The Third Original 'Blackie'

1956 Fender Stratocaster

Asymmetrical double cutaway solid body. This exceptionally rare and well documented custom color 'Black' Stratocaster guitar has a one-piece solid ash body contoured on back and lower bass bout and weighs just 7.40 lbs. One-piece 'fretted' maple neck with a nut width of between 1 5/8 and 1 11/16 inches and a wonderful -typical late 1955/early 1956 medium-to-thick profile. Twenty-one original small frets, and black dot position markers. Small headstock with Fender "spaghetti" logo in gold with black trim, "STRATOCASTER" in black beside it, "WITH SYNCHRONIZED TREMOLO" in black below it and "ORIGINAL Contour Body" at the ball end of the headstock. Individual Kluson Deluxe single-line 'no-name' tuners with oval metal buttons (stamped on the underside: "2356766 / PAT. APPLD."). Single "round" string tree. Four-bolt neck plate with the serial number "10388" stamped between the top two screws. Three white "bakelite" covered black-bottom single-coil pickups with staggered polepieces and wonderfully balanced outputs of 5.87k, 5.56k, and 5.92k. The pole-pieces are staggered as follows: (highest to lowest) D+G; low E+A; high E; and finally B. Single-layer white bakelite pickguard with eight screws. Three controls (one volume, two tone) plus three-way pickup selector switch with "par-shaped" "bakelite" tip, all on treble side of the pickguard. Three white "bakelite" knobs with gold lettering. Six-pivot bridge/vibrato unit with through-body stringing. The neck has a pencil mark of "AX-1-56". The potentiometers are all stamped "304 543" (Stackpole, October 1955). Steel 'two-piece' bridge/tremolo assembly with six individually adjustable nickel-plated steel saddles (each stamped Fender Pat Pend". Rectangular white bakelite tremolo cover with six screws. Two strap-buttons, each secured by a single screw. There is some finish checking  and there are a few other minor surface marks, mainly on the edges of the body. The original small frets show very little sign of wear as does the maple fretboard - this guitar has been played by a 'rhythm' guitarist who has not done any 'string bending' and the only real wear on the fretboard is down beyond the 19th fret where the player has been 'strumming'. This totally original guitar is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition. Complete with the original white ABS plastic tipped tremolo arm and nickel plated bridge cover. Housed in an original (but not to this guitar) Fender tweed 'side-pocket' rectangular three-latch hardshell case with brown leather ends and red plush lining (9.00). Included in the case are two early photocopies of the original (1955/56) instruction and 'Tremolo Adjustment' sheets. The footnote on one of the sheets reads "Stratocaster guitars are available in Du-Pont Ducco colors of the player's choice at an additional 5% cost."

When we purchased this guitar in March of 2013 we called in our friend Joe Ganzler to examine this guitar in infinite detail… here is a copy of his report:

Ganzler Incorporated - 03/11/2013 - 1956 Fender Stratocaster S/N#10388
 
- Tuners - Correct, untouched/unrepaired
- Ferrules - Never removed
- Fender Logo - Correct, original, untouched/unreplaced
- Neck finish - 100% original, blacklights perfectly, no overspray WHATSOEVER to neck or front/back of headstock
- "AX - 1-56 - 2" - Correct and original - indigenous to 1956 era of manufacture and seen before by me
- Nut - 100% original, untouched/unrepaired
- CONSUMMATE early '56 neck profile - big, round, with full shoulders
- Black body lacquer affixed to neck - matches heel pocket delamination areas PERFECTLY
- Frets - 100% original, in VG+ condition with plenty left
- Strap button screws - never turned CCW
- Tremolo screws - never turned CCW
- String tree - 100% correct and original; indigenous to this era (early 1956) of manufacture
- Knobs/pickup covers - Appear to be original to THIS guitar; appear to be original and correct bakelite
- Pickguard - 100% correct, undamaged; appears to be original to THIS instrument
- Pickguard screws - 100% original
- Neckplate screws - 100% original
- Body contours/carve - 100% correct; original/indigenous to this era (early 1956) of manufacture
- Worm - exactly correct, untouched
- Nail holes - PERFECT
- Tape in large e-cavity - original/indigenous to this era of manufacture
- Pickup readings:
Neck=5.87 ohms
Middle=5.56 ohms
Bridge=5.92 ohms
 
- Output jack/solder joints - original, correct, untouched
- All cavities show myriad evidence of original, factory-applied black nitrocellulose lacquer finish ("Fogging" of paint in cavities)
- Finish shows EXACT evidence of factory buff, with NO evidence of orange peel present; indigenous to this era of (Custom Color) manufacture
- Pots - 100% original to THIS instrument; 43rd week of 1955
- ALL solder joints appear to be 100% correct, original, untouched/unrepaired
- Masking tape - 100% correct, original, undisturbed
- Tremolo assembly/Trem. block - HAS been removed/adjusted
- Lacquer checking - Micro examination w/20X jeweler's loupe shows this to be correct and "authentic", demonstrating a checking pattern indigenous to an ash body
- Correct black nitro color, UNMISTAKABLE to this era (50's/60's) of manufacture; demonstrating a high "carbon content"
- Case - NOT original to THIS instrument, but clearly ALWAYS housing a Stratocaster.
- Instrument weight - 7.4 pounds without trem. arm/ashtray

Respectfully Submitted,
 
Joe Ganzler, President
Ganzler Incorporated
www.ganzlerincorporated.com <http://www.ganzlerincorporated.com>  

This guitar has been in two private collections since it was purchased by the last owner in 1975!! The guitar appears as the first color plate in Andre Duchossoirs (1994) book The Fender Stratocaster with the following caption "1956 (#10388) with custom ordered black finish. Who wants an original Blackie?". The guitar appears in Werner's List as "10388  Jan 56  Strat  Black" (page 9).

To say that this incredible piece of Fender history is exceptionally rare - is quite frankly an understatement.

We believe this to be possibly the third earliest original 'Black' Stratocaster known.

There is a reference in Werners List to a 1954 example "0571  Jun 54  Strat  Black". We assume that guitar to be the one pictured with Billy (Bill) Carson. (Kelly, Foster & Kelly. The Golden Age of Fender 1946-1970. p.84).

The late Howard Reed of Gene Vincent's group the Blue Caps had a '55 black Strat which is considered by some experts to be the first custom-ordered black Strat. (Tom Wheeler. The Stratocaster Chronicles. p.79). That guitar was on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum from January, ’98, through May of 2013.

In Yasuhiko Iwanade's monumental book The Galaxy of Strats one will see a single example from 1957 (serial # -20320) and a single example from 1958 (serial #027996). The 1957 guitar also appear in Werners List as "-20320  Strat  Black, gold H/W".

Eric Clapton's most famous Startocaster "Blackie" was in fact a 'composite' guitar made up from a 1956 sunburst body (which he had re-finished in black) and a 1957 neck. That guitar was sold in 2004 for $959,000 and then became the 'blueprint' for the very successful Guitar Center run of re-issues. David Gilmours famous 'The Black Stratocaster' is in fact a May 1970 example (serial #266936) - this guiatr was originally sprayed sunburst then oversprayed black as a custom color. The great Jimi Hendrix used his black maple-cap Stratocaster (serial number 222625) right up to his death on September 18th, 1970. His last performances were at at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 31st, 1970, Berlin, Germany on September 4th, 1970, and finally his last concert on the Isle of Fehrman (Germany) September 6th, 1970 - just 12 days before his untimely death.