"Stratocaster": what is it, description, photo, reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

"Stratocaster" - what is it? This question is usually asked by every person who is passionate about any musical direction in which the role of the solo instrument is given to the electric guitar. It is she who is produced by the well-known company "Fender" under this brand. Fans of these instruments can be found among musicians playing in a wide variety of musical genres.

Anniversary of the instrument

In 2004, America held a grand celebration of the anniversary of the creation of the Fender Stratocaster guitar. As part of this event, a grandiose concert was held, the video of which was later released on DVD under the name Start 50. Among the participants of the event were such famous musicians as Mark Knopfler, Gary Moore, Brian May.

Singers Paul Rodgers and Amy Winehouse also performed on the same stage. It's one more timeconfirms the fact that love and respect for the Stratocaster is fed not only by guitarists, but also by other musicians who are fans of its sound.

Creator

What is a "stratocaster"? First of all, it is worth saying that this word is the name of only one of several popular guitar models designed and manufactured by Fender.

This company was founded in the early forties. It was originally led by Leo Fender. The inventor of musical instruments was born in 1909 to a family that owned extensive orange tree plantations in the southern states. In the late twenties, Fender graduated from college with a degree in accounting. A young man from childhood was passionately interested in radio engineering, although he never received professional education in this area. While still in college, he opened his own radio repair shop.

Technology production

Soon, the future guitar inventor Fender Stratocaster began to manufacture radios himself, and then amplifiers. Musicians from the leading jazz bands of the time ordered concert equipment from him.

First guitars

During the Second World War, in connection with the development of various areas of jazz and dance music, Hawaiian and lap steel guitars (which are played by holding them on the knees with the strings up) became very popular. It was the last of these varieties that Leo Fender decided to improve in 1944. Shortly before starting work on a musical instrument, hemet Doc Kaufmann.

Experienced Specialist

This inventor and musical instrument maker has been in the industry for years. His first creation was a device for creating a vibrato effect. This design included a metal arm that, when moved, loosened the tension on the guitar strings. Kaufmann developed such a system for the world-famous Rickenbacker company. The guitars of this brand were very popular and were used by many musicians, including the Beatles from Liverpool.

During his life, this specialist managed to work in such well-known companies as Rickenbacker, Fender, Gibson and some others.

In 1944, Fender teamed up with him to create a new model electric guitar. It was not yet a Fender Stratocaster guitar, but it already had some of the features that would later become the trademarks of the famous model. For example, this guitar was equipped with a so-called "machine", that is, a mechanical device for obtaining the vibrato effect.

Telecaster

In the early fifties, big jazz bands began to go out of fashion. They were replaced by chamber ensembles that performed cheerful dance music (country, western, boogie-woogie). In addition, many stars could not afford to invite wind orchestras for recording and concert performances. Therefore, the electric guitars that had appeared by that time aroused great interest among pop musicians. Such toolsquite inexpensive, and besides, thanks to the loud sound, they can replace an entire spiritual section.

Then the firms that specialized in the production of guitars produced mainly semi-acoustic models. Among them, the so-called archtops stood out, that is, guitars with a special arched shape of the body, which makes it easy to play high notes. But due to flaws in the design, such models, when performing in large concert halls, produced a "sound feedback effect". Therefore, they could not be used for large events.

Fender, through his design instinct, realized that guitar bodies should not be made hollow, but solid (from a single piece of wood). This avoids the unwanted "feedback" effect. In addition, the production of such tools is much cheaper.

First legendary model

In 1950, Fender produced the first examples of a new model of guitar designed for pop music. She was named "Esquire", but was later renamed "Broadcaster". But this name did not take root either, because it did not meet the requirements of the time. Then began the time of rapid development of technology. Therefore, the new name of the guitar, of course, should have reflected this feature of the era.

And such a name was found. The guitar became known as the Telecaster. This model was equipped with one, and in some variations - two pickups. It is still in production today and is one of the most popular guitars in the world. But with similaritiesNames The Stratocaster is not a direct descendant of the Telecaster, though.

