1959 Fender Stratocaster Mystic Ice Blue Refin

VINTAGE VERIFIED BY ISH GUITARS

Presenting a piece of music history - a '59 Strat in Mystic Ice Blue!  

This guitar was clearly loved by the previous owner and used as a players guitar for quite some time. Proper work was performed throughout the years to maintain the health and playability of the instrument. Plays great throughout the entire neck with consistent intonation and comfortable medium/low action. Please find our detailed thorough inspection of this guitar below.  More photos are available than shown in the listing upon request. 

INDIVIDUALLY PHOTOGRAPHED

After 15 years of innovation in our photography process, Ish Guitars has developed a way to get you the most accurate true-to-life color of every instrument we sell. We never embellish, oversaturate, or misrepresent our images, so that your buying experience can be as much like visiting our showroom as possible. Keep in mind that various computer screens can show colors a bit differently, so the color on your screen may not match the real thing perfectly no matter how hard we try. Also, unless otherwise noted, we individually list and photo every piece of gear that comes through our doors.

HEAR A LIVE DEMO

Experience our innovative Video Appointment service! Connect with
our Gear Experts to hear this instrument played live over Zoom and receive one-on-one guidance. Contact us to schedule your appointment!

Weight: 7.7 lbs 

Case Details: Original Hardshell Case 

Cosmetic Condition: Very Good condition with various wear and dings throughout.  Some chips on the finish here and there.  Bit of finish discoloration near the lower strap button.  Good amount of buckle rash on the back of the guitar. 

Mods or Repairs: Yes see detailed notes below 

Neck Profile: Slim C 

Neck Thickness: 1st: 0.76" / 12th: 0.95"

Fingerboard Radius: 7.25" 

Nut Width: 1.65" 

Scale Length: 25.5"

Electronics Layout: 5 Way Switch, Master Volume, Neck/Middle Tone, Bridge Tone. 

String Gauge: 10 - 46

Tremolo Bar: None 

Please note: All measurements are taken in-house. While we strive for accuracy, slight variations may occur compared to manufacturer specifications due to the nature of hand-measuring.

Vintage Verified Tech Breakdown

Due to the nature of the neck pocket being painted over when this guitar was refinished, along with no evident markings on the end of the neck, we extensively went through every part of this guitar to confirm it's originality year to the best of our knowledge. Below is the breakdown. 

Neck:

• Tuners appear to the best of our knowledge to be original to the guitar. There was 1 tuner replaced (high e) evident from the previous service report in the guitar case. It appears at some point the original owned could have installed some other tuners due to the small fill holes evident behind the tuners. There was a previous repair crack/break repaired by the low e tuner. The repair is stable and well done. 
• Fender "Spaghetti Logo" on the headstock is era appropriate to the guitar. 
• The contour/cut by the nut at the headstock matches to 1959 era. 
• Original Nut Replaced 
• Had been professionally refretted in the past. Very well done. 
• Fret markers appear to be the original clay dots for the era. It does look like the fret markers past the 12th fret were either removed and re-glued (most likely during the planing required during the refret) or got replaced during this process with matching dots. 
• Rosewood fretboard is a slab. Introduced mid 1959 by Fender. This matches the remaining original tone pot which dates to later in 1959. Rounded slab shape by nut also matches appropriately. 
• Small dowel hole fill on heel of neck matches for the era when Fender was using a pin router and this hole was used to secure the neck to the template when cutting. There is also the appropriate dowel hole fill on the headstock behind the tuners. 
• Truss rod was checked and is functioning appropriately. 

Electronics:

• Original 3 way pickup selector replaced with 5 way pickup selector. (See old attached service ticket). This guitar would have originally came with the 3-way. Does have the era appropriate pearl tip on the switch. 
• Original Stackpole Tone Pot (bridge). (304-5946). This matches for the era of the guitar, Fender didn't switch to CTS pots on strats until 1963. This is dated at the 46th week in 1959. This matches the change over to the rosewood slab fretboard which appeared in mid 1959. This pot moves smoothly and is showing no evident signs of noise/scratchiness. 
• Original Tone Cap replaced. 

Pickups:

• All 3 pickups appear to the best of our knowledge to be original to the 1959 year/guitar. Pickup leads were trimmed short at some point in the past and longer leads were added at some time.  
• Pickup Readouts (Neck: 5.80k, Middle: 5.89k, Bridge: 6.29k)
• These are correct to the era with the black top/bottoms, Grey bottoms were introduced sparingly starting in 1964.
• Bright copper color from the Formvar winding matches the era. 
• Original surgical tubing to adjust for pickup heights have been replaced by springs, however you can see evidence of the original rubber tubing on the pickguard (replaced). 
• Pickup covers appear to the best of our knowledge to be original.
• Polepiece height on each pickup is correct to the era low to high (B, high E, low E, A, D, G). Post 1956 Fender raised the G string polepiece to be the highest. 
• No date codes/writing visible on any of the pickups. 

Body:

• Backplate of the guitar appears to be original
• Pickguard replaced.
• Original Neck Plate matches for 1959 range. 
• Bridge and saddles appear to be original to the best of our knowledge. 1 saddle intonation screw was replaced with a flathead screw. Low E.
• There were additional Springs added to the tremolo. Currently at 5. Hard to distinguish originality. 
• Belly contour/cut on the guitar appears to the best of our knowledge to match the 1959 profile. 
• Pickup Routes have circle/rounded ends which matches the era for the guitar. 
• "Worm/Ball Route" route below bridge pickup to allow more spaces for pickup leads matches the era. 
• The electronics cavity has the appropriate "shoulder route" shape which appeared in mid 1959. 
• There is evidence of some of the nail holes used when the guitar was originally painted, however with the refinishing of the guitar many are harder to detect post being covered/filled. 
• No Ash Tray cover. 
• Volume/Tone knobs are hard to distinguish originality.
• Rounded edge at neck pocket on body is rounded which matches post 1954 strats.
• Original sunburst finish was professionally refinished with the current blue. See older attached repair sheet showing previous work. 

Case:

• Case appears to be original to the guitar. Featuring the classic "Knuckle Buster" latch underneath the handle of the case. 
• Latches functioning appropriately. No keys. 

This guitar was clearly loved by the previous owner and used as a players guitar for quite some time. Proper work was performed throughout the years to maintain the health and playability of the instrument. Plays great throughout the entire neck with consistent intonation and comfortable medium/low action. More photos are available than shown in the listing upon request.