Fender 57 Strat WBL Relic

Fender 57 Strat WBL Relic review

The Fender 57 Strat WBL Relic is a USA-made Custom Shop electric guitar based on the 1957 Stratocaster. Its listed price is 4899, and the model has been available since June 2025. The supplied specifications describe an alder body, a maple neck and fingerboard, three hand-wound single-coil pickups, and a nitrocellulose lacquer finish with a relic treatment. This review assesses those documented details only. No customer reviews are available, so there is no basis for claims about player satisfaction, sound quality, or long-term reliability.

The guitar uses a traditional ST-style body in White Blonde. Alder is specified for the body, with no separate top layer. The finish is described as relic, but the listing does not explain the extent or placement of the wear treatment. Nitrocellulose lacquer is the stated finish material. That identifies the coating, but does not by itself establish how the guitar will age or how its finish will respond to use.

Neck and playing dimensions

The bolt-on neck is made from plain-grain maple, and the fingerboard is also maple. Its profile is a '57 V, measuring 22 mm thick at the first fret and 25 mm at the twelfth fret. These figures give a useful description of the neck's changing thickness, though they do not fully convey how its V-shaped contour will fit an individual player's hand.

The fingerboard radius is 241 mm, or 9.5 inches. The scale length is 648 mm, or 25.5 inches, and the guitar has 21 vintage-style frets. Fender lists a nut width of 42.9 mm and black dot inlays. Together, these measurements identify the neck's basic layout without making assumptions about setup, fret finishing, or playing comfort. No action height or neck relief measurement is provided.

Pickups and controls

Three hand-wound '50s Strat single-coil pickups form the pickup system. The controls comprise one volume knob, two tone knobs, and a five-way switch. The specification sheet does not provide pickup output, magnet type, wiring details, or a control-by-control account of the switch positions. As a result, the available data supports a description of the configuration, but not a prediction of its exact tonal response.

The single-ply pickguard is identified as a vintage-white design associated with 1954 to 1958 Strat models. This period reference aligns with the guitar's 1957 model designation. It is a specific visual detail, rather than evidence that every component reproduces the construction of an original 1957 instrument.

Tremolo, tuning hardware, and finish details

Hardware includes an American Vintage Strat tremolo and Fender vintage-style tuning machines, with nickel-finished components. The supplied factory string gauge is.010 to.046. The specs do not state whether the tremolo is set up to float or rest against the body, and they offer no information about tuning stability or adjustment range. Those points would need to be checked on the individual instrument.

The White Blonde color, single-ply pickguard, maple fingerboard, and relic finish define the listed appearance. The product data does not specify the exact relic level or provide a description of the finish wear, so buyers should consult current product photos or the seller for a precise view of the instrument being offered.

Included item and specification discrepancy

The supplied information conflicts on the case. One entry says a bag is included and a case is not, while the detailed specifications state that a vintage case is included. These statements cannot both describe the package accurately. Confirm the included storage item with the retailer before purchase. The item number is 611668, and the listed sales unit is one piece.

Technical verdict

The documented specification presents a Custom Shop, 1957-inspired Strat-style guitar with a defined maple V neck, a 9.5-inch fingerboard radius, three hand-wound single-coil pickups, and vintage-style tremolo and tuning hardware. Its materials, dimensions, and controls are described in useful detail, but several practical questions remain unanswered, including setup measurements, pickup construction specifics, and the precise relic treatment. The case-versus-bag conflict also needs clarification. At a listed price of 4899, those are sensible points to verify before ordering. Without customer feedback or direct testing data, conclusions about feel, tone, or performance would go beyond the information available.