The Stratocaster's radically sleek, contoured body shape (officially referred to by Fender as the "Comfort Contour Body") was a marked difference to the flat, slab-like design of the Telecaster. The body features a unique curve on the upper back and a gradual curve at the front bottom, where the player's right arm rests. The one-piece maple neck's uniquely-shaped wide "dogleg"-style headstock again contrasted to the very narrow Fender Telecaster's headstock shape. The strings are anchored on a through-body pivot bridge attached with springs to a 'claw' in the bridge cavity on the back of the guitar. Original Stratocasters were shipped with five springs anchoring the bridge flat against the body. Players were able to remove the backplate covering the bridge, remove two of the springs and tighten the claw screws to allow the bridge to 'float,' with the pull of the strings in one direction countering the pull of the springs in the opposite direction. Once in the floating position, players can move the tremolo arm mounted on the bridge up or down to increase or decrease the pitch of the notes being played. Many players such as Eric Clapton, who dislike the tuning instability of floating bridge Stratocasters, usually block the tremolo bridge by inserting a small wedge of wood in the front of the inertia block (the gap nearest the neck) and placing excessive spring tension on it to pull the fulcrum tight against this block.
The Stratocaster features three single coil pickups, with the output originally selected by a 3-way switch. Guitarists soon discovered that by jamming the switch in between the 1st and 2nd position, both the bridge and middle pickups could be selected, and similarly, the middle and neck pickups could be selected between the 2nd and 3rd position. This trick became widespread and Fender responded with the 5-way pickup selector (a standard feature since 1977) which allowed these tonal combinations and provided better switching stability; the "quacky" tone of the middle and bridge pickups, popularized by players such as David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Robert Cray, can be obtained by using the pickup selector into positions 2 and 4). The neck and middle pickups are each wired to a tone adjustment knob, while the bridge pickup, which is slanted towards the high strings for a more trebly sound, has no tone control. On many modern Stratocasters, the first tone affects the neck pickup; the second tone affects the middle and bridge pickups; on some Artist Series models (Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy signature guitars), the first tone is a presence circuit which cuts (or boosts) treble and bass frequencies, affecting all the pickups; the second tone is an active midrange booster which boosts the midrange frequencies up to 25dB (or 12dB), giving a richer, fatter sound, almost identical to that of a full-sized humbucking pickup. The Elite Stratocaster of 1983 had similar features, except for the addition of three push-push buttons for pickup selection and a side-mounted jack socket. All three pickups' volume level is controlled by a single volume knob. The placement of the knobs allowed for relatively easy manipulation of the sound with the right hand while playing.
The Stratocaster is noted for its bright, clean and 'twangy' sounds. The neck pickup has a mellower, fuller and louder sound compared to the brighter and sharper tone of the bridge pickup. The middle pickup provides a sound somewhere between the two. Typically, the neck pickup is used for rhythm playing, while the bridge pickup is used for lead work.
Buddy Holly was one of the pioneers of the Stratocaster and used the instrument on virtually all of his songs with The Crickets. During the recording of Peggy Sue, rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan was not needed for the song, and instead stood next to Holly, and flipped the selector switch of Holly's guitar from the neck pickup to the bridge pickup for the guitar solo.
From 1959 to 1967, the Stratocaster was refitted with a rosewood fretboard, as well as color choices other than sunburst, including a variety of colorful car-like paint jobs that appealed to the nascent surfer and hot-rod culture, pioneered by such bands as the Surfaris, the Ventures and the Beach Boys. Dick Dale is 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 of the Shadows, a band which originally backed Cliff Richard and then produced instrumentals of its own. So distinctive was the Hank Marvin sound that many musicians - including the Beatles - initially deliberately avoided the Stratocaster and chose other marques. However, in 1965, George Harrison and John Lennon of the Beatles both acquired Stratocasters and used them for the Rubber Soul recording sessions.
