Explore the beauty and versatility of Leo Fender's masterpiece electric guitar, the Stratocaster, with this 148-page guide, lavishly illustrated with reference-grade photography of milestone vintage instruments and star guitars, including Gary Moore's famous '61 Fiesta Red Strat. This very special volume also contains features on: prototypes and rarities, pickups and hardware, player interviews and much more.
Welcome to FENDER STRATOCASTER HANDBOOK
Fender: Stratocaster Handbook
HISTORY
FENDER the early years • In post-war California, a modest start-up electronics business began cranking out lap-steels and amplifiers for the US music market. Its boss, Leo Fender, may not have been a musician, but he certainly listened to them. His engineer’s vision, combined with a team of smart people, a tireless work ethic and a forward-thinking view of the market all combined to create a prototype for a solid-body guitar that would change the sound and direction of popular music…
ELECTRIC INNOVATOR • Leo Fender’s company started almost 70 years ago making steel guitars and modest amps: within three years, he had a guitar prototype that would change everything…
ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES • We put a pristine original 1954 Stratocaster under the microscope to uncover the intriguing spec details that set the earliest Strats apart from their latter-day descendants…
ULTIMATE STRATS • The Strat is the most famous electric of all time – the original guitar for all seasons. But which version represents the pinnacle of its evolution? We take a deep dive into Leo’s masterpiece, in the company of experts, to try to find an answer…
TEN GREAT STRAT TONES
ICONIC STRATS
CREST OF A WAVE • Few guitars are truly unique, as Rory Gallagher’s ’61 Strat is, bought during his time with a showband in his native Ireland. Pairing the Strat with a Top Boost Vox AC30, Rory went on to cement a reputation as one of the most intense, visceral guitar players in blues-rock history
THE BLACK STRAT • In anticipation of the release of Pink Floyd’s 2014 album, ‘The Endless River’, Guitarist was taken on a tour of David Gilmour’s gear – including the Black Strat that became his most iconic instrument. In this feature, originally published before Gilmour sold the guitar at auction for a record sum in 2019, we explore its storied life and many mods
CLAPTON’S ‘BLACKIE’ STRATOCASTER • Back in 2006, the Fender Custom Shop recreated Eric Clapton’s most famous guitar with painstaking accuracy for a limited run. Here’s the story of the original instrument, and how Fender went about recreating it…
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN’S ‘LENNY’ • This CBS-era Stratocaster was a favourite squeeze of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and he used it for his most evocative performances and the recordings of two of his most memorable tunes
THE HITMAKER • With an estimated $2 billion-worth of music having featured his golden-era 1960 Stratocaster, Chic legend Nile Rodgers is the King Midas of pop. Guitarist caught up with him around the time of Daft Punk’s mega-hit ‘Get Lucky’, featuring Rodgers’ funky guitar lines, to ask him about his signature Fender
BRIDGING THE GAP • Tone Doctor Simon Law – luthier, guitar repairer and vintage valve amp specialist – takes a stock Mexican-made Fender Jimi Hendrix Strat and pimps its bridge and pickups to demonstrate how you can tweak an off‑the‑peg guitar to better prepare it for life on the road
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70TH ANNIVERSARY
THE STRAT AT SEVENTY • As Leo Fender’s greatest creation celebrates entering its eighth decade, we gather a remarkable group of artists and experts to assess its 70-year impact on the landscape of guitar music – kicking off with shadows pioneer Hank Marvin. We also ask Fender’s Master Builders what...