissue series, just before they changed the series to "Fender american vintage Reissue" in 1998 and started to make budget cuts.  They only made 500 with rosewood fretboards and 500 with maple fretboards between 1987-1989. These were some of the first guitars made in the Fender custom shop. 

"This gorgeous Stratocaster marks a major turning point in Fender's history. As told by A.R. Duchossoir in The Fender Stratocaster - 40th Anniversary Edition - Hal Leonard 1994, page 30, the "Mary Kaye" reissue was the very first limited edition produced by the newly established Custom Shop: a total of 1000 guitars were built, all with the V serial number of the regular vintage series, of which one half had '57 style maple neck and one half '62 style rosewood boards.

The choice of this particular version as starting point for the Custom Shop production was not accidental. The see-through blond finish and gold hardware Mary Kaye Strat, associated by Fender collectors to the name of the famous hawaiian-born Lounge Music singer and guitarist, earned to this elegant version a special reputation. It was always considered as the best of Fender esthetics and the accurate reissues built by Custom Shop from 1987 to 1989 reproduced all its beauty."

- info taken from "realvintage.it"

Body: Ash
Top Wood:  Ash
Fretboard:  Rosewood
Neck Shape: Slim C
Pick-ups:  57/62
Weight: 9lbs 0oz

Condition Report:  A true closet Queen - this one has genuinely been sat in its hardcase for 99% of its life. Condition wise it is exceptionally clean. I don’t think you can say it is in that mint, as new, straight out of the box, showroom condition because it has aged somewhat whilst sitting in its hardcase. But it is mighty clean. A touch of natural fade to the Hardware, which in my mind just adds some character. The finish whilst is immaculate has one or too extremely minor clearcoat splinters in the finish which are virtually unnoticeable and avoidable. My camera wont even pick them up. Freshly set-up on my workbench with a set of 9's and ready to go. A serious collectors Guitar!