AKARSH SHEKHAR
What Makes the Fender Stratocaster so Magical ?
The Fender Stratocaster guitar has marked a milestone in music history and is one of the most popular and most imitated electric guitars in history . This is due to the many elements that its manufacturer initially incorporated into it and also to the acceptance it has had among the best guitarists in the world . The words to define it are excellence , evolution , innovation , tradition and versatility .
Origin of the Fender Stratocaster This was the first solid body electric guitar to hit the market in 1954 , thanks to the ingenuity of Leo Fender , B . Carson , G Fullerton , and F . Tavares . Its importance is such that it is the most imitated model of electric guitar in the world and has become a standard among solid body guitars .
The most iconic Fender Stratocaster guitars The four most iconic Stratocasters of all time are :
• Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster : It is one of the bestselling guitars in the series and also one of the most expensive in the world .
• Fender Stratocaster Eric Clapton : It is the second bestselling guitar among the Signature and the one used by this legendary guitarist .
• Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster : Fender created this model as a tribute to one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time .
• Fender Stratocaster David
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Gilmour : It ' s the company ' s most expensive guitar and it ' s the one played by the Pink Floyd guitarist personally .
Fender Stratocaster Features Being a standard among electric guitars , the Stratocaster has elements that have not changed over time :
Body shape The Strat shape was created as the Type Strat and remains so to this day . The characteristics of this body are :
• It has a double-cutaway or two " horns " where one is longer than the other .
• The bottom is completely straight , while the top has a slight inclination .
• The body measurements for a Stratocaster are 345.54mm at the widest , 446.25mm from the base to the top horn , 441.25mm at the base to the bottom horn , and 45mm thick . From the 22nd fret to the tip of the headstock it is 675.76mm , with 20mm thick at the 22nd fret and 15mm thick at the headstock .
These measurements are approximate for a Standard Stratocaster , but there may be minor variations depending on the specific model .
Body type Its body is not hollow and is made up of a single piece of solid wood . Although today it is possible to find Stratocaster guitars composed of a solid body with several layers of different woods .
Scale In general , the scale of a Fender Stratocaster guitar is 648mm from the neck nut to the bridge . It is one of the most accurate and versatile scales out there ( especially in the 22 fret range ). To get more accurate scales , you will probably need to upgrade to 24 fret scales .
Pickup configuration In terms of electronics , the first series of the Stratocaster featured an SSS microphone setup . Later , by the 1980s , this configuration changed to HSS . Recently , the company has used the HH configuration to compete with Gibson electric guitars and others like it .
Another aspect that was a part of first Strat was the passive system that later evolved . This change was achieved thanks to the incorporation of an active preamplifier powered by a 9V battery . Now you can find up to two 9V batteries .
Types of woods At first , the woods used for the American Standard Fender Stratocaster were maple for the body , mahogany for the neck , and rosewood for the fingerboard . Currently , the woods used for the body can be Ash , Maple , Mahogany , Alder , Agathis and Koa .
Colours Initially , the Strat had only two colours , but today they come in a wide variety of shades .