PART 1: Vester Tradition Stratocaster  vs. 1957 Fender Stratocaster.
PART 2: Vester Tradition Telecaster vs. early 1950's Fender Telecaster.

PART 1,  Introduction:

The appeal of the Fender Stratocaster is such that the lure to make spitting images of it seems to be irresistible.

The Stratocaster model alone has been duplicated countless times and is available from a constantly increasing number of manufacturers from all corners of the globe. This guitar has the redoubtable reputation of being the #1 copied guitar of the universe, full stop.

I guess a notable percentage of these simulated products are cheap beginners’ guitars of predominant average quality; not bad in all departments but certainly not guitars that will last very long. Then there are the mid range priced Stratocaster copies; a Vester Stage Series Stratocaster should fall within that category.

But when it comes down to the higher quality playing field, Vester Tradition Series Stratocasters are amongst the best.

Maybe not at the very top of the main stream brands; but they hold their own without fail. So how do they compare to a real Fender? Well, let me show you this in an illustrative way.

Next you will find a detailed photographic investigation of a 1957 two tone sunburst Fender Stratocaster and the one that Vester made.

But before starting I need to give a bit of Stratocaster history.

Stratocaster history:

Around March 1954 Fender produced the first Stratocaster (earlier prototypes aside).

The birth of the Stratocaster was Leo Fender’s next step in the development of the solid body electric 6 string guitar, following the Telecaster (1^st called Esquire in 1950, next Broadcaster and Nocaster)

Instead of upgrading the Telecaster, Leo and his team left well enough alone and went ahead with a brand new design.

The Stratocaster, a name derived from the early days of supersonic manned flight, was the answer to the demands of guitar players who wanted more comfort in play, more diversity of sounds, better intonation and an overall less plain Jane instrument.

This resulted in a contour body, 3 pick ups, six saddle bridge, a vibrato unit and a design that would become an icon.

Right now 55 years later the Stratocaster is as alive and kicking as it was in it’s most early days.


Above: Fender Stratocaster prototype, note narrow tremelo cavity with 3 springs.
Below: Early 1954 Stratocaster with original case, note ash body and white bakelite parts.
Also spot the round button string retainer.

The 1957 Fender Stratocaster specification:

The specification of the 1957 two tone sunburst Fender Stratocaster has been the benchmark for the identical colored Tradition Series Stratocasters which Vester put on the market.

Body:

- Alder body. (Fender made the change from Ash in 1956 for sunburst models only)

- Two tone sunburst color, deep dark brown and yellow.

- Deep front and back contour. (as time went by the contours became progressively shallower)

- Single ply white pick guard fastened with 8 Phillips screws.

- Pick up covers, tone and volume knobs as well as vibrato arm tip are yellow-ish.

  (these were of a different type of plastic than the pick guard and became more
   yellow over time; only   1956/7/8)

- Pencil written body production date in pick up cavity.

- Tremelo cavity at the back of the body covered by a white plastic plate.


1957 Fender Stratocaster, note Alder body, yellow-ish parts and butterfly string retainer.

1957 Fender Stratocaster, note deep contour, skunk striped neck and offset screws on backplate.
Inset: 1964 Stratocaster with smaller contour.

Pencil written production date in pick up cavity. Inset: pencil date on neck butt end.
Note: The non shoulder electronics cavity.

Neck:

- Solid maple soft V shaped neck with black dot inlays

- Walnut “skunk” stripe at the back of the neck (filling the neck rout for truss rod insertion)

- Walnut plug on the headstock (truss rod cover)

- Single butterfly string retainer (Fender changed from a button retainer in 1956)

- Spaghetti Fender logo (including “with synchronized tremolo” and “original contour body” decal)

- Pencil written neck production date on butt end (neck and body dates were hardly ever equal)

Top: Spaghetti logo.                             Bottom: 1964/68's transition logo.


Butterfly string retainer, walnut truss rod plug and 6 inline split shaft Kluson tuners.

Electronics:

- Three single coil pick ups with alnico magnets and staggered pole pieces

- Three Way switch (a 5 way switch is an after market development)

- One 250k Ohm volume pot and two 250k Ohm tone pots.

