In 1954, the Fender Stratocaster arrived as a radical departure from the flat, squared-off guitars that dominated the music scene, introducing a body shape that was as ergonomic as it was revolutionary. Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares collaborated to design a solid-body electric guitar that featured a double cutaway, elongated horns, and a heavily contoured back specifically to improve balance and comfort for players standing up with a strap. This design was not merely aesthetic; it was a functional response to the physical demands of rock and roll, allowing musicians to access higher positions on the neck with ease while reducing the fatigue that plagued players of earlier models. The Stratocaster's sleek, contoured body, officially referred to by Fender as the Original Contour Body, differed significantly from the flat, squared edge design of the Telecaster, setting a new standard for what an electric guitar could be. The three-pickup design was a step up from earlier one- and two-pickup guitars, and a responsive and simplified vibrato arm integrated into the bridge plate marked a significant design improvement over other vibrato systems, such as those manufactured by Bigsby. However, Stratocasters without the vibrato system, known as hardtails, were added to the portfolio in March 1955, offering players a choice between the innovative tremolo system and a fixed bridge for maximum stability. The modular nature of the guitar, with its easily removable components, enabled players and luthiers to perform numerous modifications to their own guitars, changing out pickups or necks to fit the needs of the player. All of these design elements were popularized and later became industry standards due to the success of the Stratocaster, cementing its place as one of the most iconic electric guitar models of all time.
The Birth of a Legend
The first model offered for sale was the 1954 Fender Stratocaster, featuring a solid, deeply contoured ash body, a 21-fret one-piece maple neck with black dot inlays, and Kluson SafeTi String post tuning machines. The color was originally a two-color, dark brown-to-golden yellow sunburst pattern, although custom color guitars were produced, such as Eldon Shamblin's gold Stratocaster dated June 1954. In 1956, Fender began using alder for sunburst and most custom-color Stratocaster bodies, as ash needed grain filler and sanding blocks for contour sanding, though it was still used on translucent blonde instruments. The neck shape took a more V-shaped feel in 1957, with deeper body carves on the guitar noted as a feature. In 1959, Fender introduced a thick Brazilian rosewood fretboard to the Stratocaster, now colloquially referred to as a slab-board, which lasted until 1962 when the fretboard was made with a thinner veneer of Brazilian Rosewood. Nearly all of the 1960s models of the Stratocaster had a rosewood fretboard, and maple fretboards would not be re-introduced in large numbers until 1970. In 1960, the available custom colors were standardized with a paint chip chart, many of which were Duco automobile lacquer colors from DuPont available at an additional 5% cost. Inter-departmental DuPont support research provided a flexible basecoat for their wood applications. A single-ply, eight-screw hole white pickguard, changed to an 11-hole three-ply in late 1959, held all electronic components except the recessed jack plate, facilitating assembly. The 1963 Fender Stratocaster showed a change in design from the 1950s models including Clay Dot inlays, a 3 tone sunburst finish on an Alder body and Kluson tuners. Between the years 1954 and 1979, nearly a quarter of the Fender Stratocasters manufactured were made in a single year, in 1979, marking a period of increased production levels that saw a gradual departure from the high quality instruments of the 1960s and the introduction of Japanese manufacturers into the market.
