More than any other electric guitar, the Fender Strat is all guitars to all people. What more do we need to say about the versatility of an instrument that was adopted by the guitar players with both Lawrence Welk and Pink Floyd? The Fender Standard Stratocaster is where the tradition began and still carries on today. Featuring a fast-action maple neck, comfort-contoured body, three single-coil pickups and standard synchronized tremolo, the Fender Stratocaster has triumphed as both a working musician's tool and as an international cultural icon.
Fender Standard Stratocaster at a Glance:
The beauty of this guitar lies in its attention to the details. It incorporates several player-centric refinements into the timeless design of the Strat like hand-rolled fingerboard edges, three staggered single-coil pickups, five-way switching and a two-point synchronized tremolo along with a very wallet-friendly price tag.
A Timeless Classic at an Affordable Price
Though the original Stratocaster was first introduced more than 50 years ago, it's unquestionably more popular now than ever! It's also available today in more configurations than Leo Fender ever dreamed of when he first designed it. The Standard Stratocaster combines the guitar's sleek, elegant lines with the perfect blend of old and new features. You start with the classic custom contoured alder body in a black polyurethane finish, then add a three-ply white pickguard, knobs and pickup covers. The two-point synchronized tremolo is the very latest design, so you can bend notes or full chords up or down and still stay in tune. The three single coil pickups deliver all the "spank" and "sparkle" you'd expect from a Strat. Best of all, you get all of the ageless vibe without a hefty price tag attached!
The Trademark Strat Sound
The original Strat had three single coil pickups, so it was able to produce sounds that no other guitar could deliver, particularly once players discovered they could lodge the three-position blade switch in those "in-between" positions to access neck / middle and bridge / middle pickup combinations. These were often erroneously referred to as the "out-of-phase" settings. The Fender Standard Stratocaster comes with three sweet-sounding single coil pickups but with a five-position blade switch, making it a snap to access those glossy Strat sounds with a simple flick of the finger.
Fast Playing Modern "C" Shape Maple Neck
Leo Fender wasn't afraid to "think outside the box" when it came to guitar designs. In the 1950s and well into the 1970s, the blond natural maple neck became almost synonymous with Fender guitars. The Standard Stratocaster keeps the trademark maple neck and adds a rosewood fingerboard, a comfortable modern "C" shape, and a 9.5-inch radius. The rosewood adds a very slight mellowness to the tone of the neck, whereas the maple fingerboard is sightly brighter. In keeping with contemporary player preferences, the back of this fast playing neck is finished with a smooth satin polyurethane.
Fender Standard Stratocaster Unique Features:
Fender Standard Stratocaster Features:
Fender Guitars
You could easily make the case that Fender electric guitars were responsible - at least in great part - for the birth of modern rock 'n' roll. Originally designed to be easier to build, and thus more affordable, Leo Fender's masterpieces, which include classics like the Stratocaster (is there a more distinctive guitar shape in the world?), the Telecaster and the original Precision Bass, were at the core of a musical revolution that spawned everything from surf to country to punk!
In the 1960s, when Fender guitars first hit bandstands and stages all around the country, it was astonishing to see that trademark Fender maple neck and fingerboard. Though the company eventually offered rosewood fingerboards as standard or optional on its entire line of instruments, those first "blond" necks really shook things up. Others have picked up on the maple neck theme, but it's clearly yet another of Leo Fender's"firsts."