Top: Fender single coil pick-ups.  Bottom Vester single coil pick-ups.


Left: Three way switch.                                                   Right: Five way switch


Top:      Fender staggered pole pieces.
Bottom: Vester flush pole pieces.

Hardware:

- Kluson split shaft six in-line tuners. (some have Kluson de Luxe stamped on the back, most are blank)

- Flat steel neck plate with stamped serial# at the top.

   (mostly 5 digit high 1xxxx or low 2xxxx number, some have 6 digit # either preceded by a zero or a dash)

- The tremolo bridge assembly consists of:

   - Steel inertia block painted light grey fixed to a chrome plated bridge plate

   - Six saddles made of nickel plated pressed steel and stamped “FENDER – PAT.PEND”

   - 5 springs connected from the inertia block to a steel claw, screwed onto the body     

   (non tremolo 1957 Stratocasters, the so called hard tails, were also available)

Fender blank six in line Kluson type tuners.


Top left: 1957 Fender - Pat-Pend saddles.
Top right: Vester stamped in two rows.
Bottom: Reissue Fender stamped in two rows.


Fender tremelo unit.

A 1957 Copy Vester Stratocaster:

I wonder what kind of reference material Vester used when they started to develop a

1957 copy.

I tend to lean towards a Japanese Fender reissue, because they came very close, although not in every exact detail.

1957 Vester Tradition Series Stratocaster copy two tone sunburst.
Note left hand neck on right hand guitar.

Vester Tradition Series Stratocaster, just like Fender Alder Body with deep contour,
skunk stripe neck, white plastic tremelo cover (in line screws)

Vester yellowed plastic parts.

Body differences:

- No pencil written production date.

- Rectangular large sized pick up cavities. (they could fit a P90 or humbucker pick up without enlargement)

- The tremelo cavity cover has 6 screws in line, whereas Fender’s  screws are mounted off set.

- The electronics cavity got the “shoulder”, something which relates to a 1960’s Stratocaster.


Here we have a Vester Tradition Series Stratocaster body (original factory reliced).
Note the large rectangular pick up routs and the  shoulder in the electronics cavity (arrow)

Neck differences:

- Instead of dating the neck, there is some kind of ink written quality check code or signature.

- The logo is no “spaghetti" script, Vester used the ”transition” logo script (as on 1964/1968 Fenders)


Vester Tradition Series Stratocaster headstock, note transition script logo and
blank six in line Kluson type split shaft tuners.

Electronics differences:

- Vesters have a 5 way switch.

- Optically, Vester single coil pick ups are completely different from Fender’s.

   They are slightly smaller, no staggered pole pieces and a metal base plate i.s.o. phenolic.

   (no reference material is available to compare them in ways of resistance, magnetism or other technical specs.)

Hardware differences:

- The neckplate has the name Vester stamped at the top and a 5 digit serial# at the bottom.

   (most Tradition Vesters have 9xxxx numbers, exceptions are possible for instance #62874)

- Instead of “Fender - Pat. Pend” the saddles are stamped Vester in 2 rows.


Vester tremelo unit.

Left: Vester neckplate s# 90591                        Right: Fender neckplate s#026882

Conclusion:

Does a Vester Tadition Series Stratocaster compare to the one Fender made?

I would say both yes and no.

Obviously there are logical differences like the brand name..

But we cannot dismiss the bigger flaws like the pick up cavities, the logo script

and the lack of pick up comparison.

I don't know why or how these construction differences occurred.

Was it the reference material? Or did they do it on purpose in order to try and avoid a Fender law suit?

This is an important picture, it shows a 1957 (JV) Japanese Fender Stratocaster reissue.
It has a shoulder in the electronics cavity, is that where Vester took it from?????

Well whatever, let’s stick to the positive side of this story.

PART TWO. Introduction:

In this part of Vester vs. Fender, I am going to show you a detailed photographic comparison between an early 1950’s Fender Telecaster (not a reissue) and the Vester Tradition Series Telecaster.

