1957 Fender Musicmaster

A beautiful example of a naturally worn 50's Fender in a classy finish, Desert Sand. This early version of the student model guitar from Fender has the anodized pickguard to match the class of the finish. The guard has a pleasing amount of wear, with the gold worn off in many spots but especially in the picking area. The lone pickup shows a nice amount of wear and some discoloration around the edges. There are a fair amount of small dents and dings around the body, but none that are unsightly or down to the wood of the body. The hardware is tarnished to match the aged nature of the finish with the outer saddle adjustment screws having been replaced on the bridge.

The neck is in really great shape with some spots of wear on the face of the fret board as well as the edge. It is the classic '57 soft V profile, which is very cool for one of these guitars, and measures in at .92" at the first fret to .99" at the twelfth fret. There are a few dings and chips on the back of the neck, but nothing that is apparent when playing that effects the feel. The Fender logo has a few spots that have chipped away and it appears the headstock was lightly oversprayed, most likely to prevent further deterioration of the logo. There is a small area of lacquer checking on the back of the headstock, just as it meets the neck, and the plastic buttons have been replaced on the single line Kluson tuners. The frets have some light wear on the lower parts of the register, but it voices well across the scale. Setup with 11 gauge strings to offset the short scale, D'Addario EXL115's.

The instrument is nice and light, checking in at 6 lbs 4 oz. It is currently living in a later, 60s Fender case with the grey exterior and black ends with an orange interior. All in all this is a really great, accessible entry point into original 50s Fender guitars. Happy to provide additional pictures or answer any questions.