1954–1984 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 Stratocaster's sleek, contoured body shape (officially referred to by Fender as the "Original Contour Body") differed from the flat, squared edge design of the
Telecaster. The Stratocaster's double cutaways allowed players easier access to higher positions on the neck. 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, although custom color guitars were produced (An example is
Eldon Shamblin's gold Stratocaster, dated June 1954). In 1956, Fender began using
alder for sunburst and most custom-color Stratocaster bodies. Ash needed grain filler and sanding blocks for contour sanding, though it was still used on translucent blonde instruments. In 1957, the neck shape took a more "V-shaped" feel with deeper body carves on the guitar a noted feature. 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. 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 shows a change in design from the 1950s models including Clay Dot inlays, a 3 tone sunburst finish on an Alder body and Kluson tuners. To summarize, the specific features in the evolution of the Fender Stratocaster between 1954 and 1979 included: ;Neck/fretboard • 1954–1959, one piece maple necks (including fretboard); • 1959–1962, thick Brazilian rosewood (
Dalbergia nigra) fretboard known as a "slab-board"; • 1962–1966, thin Brazilian rosewood fretboard known as a "veneer-board"; • 1966–1969, Indian rosewood or optional separate laminated "maple cap" fretboards; ;Pickup selector • 1954–1977, three way pickup selector switch; • 1977–present, five way pickup selector switch. ;Tuners • 1954–1967, Kluson tuners; • 1967–1982, Fender "F" Tuners ;Back plate • 1954–1971, 4 bolt back plate at neck joint; • 1971–1981, 3 bolt back plate with MicroTilt neck tilt or angle adjuster and "Bullet" truss rod nut; ;Logo and headstock • 1954–1964, Spaghetti logo on the headstock; • 1964–1967, gold "transition" logo on the headstock with small writing of the word "Stratocaster"; • 1965–1981, headstock enlarged on the right hand side, now matching the
Jazzmaster and
Jaguar • 1968–1982, black CBS logo with larger printed "STRATOCASTER" on the headstock; Leo Fender made very few alterations to the basic design of the Fender Stratocaster (and the Telecaster for that matter) up until 1965 when the company was sold to CBS Instruments. As such, 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. 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 (and with its magnets having opposite polarity, 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" 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,
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—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; the second tone control affects the middle and bridge pickups; on some Artist Series models (e.g.
Buddy Guy signature guitar), the first tone control is a presence circuit that cuts or boosts treble and bass frequencies, affecting all the pickups; the second tone control is an active midrange booster that boosts the midrange frequencies up to 25 dB (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. The double unison guitar solo on "
Nowhere Man", was played by Harrison and Lennon 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. After the introduction of the
Fender Stratocaster Ultra series in 1989, ebony was officially selected as a fretboard material on some models (although several
Elite Series Stratocasters manufactured in 1983/84 such as the
Gold and
Walnut were available with a stained ebony fretboard).
1985–present with original (pre-CBS) headstock shape, locking tremolo and humbuckers During the CBS era, particularly the 1970s, the perceived quality of Fender instruments fell. 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 (1982–1984) 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. and
Eric Clapton performing in 1987. Harrison is playing a Stratocaster, and Clapton is well known for his use of the guitar model In 1985, Fender's US production of the Vintage reissues resumed into a new factory at Corona, California, located about away from Fullerton. 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. This was 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. The model line received 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. As of 2019, these include 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 (successor to Standard) series guitars are built. In 2021, Fender released the Player Plus series featuring noiseless pickups, locking tuners, and a 12" radius, to be available alongside the basic Player model. 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 Strat Plus Series s and a rosewood fingerboard Fender has produced various 'deluxe' modern American Stratocasters with special features. The Strat Plus was produced from 1987 to 1999 and 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.
Fender Custom Classic Series The Fender Custom Shop produced an entry level, team built Stratocaster that was discontinued in 2008. The Custom Classic Strat was 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. ==Vibrato system==