Leo Fender made very few alterations to the basic design of the Fender Stratocaster up until 1965 when the company was sold to CBS Instruments. After 1965, the Fender company, under the control of CBS Instruments, saw a drop in sales of the Fender Stratocaster to customers, as the Fender Jazzmaster had been promoted as the flagship guitar in the Fender line. The resurgence of the Fender Stratocaster is credited to the arrival of Jimi Hendrix in the late 1960s, whose remarkable playing style and musical prowess led to a dramatic increase in sales and thrust the Stratocaster into musical history as the premier electric guitar. As they followed Jimi Hendrix's popularity on TV, CBS asked for the word Stratocaster on the headstock to be made larger so that people could read the model name easily. The 1968 to 1982 period saw a black CBS logo with a larger printed STRATOCASTER on the headstock, and the headstock was enlarged on the right hand side, now matching the Jazzmaster and Jaguar. Jimi Hendrix played a late 1960s Stratocaster with a large CBS headstock, often left-handed and upside-down, reverse-strung, which became an iconic image of the era. The Stratocaster features three single coil pickups, with the output originally selected by a 3-way switch. Guitarists soon discovered that by positioning the switch in between the first and second position, both the bridge and middle pickups could be selected, and similarly, the middle and neck pickups could be selected between the 2nd and 3rd position. When two pickups are selected simultaneously, they are wired in parallel which leads to a slight drop in output as slightly more current is allowed to pass to the ground. In newer guitars, since the middle pickup is almost always wired in reverse, this combination also being referred to as RWRP, the intermediate positions create a spaced humbucking pair, which significantly reduces 50/60 cycle hum. Fender introduced a five-way selector in 1977, making such pickup combinations more stable.
The Quacky Sound and the Masters
The quacky or doinky tone of the bridge and middle pickups in parallel, popularized by players such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Gilmour, Rory Gallagher, Mark Knopfler, Bob Dylan, Eric Johnson, Nile Rodgers, George Harrison, Scott Thurston, Ronnie Wood, John Mayer, Ed King, and Robert Cray, can be obtained by using the pickup selector in position 2. Similarly, the middle and neck pickups in parallel can be obtained in position 4. This setting's characteristic tone is not caused by any electronic phenomenon, as early Stratocasters used identical pickups for all positions. This in between tone is caused by phase cancellation due to the physical position of the pickups along the vibrating string. The neck and middle pickups are each wired to a tone control that incorporates a single, shared tone capacitor, whereas the bridge pickup, which is slanted towards the high strings for a more trebly sound, has no tone control for maximum brightness. On many modern Stratocasters, the first tone control affects the neck pickup, and the second tone control affects the middle and bridge pickups. On some Artist Series models, such as Buddy Guy's signature guitar, the first tone control is a presence circuit that cuts or boosts treble and bass frequencies, affecting all the pickups, and the second tone control is an active midrange booster that boosts the midrange frequencies up to 25 dB, or 12 dB on certain models, to produce a fatter humbucker-like sound. Dick Dale was a prominent Stratocaster player who also collaborated with Leo Fender in developing the Fender Showman amplifier. In the early 1960s, the instrument was also championed by Hank Marvin, guitarist for the Shadows, a band that originally backed Cliff Richard and then produced instrumentals of its own. In December 1964, George Harrison and John Lennon acquired Stratocasters and used them for Help! and onwards, playing the double unison guitar solo on Nowhere Man on their new Stratocasters. After Jimi Hendrix started using the Stratocaster, Eric Clapton started using the Stratocaster as well, on famous songs such as Layla, Wonderful Tonight, and Cocaine, playing his famous 2-tone sunburst with maple fretboard Stratocaster Brownie and his famous black Strat made from multiple 50s Stratocasters Blackie.
