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An early advertisment for the Fender Stratocaster |
Add to the mix novel designs, close with perfect timing. T Leo was successful before the Strat, as the Telecaster is the older sibling. But whereas the Tele has never gone far beyond an extremely large and loyal niche audience, the Strat ruled the world. Why? Simply put, the Tele let the Strat be better.
Since Fender wasn't looking to pay the bills right away with his new baby, he was able to experiment with design elements without a stringent deadline. And once that moment of freedom had sunk in, he wound up creating a guitar that seems eternally modern and streamlined. There is just something timeless about a Strat. The end result was a guitar, the Stratocaster, that redefined music as we know it. Fender Stratocaster- is an icon of the musical instrument industry and Fender Stratocasters or "strats" are highly collectable. The Stratocaster was first introduced in spring 1954 and it's design is often copied. The pick guard followed the contours of the guitar creating a new look for Fender. The ash body design was based on the precision bass and features an asymmetrical double cut body which is contoured on the back. It featured the first combined bridge-vibrato unit providing the strat tremolo. There are 3 control knobs, Volume, Tone and Tone. There are three single coil pickups and the jack is recessed and angled into guitar top.
Black Fender Stratocaster Features -current
- Non-veneered American Strat alder body
- Maple, Modern “C” Shape, (Satin Polyurethane Finish) Neck
- Maple or Rosewood Fingerboard, 9.5 inches radius (241mm)
- 22 medium-jumbo frets
- 3 Hot Fender American Strat Single-Coil Pickups
- Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck Pickup) and Tone 2. New Delta Tone (“Delta Tone” system includes high output bridge pickup and special No-Load tone control for Middle and Bridge Pickups) controls
- 5-Position Blade Pickup Switching: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup, Position 3. Middle Pickup, Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup, Position 5. Neck Pickup switching: middle 5. blade 1. pickup, 2. 3. pickup position 4. neck and bridge>
- American 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with Stainless Steel Saddles bridge
- Fender/Schaller Deluxe Staggered Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines - Staggered machine heads for improved string angle over the nut
- Chrome Hardware
- 3-Ply Parchment Pickguard
- 25.5 inch (648 mm) Scale Length
- 1.6875 inches (43 mm) Width at Nut
- Unique features include “Parchment” Knobs and Pickup Covers, Original Headstock Shape, Original Body Shape with “Original Contour Body” Decal on Headstock, Rolled Fingerboard Edges, H/S/H Pickup Routing
- Standard Fender Stratocaster Hardshell Case included with this guitar
1954 Fender Stratocaster
I
n 1959 a rosewood fingerboard was added.
Fender was purchased by CBS in 1965 (pre-CBS strats are more desirable) and 1966 brought several changes including a larger headstock and a large "F" logo on the neck/body joining plate. In 1977 a 5 way selector was added to provide combinations of front and middle pickup and front and back pickup. Early finishes tended to be sunburst however the 70's tended towards natural finishes. Early 60's strats in Daphne Blue, Fiesta Red, Surf Green, Lake Placid blue and Burgundy Mist are unusual and desirable.
In 1985 CBS sold fender back to Fender employees. The stratocaster is still in production with over 1 million guitars produced since introduction and remains the mainstay of the Fender product line.
The first Strats shipped in 1954, a product purely for rebellious teens. While the guitar sold well at first, it didn't dominate the market until later. One of the first to put it to use was Dick Dale, who pioneered surf music on Strats in the early 60s. But it was a couple of unruly Brits with bad hair. Lennon and Harrison, otherwise known as John & George to make the guitar mainstream, and a budding pyromaniac named Hendrix to make it dominant. The 1955 Stratocaster The r design featured double cut design, contoured pick guard, recessed jack and great looks ! There were a few minor changes made in 55 from the first year 1954 model strat including headstock edges being less rounded and the tremolo cover were changed to oblong holes
The 1958 Fender Stratocaster demonstrated additional changes as this great guitar continued to evolve. 58 models featured a 3 color sunburst changing from the original 2-tone sunburst. The neck shape was also changed from the previous models to a thinner shape.
When you purchase you first American Strat
...Don't be suprised if it isn't set up to factory standards. It is natural for the guitar to alter slighty with changes in temperature and humidity. Fender American Stratocasters have numerous points of adjustment that will allow you to compensate for the changes in playing action that occur between final assembly at the Fender factory and you receiving the strat. Each American Strat comes with an owners manual giving details on adjustment, setup and maintenance, that will allow you to return the strat to it's optimum performance.Tone Controls Fender American Strat
The tone control allows you to modify the Strat's tonal qualities. With the tone conrol in the full clockwise position the strat produces a brighter tone. Rotaing the knob counter clockwise and the strat's tone will mellow as the high frequencies are gradually filtered off.The 1960 Fender Stratocaster Notice the change to the fingerboard with the move to Rosewood.
Tremolo - Fender American Strat
The American strat tremolo is a floating fulcrum style tremolo with 2 large pivot posts. the pivots are V grooved and are mated to the knife edge slots that are cut into the the bridge bass plate. The thicker bass plate and steel spring block coupled with the weight-balanced stainless steel bridge saddles help to deliver increased sustain and an extremely well balanced tonal response throughout the strat's frequency range. When storing your strat make sure you do not lose the spring when you remove the strat's tremolo arm, place a bit of tape over the receptacle hole.Truss Rod - Fender American Series
Each Fender strat is carefully adjusted at the Fender factory. the truss rod and string height are set for optimum action and playability with medium gauge strings. Under normal tension the strat neck should have a slight concave curvature, by creating a counteracting force the truss rod prevents the neck from bending excessively under the stress caused by the strings.Warranty - Fender American Series Strat
Fender musical instruments warranties the American Strat free from all defects in materials and workmanship for as the strat is owned by the original purchaser except for pickups switches and jack sockets.The 1966 Fender Statocaster
Fender Statocaster 1979
1983 Fender Stratocaster