History of Creation

What is a Stratocaster? This is a fundamentally new model of electric guitar, which Fender released four years after the Telecaster. The head of the company decided not to improve the previous model, but to create a new one. This guitar is equipped with three single pickups. Her body is one piece and has two "arches" at the top.

This design solution makes it even easier to play at the top of the neck, where the notes of the high range are. The guitars are also equipped with a "machine" - a device for creating a vibrating sound. Moreover, the lever of this device has become not flat, as in older models of guitars, such as Rickenbacker instruments, but rounded.

Other Features

The neck of the instrument is attached to the body with metal bolts. Their hats are usually hidden under a rectangular plate with the Fender logo. In samples from the fifties and sixties, this metal plate sometimes showed the date of manufacture of the instrument.

This type of fastening the neck to the body of the guitar is not the only one that exists. There are about a dozen of its analogues. For example, acoustic guitars often use a different connection. In it, the neck is attached to the instrument using a mechanism that can adjust its height, which meansand guitar tuning. There are also models of guitars in which the two mentioned parts are interconnected by wooden bushings that are inside the guitar and are not visible from the outside.

So, what is a Stratocaster? This is a guitar whose design incorporates a number of features that are pioneers in musical instrument making.

Baked body

First of all, it should be mentioned that the shape of this Fender Stratocaster electric guitar is specially designed for playing comfort. The back of the case and its sides are embossed. This allows the performer to press the guitar more tightly to his body while playing, as well as to choose the most comfortable position of the left and right hands. The design of the guitar resembles the device of orthopedic shoes. The tool was created taking into account the anatomical features of a person. The neck of a Fender Stratocaster is usually made from a single piece of maple with ebony inlays.

It is convenient for providing comfort when performing pieces at a fast pace. The frets are mounted on the neck of the Stratocaster using a hydraulic press.

Design

Leo Fender for the development of "Stratocaster" (see photo of the guitar in the article) attracted two reputable specialists - Bill Carson and Freddie Travers. They were both virtuoso guitarists known for their performances with the stars of the first magnitude.

Carson advised Leo Fender to equip his new instrument with five pickups. ATAs a result, the inventors settled on the number of three pieces. Pickups can be turned on alternately, in different combinations. This allows you to get different shades of sound. The first models used two rotary knobs to switch combinations.

Later, a knife switch was used, the handle of which can be in five different positions, providing the same number of options for combining sensors. Now it’s clear what it is - a Stratocaster. This is the world's first guitar model equipped with three pickups.

Vibrato

As for the mechanism by which this effect is achieved, it was not without innovation here. The Stratocaster began to use a spring system that allows you to adjust the tuning of each string. Therefore, if the guitar was out of tune due to the use of the vibrato lever, it could be easily adjusted. This type of tailpiece in use today allows this.

Strings on the Stratocaster can be put on almost any caliber. Their choice depends on what coloring of the sound the musician wants to achieve. Of the variety of brands stands out Fender Bullet. These strings are designed specifically for Fender guitars (a special shape of the tip of the strings that matches the structure of the tailpiece).

Space guitar

The fifties, as you know, became the beginning of the space age in the development of human civilization. It was at that time that the first artificial Earth satellite was launched. From now onthe "space race" began - a competition in this area between the two superpowers - the USSR and the USA. The topic of outer space exploration became one of the main topics in radio news and then TV shows.

Therefore, Leo Fender chose the word "Stratocaster" as the name of the new guitar. Its first root is present in the term "stratosphere", from where, most likely, it was borrowed.

Indeed, the Stratocaster electric guitar is reminiscent of spaceships and racing cars, the high-speed inventions of the twentieth century, with its "streamlined" outline. It is safe to say that the name of the guitar justified itself. This instrument contributed to the rapid development of pop music. It is no coincidence that in 2009 Leo Fender's contribution to the development of rock was recognized at the Grammy Awards.