The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double-cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously manufactured the Stratocaster since 1954.

The guitar's distinctive body shape was revolutionary when introduced in the mid-1950s. The modular nature of the guitar, with its easily removable components, enabled players and luthiers to perform numerous modifications to their own guitars, changing out pickups or necks to fit the needs of the player. All of these design elements were popularized and later became industry standards due to the success of the Stratocaster.

Many prominent rock musicians have been associated with the Stratocaster for use in studio recording and live performances, most notably Rory Gallagher, Hank Marvin, Eric Clapton, Buddy Holly, David Gilmour, George Harrison, Mark Knopfler, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, John Frusciante, Kevin Parker, Yngwie Malmsteen and Jeff Beck.

The Fender Stratocaster is one of the most iconic electric guitar models of all time, and along with the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, and Fender Telecaster, it is one of the most-often emulated electric guitar shapes, It is a patented design, and "Stratocaster" and "Strat" are Fender trademarks. Therefore, imitations by other manufacturers must be shaped slightly differently, and are sometimes called S-Type or ST-type guitars, while the term "Superstrat" typically refers to third-party Stratocaster look-alikes from the 1980s onwards with innovative features such as new types of bridges or pick-up configurations. Some of these features were subsequently also offered on Fender Stratocaster models or those made under the Fender-owned brand, Squier, and the Superstrat term is sometimes also applied to these Fender and Squier models.

The origins of the name "Stratocaster" are unclear: while it's generally agreed upon that it was named by Don Randall or the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser.

Overall design

The archetypal Stratocaster is a solid-body electric guitar with a contoured asymmetric double-cutaway body with an extended upper horn; the body is usually made from alder or ash. Bridges generally come in two designs: the more common pivoting "tremolo" bridges, and the less common "hardtail" fixed bridge. Both types of bridge have six individually adjustable saddles whose height and intonation can be set independently. Early models of the Stratocaster came with a removable metal cover plate that fit over the bridge. The plate tended to get in the way of important playing techniques such as palm muting, so many players removed it. By the late 1970s, Fender stopped shipping guitars with the bridge cover plate, though some more modern reissue and custom shop models still have them. The innovative tremolo system is balanced by springs mounted in a rear cavity. The output jack is mounted in a recess in the front of the guitar body. Many different colors have been available. The Stratocaster's scale length is .

There have been some minor changes to the design over the years and models with features that differ from the archetypical design. However, the essential character of the design has remained constant 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 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

thumb|150px|alt= 1985 "Contemporary" Stratocaster, with locking tremolo system and humbucker pickups| 1985 [[Fender Contemporary Stratocaster Japan|"Contemporary" Stratocaster 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.

thumb|left|[[George Harrison 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

thumb|A black Fender Strat Plus from 1989 with Gold [[Lace Sensors 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

Original Stratocasters were manufactured with five vibrato springs (three in late 1953 prototypes) attached to a milled inertia block and anchored to the back of the body. The novel mechanism pivots on a fulcrum design with a six screw bridge plate, allowing the whole set-up to "float" while transferring the strings' energy directly into the body. Though advertised as "Tremolo" (a change in volume amplitude), vibrato is the correct term for pitch variation. In the floating position, players can move the bridge-mounted vibrato tremolo arm up or down to modulate the pitch of the notes being played. Hank Marvin, Jeff Beck and Ike Turner have used the Stratocaster's floating vibrato extensively in their playing.

As string gauges have changed, players have experimented with the number of springs (often four though Hendrix used five). As the average gauge has decreased over the years, modern Stratocasters are equipped with three springs as a stock option in order to counteract the reduced string tension. While the floating bridge has unique advantages for wavering pitch upwards (like Jeff Beck), the functionality of the "floating" has been widely accepted, yet disputed by some musicians. Leo Fender insisted it leave the factory floating (raised up in the back) while designer Freddie Tavares preferred it tightened flush for full bridge plate/body contact resonance. As the bridge floats, the instrument has a tendency to go out of tune during double-stop string bends. Many Stratocaster players opt to tighten the springs (or even increase the number of springs used) so that the bridge is firmly anchored against the guitar body: in this configuration, the vibrato arm can still be used to slacken the strings and therefore lower the pitch, but it cannot be used to raise the pitch (a configuration sometimes referred to as "dive-only").

Some players, such as Ronnie Wood, feel that the floating bridge has an excessive propensity to detune guitars. These guitarists inhibit the bridge's movement with a chunk of wood wedged between the bridge block and the inside cutout of the tremolo cavity, and by increasing the tension on the tremolo springs; these procedures lock the bridge in a fixed position. Some Stratocasters have a fixed bridge in place of the vibrato assembly; these are colloquially called "hard-tails". There is considerable debate about the effects on tone and sustain of the material used in the vibrato system's 'inertia bar' and many aftermarket versions are available.

Signature models

Fender has released several models of Stratocaster in collaboration with famous guitarists.

  • Ritchie Blackmore
  • Dave Murray
  • Yngwie Malmsteen
  • Richie Sambora
  • Bonnie Raitt
  • H.E.R.
  • Tom Morello
  • Buddy Guy
  • Jim Root
  • Tom DeLonge
  • Wayne Kramer
  • Steve Lacy
  • Albert Hammond Jr.
  • Cory Wong

Litigation

Fender secured a trademark on the shape of the headstock of the Stratocaster in 1991, but was denied a trademark on the body shape in a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision in 2009 that also included a similar denial for the Fender Precision Bass; a judge noted that the body shape "is so common that it is depicted as a generic electric guitar […] in the 1987 edition of Random House Dictionary of the English Language".

In 2025, Fender pursued legal action against a Chinese company, Yiwu Philharmonic Musical Instruments Co, that imported S-style bodies into Germany through the online platform AliExpress. As that party failed to appear in court, in December 2025 the Düsseldorf regional court (Landgericht Düsseldorf) rendered a default judgment acknowledging the body shape of the Stratocaster as a protected work of applied art. In deviation from previous legal understanding, the body shape would therefore be considered as more than functional, and be recognised as copyrighted in Germany and the European Union.

The court found the instruments in question to have been illegally copying the Stratocaster design, and prohibited the production and sale of such instruments in Germany and the EU. According to the judgement, infractions can lead to penalties of up to 250,000 Euros or prison terms.

In May 2026, it was reported that Fender had, via its legal counsel Bird & Bird, started sending cease and desist letters asking makers and sellers of S-type guitars in the European Union to stop and desist in their activities, with demands including the recall and deduction all remaining inventory. This sparked a backlash among the guitar community, with musician Tim Pierce describing it as "brand suicide".

See also

  • List of Stratocaster players
  • Superstrat

Notes

References

Sources

  • The most expensive guitar
  • FUZZFACED Fender Stratocaster