The Fender Stratocaster: Invoking Inspiration

The way that it feels in your hands. The way it wails and screams for your fingers and for your affections. Its crisp tone and coarse pulse. These are the things we come to personally love about the Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar.

The truth behind the Fender Strat’s crazy popularity, however, is far more complicated than just how damn sharp these guitars feel when you play them. It’s because of it’s rich history and its legendary performance.

The History of Fender

Fullerton, California. Orange County, 1938. The Fender company originally started out as Fender’s Radio Service. Leonidas Fender, or Leo, an electronics technician, worked as a radio and home audio equipment repair man. He also fixed PA systems, amps, and other sound related devices in his community. On the side, he also sold records in his shop and began designing and building PA systems. He apparently appreciated building custom amplifiers, some after his own designs and others were modifications of existing models.

By 1942 Leo had partnered up with Clayton Orr Kauffman and together they created K&F Manufacturing Corp. to sell Leo’s instruments and amplifers. In 1945, production began and the Hawaiian Steel Lap Guitar came out with Fender’s patented pickup. These guitars were sold as sets with the amps, which was new to customers and became a popular practice for beginners.

Around 1946, Kauffman and Fender parted ways, however, because Fender had completely lost interest in repair whereas Kauffman preferred it. This is when Leo renamed the company to Fender Electric Instrument Company and branched out on his own.

By 1948 Fender had his first wave of amps built, called the Tweed amp. The tweed amp, which was named for the fabric used to cover the amp, was the beginning of a new era in rock and roll. They were ugly but they were the cutting edge tools for aspiring artists during the music boom.

When 1960 rolled around, Fender was using Tolex to cover the amps, except for the Champ which stayed in tweed for some years. Around this time, the speaker that Fender chose for his amps were Jensen, Oxford, Utah and CTS. Some of these major companies are still around today because of their quality and decent prices in manufacturing parts.

By 1963 the Fender amps were starting to look good. They were mainly black and silver with a decent control panel in the front of the amp. And by now, Leo had also simplified his design as well as the circuitry that went into his amps, making them more reliable. Less parts means less parts to break.

The wattage hadn’t changed much but the volume could be turned way up at this point. That’s right, Fender, himself, was responsible for Rock and Roll played loudly.

The other instrument that Leo Fender brought to the world is the Precision Bass, which as you know is the standard used in the industry. Rock, country, folk, funk, jazz and many alternative bands all use the Precision Bass. Noteably, Leo was also responsible for the Jazzmaster, Stratocaster, the lap steel and the Fender Rhodes Electric Piano.

Fender’s first real guitar, however, was the Telecaster which offered a single pickup. These are still used today because of their unique tone. You know the sound. It’s twangy and kind of crisp like a good scream.

What Makes The Strat Different

The Strat offers 3 single coil pickups which give a very clean and poppy sound versus a Les Paul which has a much smoother tone. Modern Strats offer a Humbucker pickup in place of one of the single coiled pickups to add another dimension to the sound, making the Fender unique. Slightly more expensive but impressive and non-traditional.

Another excellent feature of the Stratocaster is the “whammy bar” which is a spring loaded hinge on the bridge that allows the player to bend all the strings down. Other companies have similar effects, but this is where it started, and the Strat does it best, giving you that classic, wailing sound.

In conclusion, the Stratocaster is one of those guitars that makes you realize each model is made for something different. For a warm but solid sound, you use a Les Paul. But when you want to scream and wail, you use the Fender Stratocaster.

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