Fender Stratocaster

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Lore & Background

The Fender Stratocaster is one of the most iconic electric guitar models of all time, and along with the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, and Fender Telecaster, it is one of the most-often emulated electric guitar shapes. Many prominent rock musicians have been associated with the Stratocaster for use in studio recording and live performances, most notably Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Buddy Holly, George Harrison, Mark Knopfler, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, John Frusciante, Kevin Parker, Yngwie Malmsteen and Jeff Beck. The resurgence of the Fender Stratocaster is credited to the arrival of Jimi Hendrix in the late 1960s. His 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.

In Their Own Story

The Stratocaster was the first Fender guitar to feature three pickups and a spring tension vibrato system, as well as being the first Fender with a contoured body. The first model offered for sale was the 1954 Fender Stratocaster. The design featured 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. In 1956, Fender began using alder for sunburst and most custom-color Stratocaster bodies. In 1959, Fender introduced a thick Brazilian rosewood fretboard to the Stratocaster, now colloquially referred to as a 'slab-board'. This thicker board lasted until 1962, when the fretboard was made with a thinner 'veneer' of Brazilian Rosewood.

Reader's Guide

The archetypal Stratocaster is a solid-body electric guitar with a contoured asymmetric double-cutaway body with an extended upper horn; the body is usually made from alder or ash. The neck is usually made from maple and attached to the body with screws, and has a distinctive headstock with six tuning pegs mounted inline along a single side; the fingerboard may be maple or another wood, e.g., rosewood, and has at least twenty-one frets. The Stratocaster's body is front-routed for electronics, which are mounted in a plastic pickguard. Most Stratocasters have three single-coil pickups, a pickup selector switch, one volume control and two tone controls. Bridges generally come in two designs: the more common pivoting 'tremolo' bridges, and the less common 'hardtail' fixed bridge. The Stratocaster's scale length is 25.5 inches (648 mm).

Did You Know?

• The Stratocaster was designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares.
• The original release of the Stratocaster included a vibrato system, and Stratocasters without it ('hardtails') were added to the portfolio in March 1955.
• 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.
• Contrary to some claims, Fender production records show that no single year between 1954 and 1979 accounted for nearly a quarter of all Stratocasters manufactured during that period.
• Fender introduced a five-way pickup selector in 1977, making pickup combinations more stable.