Let me be clear from the start, I do not own a fifties Fender Telecaster, in fact I never even held one in my hands. Fender guitars of such vintage are ultra rare collector’s items of considerable value and that says it all.

will do the job.

Chronologically, the production of Fender solid body electric guitars started with the Esquire in late 1949 to around mid 1950, then came the Broadcaster from October 1950 to early 1951, next was a short period of the affectionately named “No-caster” from early 1951 to about September 1951, followed by the Telecaster ever since.




Fender Esquire.

Fender Broadcaster.

The name Telecaster resulted from a telegram sent by the Gretsch Musical Instruments Company to Fender in early 1951.

Fender was notified that using the name Broadcaster was a trademark infringement as Gretsch had already registered that name for one of their drum kits.

In order to avoid legal problems Fender reacted by immediately stopping Broadcaster production and clipping off that name from their logo’s implicitely creating a unnamed guitar, referred to by collectors as No-caster, up to the moment the new name, Telecaster, was found.

No-Caster headstock.

The word “Tele” has no relation to the Gretsch telegram as such, but was derived from the

upcoming era of the television.

The Fender “Blackguard” Telecasters were made uptil 1954, after that they changed to a white pickguard and a more opaque blond finish.


Earliest Fender Guitars, from L. to R.:
1st Prototype, 1949, pine body, note snakehead neck.
2nd Prototype, 1949,  hollow ash body, first with six in line tuners.
Production Esquire of early 1950, pine body, black color only.

Body: Ash.

Neck: One piece maple with walnut plug and skunk stripe covering truss rod insertion.

Pick ups: Two Fender single coil.

Bridge: Stamped metal plate with three brass saddles.

Pickguard: Black single ply plastic fibre, fastened with five screws (Blackguard).

Controls: One volume and one tone control and a three way switch.

Tuners: Six in line split shaft Klusons.

1953 Fender Telecaster, Ash body, Butterscotch blond finish, single ply blackguard.
Note: chrome bridge cover and single ply "Blackguard".

Solid maple neck with skunk stripe.


Two single coil pick ups. Bridge Pick up is slanted to enhance bassy sounds.
Note diagonal body rout for easy guidance of leads to control cavity.
Early Fender Broadcasters did not have this rout; leads went through bridge pick up  cavity.


Left: Fender bridge assembly.                           Right: Vester bridge assembly.


Control plate with tone and volume control and three way switch.
Note the dome shaped volume and tome knobs as well as the barrel shaped switch tip.
From 1955 this changed into barrel shaped knobs and tophat switch tip.
Also note the mix in slot screws and phillips screws. Earliest  configurion was slots only.


Left top and bottom: Fender headstock and  six in line split shaft Kluson tuners.
Right top and bottom: Vester headstock with identical tuners.
The Vester headstock shape is less curved
Also note the button style string retainer, later changed to butterfly clip.

Just like the Stratocaster the Telecaster is copied in vast numbers.

In fact copying a Fender guitar as such is not too difficult considering the way they are built.

A body, a neck and the necessary hardware and your kit is ready to assemble.

But a Telecaster is so much more than the sum of its components alone.

The look, the feel and especially the unmistakable Tele twang are the things that make or break a Telecaster.

Vester tried to emulate on that early 1950’s Blackguard Tele model and got away with a pretty good duplicate. But there are notable differences.

With the exception of a couple of ash bodies, most of the Vester Tele’s are made of Alder.

Vester necks differ from the Fender model in ways of the headstock.

They also show a pronounced V profile which relates more to a late 1950’s Fender neck, whereas the early 1950’s Fender Tele’s have chunky C style necks.

The Vester hardware and electronics have their own way of branding but they resemble the Fender parts in a very accurate way.

 
Vester Alder body Tradition Telecaster. Note diagonal rout, as well as the control plate with
Fender style knobs and switch tip.



Single ply Vester Blackguard.


Vester hardware.

Rare Vester Tradition Series Telecaster with ash body.

A Tradition Tele is about 100^th of that price and still it sounds the real deal.



Make your choice.
Top: 25000 Dollars, bottom: 100 times less.