After owning six different 1958 Fender Stratocasters, I'm convinced that it's the year of the best value for guitar players out of all 1950s Strats. By 1958, Fender's Stratocaster model was four years old but much already had changed from the initial 1954 production. Stratocasters made in 1958 span a wider range of values than examples from previous years, from the standard Sunburst finish to the Blonde version with gold-plated hardware and even rare custom DuPont Duco colors, which Fender identified with an asterisk and special note at the bottom of the price list.
In This Article
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The Value of a 1958 Fender Stratocaster: Then & Now
The original 1958 Fender Price List showing three factory finish options, and why custom colors and Mary Kaye examples command a significant premium today.
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How the Stratocaster Specs Changed in 1958
The addition of the red band to the Sunburst finish, the transition to a slimmer C-shaped neck profile, and a quirk with the peghead decals unique to this year.
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Identifying An Original 1958 Fender Stratocaster
A component-by-component breakdown — pickups, serial numbers, neck and body dates, Kluson tuners, Stackpole pots, and the CRL 1452 switch — with real readings from guitars I've personally inspected.
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Video of a 1958 Fender Stratocaster
An in-hand look at serial #31325, a '58 Strat I sourced in Montreal in 2024.
1958 Fender Stratocaster At A Glance
| Neck | One-piece maple with walnut truss rod cavity plug |
| Body | 2 or 3 piece alder or ash (Blonde only) |
| Finish | Three-tone Sunburst, Blonde, or custom color |
| Pickguard | 1-ply bright white ABS plastic, 8 screws |
| Pickups | 3× single coil — black bobbin, 42 AWG, AlNiCo V |
| Profile | Medium-slim taper up to full C at the 12th |
| Update | Two-tone to three-tone Sunburst |
The Value of a 1958 Fender Stratocaster: Then & Now
For a free evaluation of your 1958 Fender Stratocaster, click here: Free Appraisal. Find out how much yours could be worth.
Fender's price list from both March and July of 1958 offer three variations of the Stratocaster:
"*Stratocaster Guitar (no tremolo) (three pickups): $249.50
*Stratocaster Guitar (with tremolo) (three pickups: $274.50
Stratocaster Guitar (with tremolo in Blonde with
14 Carat Gold-Plated Hardware: $330.00
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*Available in custom Dupont Ducco finishes - 5% additional cost"
The most common variety of the '58 Stratocaster is the Sunburst with Tremolo option. While Fender called the tailpiece a "tremolo", it may be important to note that it's a vibrato tailpiece, since tremolo is specifically varying the volume of a note while vibrato varies the pitch of a note. The "tremolo" tailpiece featured a bridge that floated in the balance of both the tension of the strings and the tension from five springs pulling the opposite direction. The next most common variety is Sunburst with a simpler string-through-body bridge with 6 saddles.
Far less common than the Sunburst variety is the "Stratocaster Guitar (with tremolo in Blonde with 14 Carat Gold Plated Hardware". This upgraded version of the Stratocaster is often referred to by collectors as the "Mary Kaye" Stratocaster derived from an advertisement from Fender in 1958 featuring her with this version. The "Blonde" finish is a semi-translucent white color that's applied over an Ash body instead of the typical Alder wood (standard on the Stratocaster since 1956). The typically chrome plated metal parts were plated with 14 carat gold. This version is highly prized by guitar collectors and can sell for double or triple the price of a typical Sunburst variety.
Even less common than the Mary Kaye version of the 1958 Stratocaster is the custom Dupont Ducco (proper spelling "Duco") finished variety - or what we call a "custom color". The custom color asterisk and option shows up first in a footnote at the bottom of the Spanish guitar section of the 1957 Fender price list, but the standardized custom color list from Fender didn't debut until the summer of 1961. Custom color Stratocasters are extremely uncommon for 1958 and easily sell for a far higher price than a typical Sunburst. However, with a higher price comes far higher scrutiny for authentication.
For more on the value of vintage Stratocaster guitars, check out Vintage Stratocaster Values.
How the Stratocaster Specs Changed in 1958
Three Tone Sunburst Finish
The most visible update to the Stratocaster in 1958 is the (now) three tone Sunburst finish with the addition of a bright red band in between the dark outer edge and the golden yellow inner area. We suspect that Fender experimented with the formulation of the red used for this area because of the way it changed in following years and this little anecdote:
"We had to search so we sprayed many blocks of alder and put them on the top of the building to see which ones would fade and which ones wouldn't! The red just simply got gobbled up in this chemical reaction..."
