Here's the world's most misunderstood Strat; the celebrated Mary Kaye. About the only thing the word can agree on is that it features a Blonded Ash body and Gold plated parts and Mary Kaye (even her name varies) held one for a Fender photo shoot. Oddly Mary Kaye never owned a Mary Kaye guitar, although Fender did finally give her one much later in life. Back to the Strat; I've seen these written up and/or advertised as a '54 slab board, a '54 Maple, a '56, 57, 58, 59 and even a '62 slab which makes me realise that misinformation is still alive and well. If MK posed with one in 1956 and Fender only made Maple necks in '56 then it's safe to assume the MK should be a '56.

Bingo! This one is a '56 reissue, however the neck is more like a '57. The neck profile is full like a '54 but with a slightly rolled fingerboard and boat-tail near the headstock, whereas all the '56 Strats I've owed have had a slimmer neck and more pronounced V. Nonetheless it's a nice handful and we all like that. Parts are Gold plated, closet relic finish with better lacquer checking than some Fender deep-freeze jobs I've seen. Nice staggered, bevelled pickups underwound for more chime. There are a growing number of Mary Kayes popping up at the moment making them a very good buy. You could collect them but really they're a great working guitar and I think players need a 50's Strat in their arsenal to get that crystal tone. Imagine it through a nice Twin - like liquid sparkle ...

This one is as-new, unplayed, comes with all case candy, certificate of authentication and a custom shop Fender hard shell case.