Fender Strat

For auction is a Fender Masterbuilt '54 Strat built by John English in 2004. A beautifully crafted instrument, it's a great player that lives up to the Masterbuilt designation.  It is an amazing example of what an early strat was like when purchased new back in the day and then played for a year or two.  It's impeccably crafted, and weighs in at 7.56 lbs.

Although it's a great guitar overall, the neck is really special.  John English was one of the best Master Builders, and the neck is beautifully shaped of hard, resonant maple, the frets are perfectly seated and dressed, and the bone nut is carved like a fine piece of jewelry.  It sports a full, soft v profile, and it feels absolutely wonderful in the hand. This guitar has a wonderful warm singing sound that comes from deep within the neck. 
I purchased this guitar new from a Guitar Centre in New Orleans post-Katrina, and in typical fashion the two cases, the COA and the case candy were lost. My buy it now price and reserve represents that, and the guitar is sold with a top quality DeTemple guitars labeled C&G strat case. 

The volume pot seized up and was replaced with a RS Superpot, the tone cap was replaced with a really great sounding Glendale Guitars PIO wax covered cap and a 5-way switch was installed at the same time.  The football switch tip, like the rest of of the original spec plastic, is prone to cracking just like the original '54s and fell off during a gig so I replaced it with a standard Fender strat switch tip.  The finish is amazingly thin and hard, and it is gradually turning into a natural relic with just minimal use. 
The guitar has been played but babied, and it's a really exceptional guitar with a warm, organic tone that is as good an example of an early strat as you're likely to find at any price or from any year.