Fender 55 Strat Hardtail AWB NOS

Fender 55 Strat Hardtail AWB NOS review

The Fender 55 Strat Hardtail AWB NOS is a U.S.-made Custom Shop guitar from the 2022 Vintage Custom Collection. Its specification draws on the 1955 Stratocaster, with a hardtail bridge, three hand-wound single-coil pickups, and a one-piece maple neck. Fender lists the finish as aged white blonde with a New Old Stock treatment. The model was available starting in March 2022 as a limited 2022 run.

There is no customer feedback available for this product, so this assessment is based strictly on the supplied specifications. Those details also contain a notable inconsistency: the general specification lists an ash body, while the detailed description calls it selected alder. Since both woods are named and no clarification is provided, the body material cannot be stated with confidence. Buyers should confirm this point with the seller or Fender before ordering.

Body, finish, and hardware

The guitar follows an ST-style shape and has no separate top listed. Its aged white blonde finish is paired with a single-ply eggshell pickguard and nickel hardware. The NOS label describes the stated finish treatment; the available information does not specify additional wear, aging, or other cosmetic details. The product is therefore best understood through the finish name and listed construction, rather than assumptions about how much aging is visible.

The vintage hardtail bridge is a defining choice. There is no tremolo system, which distinguishes this model from Stratocaster versions fitted with a movable bridge. The listed setup keeps the bridge fixed, while vintage machine heads complete the hardware specification. No further details are given for the bridge's materials, saddle design, or tuning ratio, so those aspects cannot be assessed from the supplied data.

Neck and playing dimensions

The neck and fingerboard are both maple. Fender specifies a one-piece, quarter-sawn maple neck with a 1954 U-shaped profile, a bone nut, and 21 medium vintage frets. The compound fingerboard radius moves from 7.25 inches to 9.5 inches. That combination retains a more rounded measurement at one end of the board and a flatter one at the other, although the information provided does not state how this particular instrument feels in hand.

The scale length is 648 millimeters, equivalent to the familiar 25.5-inch Stratocaster scale. The fret count, nut material, neck profile, and changing radius provide useful points of comparison for players choosing a vintage-oriented neck. Fender does not supply nut width, neck thickness measurements, fret dimensions, or setup specifications here, so a detailed fit assessment would require those measurements or an in-person trial.

Pickups and controls

Three hand-wound Fender Custom Shop '55 Strat single-coil pickups form the SSS pickup layout. The guitar uses vintage wiring, one volume control, two tone controls, and a five-way pickup switch. This is a conventional three-pickup Stratocaster control arrangement, but the supplied information does not include pickup output, magnet type, resistance readings, or a wiring diagram. Tonal claims beyond the stated pickup type and circuit would go beyond the available evidence.

What is included and what to check

A case and certificate are included. The specifications also say that a bag is not included, which is consistent with the case being the supplied storage item. The listed price is 6190, but no currency is identified in the data, so the figure should not be treated as a confirmed price in any particular currency. The item number is 532445, and the sales unit is one piece.

• Listed model: 1955 Stratocaster, Custom Shop, 2022 limited run.
• Construction: maple neck and fingerboard, with conflicting ash and alder body descriptions.
• Electronics: three hand-wound single-coil pickups, vintage wiring, and a five-way switch.
• Bridge: vintage hardtail, with no tremolo system.
• Included: case and certificate; no bag.

The strongest verifiable points are its hardtail configuration, hand-wound Custom Shop pickup set, compound-radius maple fingerboard, and included case. The main unresolved specification is the body wood, and the price lacks a currency. Those details deserve confirmation before purchase. With no customer reviews available, there is no basis here for claims about comfort, sound, reliability, or individual instrument quality.