Medium Taper C Shaped Neck Profile
But guitar players will note another significant change in the way the Stratocaster feels: the once fat neck profile begins to slim down. Consider the table below with neck profile measurements taken at the 1st and 12th frets. It's important to remember that the profile of the neck is its fatness, not its width at the nut. The fatness is measured from the front of the fretboard to the back of the neck behind that fret. Each measurement is taken in the middle of the fretboard between either the nut and the first fret or the 11th and 12th frets.
| Serial # | Neck Date | 1st Fret | 12th Fret |
|---|---|---|---|
| #027950 | 6/58 | 0.85" | 0.98" |
| #28688 | 8/58 | 0.82" | 0.98" |
| #31243 | 9/58 | 0.85" | 1.00" |
| #31325 | 10/58 | 0.82" | 0.98" |
| Average | 0.835" | 0.985" | |
"Flaky" Fender Logo Decals
One other consistent feature I've noticed on Fender Stratocasters made in 1958 is how the "Fender" portion of the waterslide peghead decal tends to flake and deteriorate much more significantly than those made in other years. Waterslide decals are applied on top of the finish, so it's possible that some part of the clear lacquer finish formulation from that time period cause the more rapid deterioration. It's also possible that an error in the manufacturing process of the decal is at fault. Whatever the reason, it does seem to be consistent in that year as you can see on the two examples currently in my shop.
Identifying An Original 1958 Fender Stratocaster
1958 Stratocaster Pickups
The 1958 Stratocaster pickups follow the same recipe used since mid 1956: a single coil of 42 AWG Formvar wire with black vulcanized fiber flatwork constructing the bobbin connected by six individual staggered AlNiCo V magnets with tall "G" position pole piece. A sampling of pickup resistance from three different 1958 Stratocasters with original coils is found below:
| Position | #28688 | #31243 | #31325 | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neck | 5.59k | 5.37k | 5.26k | 5.41k |
| Middle | 5.73k | 5.79k | 5.35k | 5.62k |
| Bridge | 5.84k | 6.11k | 5.50k | 5.82k |
1958 Fender Serial Number Range
1958 Stratocaster serial numbers are found on the neck plate that aids in fixing the neck to the body. The plates were manufactured by Race & Olmstead Tool and Die, then shipped to Fender in boxes. The plates were not necessarily assigned to guitars in consecutive order, but a general pattern can be observed on Werner's List. The 024000 range on Werner's list is majority 1958 but some still from 1957. By the 31000 range, most of the dates are from 1959 but with plenty of '58s still mixed in. It's also important to note that many of the serial numbers from 1958 are preceded by either a "0" or a "-".
For more information on Fender serial numbers, check out the Fender Serial Number Guide.
1958 Neck Heels and Body Dates
The neck heels of Fender guitars in 1958 were signed with a month and year in grease pencil underneath the finish. The date typically corresponds to the month and year that the neck was roughly shaped and not when the guitar shipped from the factory. These dates are typically early in the production process.
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The bodies of Fender guitars in 1958 were also signed in grease pencil typically in the middle pickup cavity visible with the pickguard removed.
1958 Stratocaster Tuners: Single Line Kluson
Fender Stratocasters from 1958 came with the same style tuning machine that was used from 1956 until 1964: six on one side, individual Kluson tuners with metal "bean" shaped button and a single "KLUSON" brand name line down the back (aka "single line Kluson").
1958 Stratocaster Potentiometers: Stackpole 250k
Most of the 1958 Stratocasters I've had the privilege to inspect contain three Stackpole 250k Audio taper potentiometers with knurled shaft. One common date code I often see is "304 825" where 304 = Stackpole (manufacturer), 8 = 1958, and 25 = the 25th week.
1958 Stratocaster Three Way Switch: CRL 1452
All 1958 Stratocasters originally shipped with the same switch: a Centralab 1452 three position switch with straight sides marked "CRL 1452" on the chassis. The 1452 switch retained the straight sided fiberboard until the transition to the rounded (half moon) shape redesign in 1962.
Video of a 1958 Fender Stratocaster
Check out this video I made of the 1958 Fender Stratocaster 31325 that I purchased on location in Montreal, Canada in 2024. I travel world wide to buy vintage Fender and Gibson guitars. If you have a vintage Fender and are considering selling, feel free to reach out to me here: Sell a Fender.
Looking for an evaluation of a 1958 Fender Stratocaster?
If you've inherited a 1958 Stratocaster or found one in a storage unit, you may be looking for a vintage guitar appraiser to help with the process of evaluation and selling. I offer free appraisals for owners looking to assess the originality, condition, and potential market value of their cherished vintage guitars. I specialize in high-end solid body electric guitars made by Fender and Gibson in the 1950s and 1960s.
About the Author
John Shults is the owner of True Vintage Guitar, a high-end vintage guitar shop based in Birmingham, Alabama. He specializes in buying, selling, and appraising collectible Fender and Gibson guitars from the 1950s and 1960s.
With over 16 years of experience and millions of dollars in vintage guitar transactions, John has sourced instruments worldwide—often working directly with original owners and their families to uncover exceptional guitars like the 1958 Stratocasters mentioned in this article.
Learn more, request an appraisal, or sell a vintage guitar at TrueVintageGuitar.com .
