Up for sale, a 1989 Fender “ExTrad” Stratocaster ‘57 vintage reissue model ST57-140 in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with a hardshell case. Finished in two-tone Sunburst nitro lacquer and complete with the same pickups seen on Fender’s American Vintage guitars of the era, this ExTrad model represents the absolute top tier of Fender Japan during the golden age of "Made in Japan" production. Exceedingly rare, these instruments were designed to be sold in the Japanese domestic market and are uncommon even within their country of origin.

A true Custom Shop offering, the ExTrad instruments (in later years rebranded as Custom Edition) were made to order with features that paralleled Fender's USA Custom Shop output. Established by Makoto Sugimoto, who benefitted from a quarter century of experience in R&D, custom guitar building, and engineering at Fujigen, the ExTrad/Custom Edition instruments were produced by a small team of expert craftspeople, representing Fender Japan's absolute best. This premium instrument line was first offered in 1986 and was retired in 1994.

The trio of pickups are the original Fender USA 57/62 black bobbin single coils (the same pickups seen in the American Vintage line and early Custom Shop Strats) with staggered alnico magnets and cloth-covered leads. Lively, sparkling, and dynamic, the sound is distinct in every position on the five-way selector switch. The bridge pickup has bite and bounce, with a woody, percussive middle pickup, and round, bell-like chime at the neck. The “in-between” settings have a thinned-out snap and scooped spank. This ExTrad Stratocaster ST57-140 weighs 8lbs 1oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action and accurate intonation.

Neck Specs:

• Wood: Maple
• Shape: Slender C, measuring .820” 1st fret, .935” 12th fret
• Fretboard: Maple, 7 1/4“ vintage-spec radius, very faint finger wear into the gloss behind frets 1-8 (favoring the plain strings)
• Frets: Slender, leveled/crowned, no wear
• Scale Length: 25 1/2”
• Nut: 1.650” (42mm), bone (replacement)
• Tuners: Kluson-style, Gotoh
• Serialization: “Made in Japan”, I-prefix
• Factory Markings: “Fender Custom Made Extrad” logo on peghead

Body Specs:

• Wood: Alder
• Pickups: American Vintage 57/62 single coil x3
• Harness: CTS pots date to the 23rd week of 1989, Sprague Orange Drop tone cap
• Controls: Volume, Tone x2, Five-way pickup selector
• Hardware: Vintage-style Synchronized Tremolo, jack cup
• Plastics: One-ply white pickguard, aged knobs

The two-tone Sunburst nitro lacquer finish exhibits isolated vertical checking on top, with light buckle scuffing central to the back and some small dings consistent with decades of careful usage. The ambered nitro gloss on the neck profile is smooth and clean, highlighting subtle flame and birdseye figuring in the maple.

A black tolex hardshell case is included.