The Modern Renaissance
During the CBS era, particularly the 1970s, the perceived quality of Fender instruments fell, and during this time, vintage instruments from the pre-CBS era became popular. When the Fender company was bought from CBS by a group of investors and employees headed by Bill Schultz in 1985, manufacturing resumed its former high quality, and Fender was able to regain market share and brand reputation. Dan Smith, with the help of John Page, proceeded to work on a reissue of the most popular guitars of Leo Fender's era. They decided to manufacture two Vintage reissue Stratocaster models, the one-piece maple neck 1957 and a rosewood-fretboard 1962, along with the maple-neck 1952 Telecaster, the maple-neck 1957 and rosewood-fretboard 1962 Precision Basses, as well as the rosewood-fretboard stacked knob 1962 Jazz Bass. These first few years, 1982 to 1984, of reissues, known as American Vintage Reissues, are now high-priced collector's items and considered as some of the finest to ever leave Fender's Fullerton plant, which closed its doors in late 1984. In 1985, Fender's US production of the Vintage reissues resumed into a new factory at Corona, California, located about 100 miles away from Fullerton. Some early reissues from 1986 were crafted with leftover parts from the Fullerton factory. Fender released their first Stratocaster signature guitar for Eric Clapton in 1988. A popular Fender Reissue Stratocaster was the 57 American Vintage Reissue, which the company regarded 1957 as a benchmark year for the Strat. The original specifications were used, with three 57/62 pickups, aged pickup covers and knobs, a tinted 7.25 inch radius, 21 fret maple neck, an ashtray bridge cover, and three position switch, with a five-position switch kit included. The colors included white blonde, two-color sunburst, black, ocean turquoise, surf green, and ice blue metallic. The 57 Vintage Reissue Stratocaster was discontinued in 2012. As well as the vintage reissues, Fender launched an updated model in 1987: the American Standard Stratocaster, tailored to the demands of modern players, notably having a flatter fingerboard, a thinner neck profile, and an improved tremolo system. This model line has been continuously improved and remained in production until late 2016, receiving upgrades in 2000 when it was renamed as the American Series Stratocaster, and again in 2008 when the American Standard name was restored. In 2017, the American Standard Stratocaster was replaced by the American Professional Stratocaster, with narrow frets, a fatter deep C neck profile, and V-Mod pickups. Various other modern American-made Stratocasters have been produced, including the more affordable American Performer Stratocaster, successor to the Highway One and American Special Stratocasters, and the more expensive American Ultra Stratocaster, successor to the American Elite Stratocaster. Fender has also manufactured guitars in East Asia, notably Japan, and in Mexico, where the affordable Player series guitars are built. In 2021, Fender released the Player Plus series featuring noiseless pickups, locking tuners, and a 12 inch radius, to be available alongside the basic Player model.
The Price of History
The most expensive Stratocaster ever sold, and most expensive guitar ever sold at the time, was David Gilmour's Black Strat, selling for US$3.975 million in 2019 to guitar collector and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, who exhibited the guitar as part of The Jim Irsay Collection. Fender has produced various deluxe modern American Stratocasters with special features, including the Strat Plus, produced from 1987 to 1999, which was equipped with Lace Sensor pickups, a roller nut, locking tuners, a TBX tone control, and a Hipshot tremsetter. The Strat Plus Deluxe was introduced in 1989 with pickup and tremolo variations. The Strat Ultra was introduced in 1990, again with pickup variations, and also with an ebony fingerboard. The Fender Custom Shop produced an entry level, team built Stratocaster that was discontinued in 2008, known as the Custom Classic Strat, intended to be a combination of the best aspects of vintage and modern Strats. The guitar boasted 3 Modern Classic pickups along with a Custom Classic 2-point tremolo with pop-in tremolo bar. The C Shaped neck was maple with either maple or rosewood finger board and 22 jumbo frets. The colors available were three-color sunburst, daphne blue, black, bing cherry transparent, cobalt blue transparent, and honey blonde. Fender has released several models of Stratocaster in collaboration with famous guitarists, including Mary Kaye, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Dick Dale, David Gilmour, Rory Gallagher, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Johnson, Ritchie Blackmore, Dave Murray, Yngwie Malmsteen, Richie Sambora, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Edge, John Mayer, Mark Knopfler, Lincoln Brewster, H.E.R., Tom Morello, Buddy Guy, Jim Root, Tom DeLonge, Wayne Kramer, Steve Lacy, Albert Hammond Jr., and Cory Wong. The origins of the name Stratocaster are unclear, while it's generally agreed upon that it was named by Don Randall, sources diverge on whether he was inspired by the stratosphere or the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser. The Stratocaster is a patented design, and Stratocaster and Strat are Fender trademarks, so imitations by other manufacturers must be shaped slightly differently, and are sometimes called S-Type or ST-type guitars, while the term Superstrat typically refers to third-party Stratocaster look-alikes from the 1980s onwards with innovative features such as new types of bridges or pick-up configurations. Some of these features were subsequently also offered on Fender Stratocaster models or those made under the Fender owned brand, Squier, and the Superstrat term is sometimes also applied to these Fender and Squier models.