A Brief History Of The Fender Stratocaster

This brief history is meant only as a brief overview to the guitar's history, more in depth information can be found via the links at the bottom of the page.

Background

Over the last fifty odd years, one of the most enduring and easily recognizable instruments has been the Fender Stratocaster. With its sleek shape, wonderfully shaped head stock and range of color schemes, the guitar has become something more than the simple musical instrument it is, it's become iconic. The utilitarian appeal of the guitar has attracted an army of famous players and devotees, making it one of the great design classics of the 20th century. What's more, it's reputation and popularity does not diminish, and its legend continues to grow as the years roll on.

The Early Years

Following the success of his earlier electric guitar, the Telecaster, Leo Fender developed a guitar that was truly a break from the past. With its contoured lines, compact pick ups and three way switching, a new tremolo design and just a touch of streamlined modernistic flourish, the Fender Stratocaster was a real advance on what had come before.

The Strat went on sale in 1954, at a shade under $250 - by today's cost that's around the $1800 mark, a price tag that was at the time suited to the futuristic and innovative nature of the guitar. Whilst Fender had applied for patents on their design innovations, the guitar quickly became the model for an army of makers to clone and 'borrow' design touches on. Distinctively, the early models had the distinctive sun burst finish that has also gone on to be copied many times over.

Towards the end of the 50s a number of design and material changes were made to the guitar, giving the it a wider appeal. Artists like Buddy Holly, Dick Dale, The Shadows and many more quickly gave the guitar a star appeal and desirability that saw its popularity grow amongst guitar players.

The CBS Years

In 1965, the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company was taken over by the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) - a move which almost caused the death of the Stratocaster. The move to a different production culture led many in musicians to perceive a loss of quality in the distinctive sound of the guitar, brought on by the big corporation's cost cutting exercises.

This change in focus is what has made the earlier pre-CBS Stratocasters so popular and sort after by collectors, but it's fair to say, vintage guitars from the early post CBS era are fast growing in financial value today. There are plenty of unique nuances and features of Strats from the earlier CBS years that have made them desirable to collectors and continues to drive prices for guitars of the era up.

This is all the more surprising, considering that in the latter half of the 60s, a downturn in sales forced CBS to slash the price of the guitar and they apparently came close to taking it out of production. Fortunately, with a new generation of guitar legends such as Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton on hand to give the guitar a new and exciting persona, sales began to improve and the future of the Stratocaster was assured.

A number of design changes happened during the late 60s and 70s, with new colors, new finishes and new materials all adding to the catalogue of Strat styles. Further changes were made to the guitar's mechanics and other unique design and set up changes made sure the guitar evolved and kept up with the changes in both guitar technology and player requirements.

The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation Years

In 1985, the CBS Musical Instruments Division was bought from the parent corporation in an employee buy out. This new entity named itself the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Strat has continued to flourish since then - and not only under the Fender brand. In the early 80s, Fender introduced the Squier range of Stratocaster - a no thrills, stripped down version of the Fender Stratocaster. As a result, the budget model gave many new guitarists a chance to own a Stratocaster that previously would have been out of reach to many young and aspiring musicians.

The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation continues to modify, reinvent and reissue the Stratocaster to this day. With its custom shop turning brand new Stratocasters into limited edition 'Relics' alongside the range of other custom built machines - there's a healthy appetite for the guitar amongst guitarists and collectors alike. Alongside re-issued designs from the past, unique color schemes indicative of contemporary design and new models - vintage Strats remain a great investment for collectors and demanding musicians everywhere.