Up for sale, a 1989 Fender Stratocaster ‘54 vintage reissue model ST54-55 in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with a Fender/SKB molded hardshell case. This early “Made in Japan” Strat was crafted at the Fujigen factory during the golden age of Fender Japan production, produced exclusively for the Japanese domestic market and uncommon outside of its country of origin. Differentiated from the much more common ST57 (1957 spec'd) Fender Japan models, the ST54 is designed to more closely represent the first year of Stratocaster production, with a V-shaped neck profile carve and round string tree on the headstock face, with vintage-spec touches including a pencil-dated neck heel and staggered pole alnico magnet single coils.

With a basswood body and one-piece maple neck, the guitar has a smooth, clear natural acoustic quality that translates faithfully through the trio of ST-Vintage single coil pickups. Via the three-way pickup selector, the bridge pickup has a lively bounce and cut, the “in-between” positions yield a slinky quack, and a neck pickup has a round, bell-like quality. This Stratocaster weighs 7lbs 12oz, benefitting from a professional setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and accurate intonation.

Neck Specs:

-Wood: Maple
-Shape: Medium depth soft V, measuring .845” 1st fret, .990” 12th fret
-Fretboard: Maple, 7 1/4” vintage-spec radius
-Frets: Slender, virtually no wear
-Scale Length: 25 1/2”
-Nut: 1.650” (42mm), replacement
-Tuners: Kluson-style, Gotoh
-Serialization/Stamps: “Made in Japan,” F-prefix, ST54 stamps on neck heel/pocket, 9-1-89 pencil dated neck heel

Body Specs:

-Wood: Basswood
-Pickups: ST-Vintage x3
-Harness: Untouched solder, full-size Japanese pots date to July, 1989
-Hardware: Vintage-style six-point vibrato
-Plastics: One-ply white pickguard, yellowed knobs

The gloss Black finish exhibits a bit of light buckle wear and some minor dings and finish scratches from careful use (the most prominent of which are located along the lower bout perimeter), and one tiny finish chip just north of the neck plate. The neck profile retains its smooth ambered gloss, with a tiny bit of wear adjacent to the 19th fret position market and only a couple small marks on the profile length.

A Fender-branded SKB molded hardshell case is included, a notable upgrade over the gigbag offered with this guitar when sold new.