Strat

The Stratocaster is a model of electric guitar produced by the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company from the early 1950s until the present, and used by many leading guitarists and on many historic recordings.

The Stratocaster has been widely copied, such that "Stratocaster" or "Strat" can also denote a type of guitar, by various manufacturers, showing the same general features as the original. But properly, and to all legal intent, a Stratocaster is always a Fender; and the guitar's popularity shows no sign of decreasing.

The Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company (now known as Fender Musical Instruments Corporation), led by the late Leo Fender, developed the first commercial solid-body 'Spanish' (as opposed to 'Hawaiian,' or lap-steel) electric guitar in the Telecaster, a simple design whose earliest model was offered in 1950. Though the Telecaster and its variants were successful, many guitar players of the day insisted on using a Bigsby unit, a fairly primitive spring-loaded device with which players could bend notes up and down with their pick hand. Instead of adding a Bigsby, Fender decided to produce a new, more expensively-made line of guitar with his own design of vibrato unit. His decision was also influenced by guitarists Bill Carson and Rex Galleon, who requested a contoured body to temper the harsh edges of the slab-built Telecaster.

The name Stratocaster was intended to evoke images of newly emergent jet-aircraft technology (such as the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress), and reinforced Fender's modernistic design philosophy. In designing the Stratocaster's body, a significant area of the back of the guitar, and the area where the strumming arm rests, were beveled to accommodate the player's chest and arm. The upper bouts featured two cutaways, for easier access to the higher frets. The new “Custom Contour Body”, along with the “Synchronized Tremolo” bridge made the Stratocaster a revolutionary design. The guitar also featured more complex electronics than the Telecaster: a then unheard-of three single coil pickups, each with staggered magnetic poles; a three-way selector switch; one volume knob, and two tone controls. Patents were applied for, for all these new designs, and production line Stratocasters reached the market in early 1954 for $249.50. The basic production model had a nitrocellulose 2-tone “sunburst” finish, chrome hardware, and Bakelite plastic parts. Other manufacturers began ripping off the innovations immediately.

The bone-simple Telecaster also remained in production, and both the Stratocaster and the Telecaster continue to enjoy their own followings among guitarists.

In 1959-1965, the Stratocaster was refitted with a thick rosewood fretboard, as well as color choices other than sunburst. After 1965, one could be purchased with either a maple or a rosewood fretboard. Other, often subtle changes were made to the guitars, as though in the spirit of tinkering for which Leo Fender was famous.

The Stratocaster fell out of fashion in the mid-sixties, to the point where the Fender company (Leo Fender had sold it to CBS in 1963) reduced its price and considered removing it from their production line. However, soon after, Jimi Hendrix, started playing Stratocasters, with other famous players such as Ritchie Blackmore, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and David Gilmour following suit. Stratocaster sales soared and the Stratocaster has remained a mainstay guitar ever since.

Though Fender, the company, still manufactures some high-quality models in the United States, they now have extensive manufacturing facilities in Japan, Korea and Mexico, such that a new guitar with the name, "Fender Stratocaster," can be purchased for roughly the same dollar amount today as in 1954. Players disagree sharply about the foreign-built guitars, with some appreciating the value and others rueing the loss of quality.

Players first perceived a loss of quality in Fender guitars after the CBS takeover in the early 1960s. So-called "pre-CBS" Stratocasters are, accordingly, extremely sought-after and expensive. Many now reside in Japan, cached away as collectible pieces of Americana.