The Fender Stratocaster

The Fender Stratocaster has been the symbol of rock 'n roll ever since it was introduced in 1954. It, along with the Gibson Les Paul, are the most duplicated guitars on the market today. Not only is it a symbol powerful enough to be copied by several guitar manufacturers but its design has transcended from a musical instrument to be recognized as a classic industrial designs of all time, the guitar has such a magnificent design that it has exhibited at major museums all over the world. When it was first released it was only offered in a two tone sunburst, but in 1960 it started to be offered in a mass of different colors. Originally, the neck of the fret board of the guitar was a single slab of rosewood, but in 1695 when Fender was bought out by CBS they changed the way the fretboard was assembled to the neck by making it rounded. They rounded the neck they would use less money in making the fret board. Some famous guitar players that have used the Stratocaster as their main guitar are: David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, and most notably Jimi Hendrix. Over the years there have been various model variations to the Stratocaster. Most notably is the Fender VG Stratocaster which is able to make itself sound like five different guitars plus this guitar is able to make itself sound like it is in different tunings with a turn of a knob. This is the future of guitars, guitars that can do anything with the turn of a knob or a flip of a switch.