The one-piece maple neck was discontinued in 1959 and the following year the pickguard design changed to a 3-ply (4-ply on some colors) "multi-layer" with 11 screw holes. However, a maple neck with a separate glued-on laminated maple fretboard was offered as an option in 1967 (known as a "maple cap" neck). The rosewood fretboard over maple neck remains the other neck option. In 1969, after a 10-year absence, the one-piece maple neck was again made available as an option. The primary reason for the switch to rosewood was to meet increased demand, as one piece maple necks required more work to manufacture and more work to finish. Since the introduction of the Fender Stratocaster Ultra series in 1989, ebony was 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). In 1965 the Stratocaster was given a broader headstock with altered decals to match the size of the Jazzmaster and Jaguar.
The Stratocaster features three single coil pickups, with the output originally selected by a 3-way switch. Guitarists soon discovered that by jamming the switch in between the 1st and 2nd position, both the bridge and middle pickups could be selected, and similarly, the middle and neck pickups could be selected between the 2nd and 3rd position. This trick became widespread and Fender responded with the 5-way pickup selector (a standard feature since 1977) which allowed these tonal combinations and provided better switching stability; the "quacky" tone of the middle and bridge pickups, popularized by players such as David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Robert Cray, can be obtained by using the pickup selector into positions 2 and 4). The neck and middle pickups are each wired to a tone adjustment knob, while the bridge pickup, which is slanted towards the high strings for a more trebly sound, has no tone control. On many modern Stratocasters, the first tone affects the neck pickup; the second tone affects the middle and bridge pickups; on some Artist Series models (Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy signature guitars), the first tone is a presence circuit which cuts (or boosts) treble and bass frequencies, affecting all the pickups; the second tone is an active midrange booster which boosts the midrange frequencies up to 25dB (or 12dB), giving a richer, fatter sound, almost identical to that of a full-sized humbucking pickup. The Elite Stratocaster of 1983 had similar features, except for the addition of three push-push buttons for pickup selection and a side-mounted jack socket. All three pickups' volume level is controlled by a single volume knob. The placement of the knobs allowed for relatively easy manipulation of the sound with the right hand while playing.
The Stratocaster is noted for its bright, clean and 'twangy' sounds. The neck pickup has a mellower, fuller and louder sound compared to the brighter and sharper tone of the bridge pickup. The middle pickup provides a sound somewhere between the two. Typically, the neck pickup is used for rhythm playing, while the bridge pickup is used for lead work.
Buddy Holly was one of the pioneers of the Stratocaster and used the instrument on virtually all of his songs with The Crickets. During the recording of Peggy Sue, rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan was not needed for the song, and instead stood next to Holly, and flipped the selector switch of Holly's guitar from the neck pickup to the bridge pickup for the guitar solo.From 1959 to 1967, the Stratocaster was refitted with a rosewood fretboard, as well as color choices other than sunburst, including a variety of colorful car-like paint jobs that appealed to the nascent surfer and hot-rod culture, pioneered by such bands as the Surfaris, the Ventures and the Beach Boys. Dick Dale is 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 of the Shadows, a band which originally backed Cliff Richard and then produced instrumentals of its own. So distinctive was the Hank Marvin sound that many musicians - including the Beatles - initially deliberately avoided the Stratocaster and chose other marques. However, in 1965, George Harrison and John Lennon of the Beatles both acquired Stratocasters and used them for the Rubber Soul recording sessions.
The one-piece maple neck was discontinued in 1959 and the following year the pickguard design changed to a 3-ply (4-ply on some colors) "multi-layer" with 11 screw holes. However, a maple neck with a separate glued-on laminated maple fretboard was offered as an option in 1967 (known as a "maple cap" neck). The rosewood fretboard over maple neck remains the other neck option. In 1969, after a 10-year absence, the one-piece maple neck was again made available as an option. The primary reason for the switch to rosewood was to meet increased demand, as one piece maple necks required more work to manufacture and more work to finish. Since the introduction of the Fender Stratocaster Ultra series in 1989, ebony was 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). In 1965 the Stratocaster was given a broader headstock with altered decals to match the size of the Jazzmaster and Jaguar.
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