Fender 57 re-issue vs custom shop Fender 56 NOS

I'm not sure what you mean by hand wired. As you know the pups are different. The '57 has a slightly smaller neck than the '56. The finish on the '57 is nitro sprayed over poly. It won't age as nice as the '56. The neck on the '57 is an orangy tint. The '56 NOS neck will be blonde. If you want a nice tint you'll need to go with a CC or Relic. The '57 also has cream pup covers and knobs.

That's all I can think of now. I'm sure you can find a '57 that sounds as good as a '56. It just depends on how well you like the other differences

 

If the 57' sounds as good, then why spend the extra money?

 

are you going to change pickups? if you are, then get the '57. i personally feel that '57 reissues are THE best deal strat you can get. they're really high quality instruments.

 

the best deal Strat you can get is a used Grosh or Suhr for $1200-$1500, several steps above Fender Custom Shop (in my experience over many years)... brand new they are the same price as a Fender CS and, again, much better that the Fender and can be built to your specs

as for '57 RI vs CS, you can search and find RI's that are better than CS but they are few and far between...if you are going to buy without trying it out first, and have your heart set on Fender, you'll be much better buying CS

 

The pickups in the '56 and '57 are machine wound. They sre just slightly different specs.

The '57 does have nitro BUT it's nitro over poly. The nitro will wear through to poly. You won't wear the poly down to the wood.
Fender does this because it saves them time and money.
That's why the spec sheet for the '56 say "Thin Skin" finish.

 

in my experience, no...that finish will outlast Keith Richards and cockroaches

yeah thats why I like them used. New they are similarily priced as Fender Custom Shops

again, if you have your heart set on a Fender guitar (and there's nothing wrong with that) buying a used Fender Custom Shop at about the same price (maybe a few hundred more) as a new '57 RI will yield you a much better guitar, generally speaking

 

If you like the '57 and can't really tell the difference when compared to the Custom Shop, I say go with the '57. They're not that radically different and the extra cash would be worth it to me.

 

It's not silly to want to know how your guitar will look with age. On the '57 the nitro will wear down to the poly. Once you hit the poly it's not going to wear down to the wood. The poly is very durable. In my opinion you will not get that cool worn look on the maple neck with the '57.
The Grosh guitars are also nitro but the Suhr's are not.

Have you looked into the Eric Johnson Strats? They are cheaper than the '56 but more than a '57. They have the thin nitro without the poly undercoat.

 

I think the 56' NOS strats are some of the best sounding and playing out there. You can find used CS for a lot less than the $2100 for a new one; I've seen them for 1500 - 1600.

Budman