Astonishing Fender Stratocaster facts you didn't know

1. Fender scoops on the Strat, including pickup and bridge configurations

. In addition to these design improvements, the new model had several new features that its predecessor, Telecaster, lacked. The Stratocaster came with three pickups (the Telecaster had two) and featured a bridge with a pitch change, a vibrato bar to bend strings, a key point in one of the first printed advertisements.

 2. When CBS bought Fender, the Strat changed, and not for the better, in the eyes of certain collectors.

 The sale of Fender to CBS in 1965 was followed by alterations in the guards of picking, contouring and finishing of the instruments, presumably to facilitate mass production. (There was also a redesign of the pegbox, which became larger to fit a larger Fender decal.) As a result, Strats before 1965 are generally more respected (and with higher prices) by collectors and enthusiasts than by fabricated ones. . during the CBS era, which lasted until 1985.

 3. Jimi Hendrix eclipsed everyone at the International Monterey Pop Music Festival of 1967 when his "Strat" set fire. 

 The Jimi Hendrix Experience was a relatively unknown act in the United States in mid-1967. But the band's profile was elevated after their performance on June 18, 1967, as part of the Monterey Pop Festival in California, full of stars. Towards the end of the group set, Hendrix threw light fluid into his Strat, lit a match and dropped it on the guitar, which he then hit on stage. Almost 45 years later, Jimi Hendrix's record company manager revealed that Hendrix had traded his Strat for a cheaper guitar, turning it on and uploading it to auction. Hendrix's intact Strat was sold at auction for £ 237,000. Fender's Hard Times From 1983 to 1985, Fender had to reduce the production costs of their guitars. They succeeded by removing a tone knob from the standard Stratocaster distribution and replacing it with a jack input. It worked and the mudguard still exists.

 4.Useless parts

 The first Strats had a chrome cover over the tremolo unit, similar to an ashtray Telecaster cover. The only purpose I can see for this is that it would prevent players from scratching their hands on string saddles. Unlike the Telecaster cover, which was intended to increase the magnetic field of the pickup, the Strat tremolo cover did not pass through any pickup and, therefore, could not increase its magnetic field.

 5. Influences of the country

 The Fender Stratocaster was originally made for country music. His unique coil pickups provided a "twangy" sound that was softer than a Telecaster, but not as fat and dark as a humbucker. In addition, Bill Carson, a well-known country guitarist, was crucial in the design of the Stratocaster. (The image on the right is Bill Carson's Stratocaster)

 6. The Stratocaster used by Eric Clapton to record "Layla" was a second-hand purchase.

 Eric Clapton found the Stratocaster finished in sunburst nicknamed "Brownie" in a London store in May 1967. Three years later, Clapton used this 1956 instrument to record the classic "Layla". The guitar is shown on the back cover of the song's album, Layla and other love songs of Derek and the Dominos. 

 

7. Fender Stratocaster was included in the theme of "American Icons" in May 2003 by Rolling Stone.

 The Strat, wrote senior editor David Fricke, is the "ultimate guitar" of rock 'n' roll ... a definitive package of sex and futurism in music itself. "Jeff Beck, Joe Perry of Aerosmith and Robbie Robertson of The Band were all praised by instrument.

 

 8. The small springs for stabilizing the tremolo

With many Strats you can find a small spring in the socket for the tremolo lever. The so-called tremolo springs are placed in the socket in front of the lever and serve to stabilize the tremolo arm. This is why the socket for new guitars is also sealed with a round sticker. Many guitarists overlook this small but useful accessory.