Jap Fenders = Re-issues?

• The Japanese Fenders, if you've any experiences with them, are superb instruments in terms of craftsmanship & tone; it is very little wonder why these are not made available in the US (among other reasons)... Many of the Jap models are assigned alpha-numerics for their model designation, the above guitar is an example. People are then too quick to deem a certain model a 're-issue' by virtue of this understanding, so the ST57 is a '57 reissue, yes? Absolutely not.

• If we take a closer look at the specs of the ST57, we note its basswood body, among other things- were Strats made in '57 sporting basswood bodies? Similarly, those pickups- a little sleuthing would reveal those aren't the single coils used way back in 1957. This scrutiny is important in light of our understanding of the term 're-issue' which, in its fundamentals would be, an item made to the exact specification of a certain historic guitar. More importantly, you'd get into legal complications selling off an ST57 as a '57 re-issue. I've nothing against the Jap Fenders, I own one (& a bass) & it's one heck of a guitar.