The Fender Stratocaster: A Short History, 4K

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I've wanted to remake my original "Big 5" Short History videos for some time. In addition to higher quality video and audio I now have the connections I need to include great playing clips of vintage guitars throughout it's history. For all these reasons, I tweaked the script, re-recorded and re-edited everything so you'd have the best possible Short History of the Stratocaster. I hope you enjoy it.
All the best,
Keith

[@JeffMcErlain]

Great video! Thanks for having me as always my friends!!!!

[@fivewattworld]

You’re always the life and soul of the party Jeff!

[@08Barclay]

I’m blown away by your tone and nuances Jeff. Always glad to hear you play.

[@JeffMcErlain]

@@08Barclaythank you very much!!

[@rumpelstilzchen2796]

“My Strat is another arm, it’s part of me. It doesn’t feel like a guitar at all. It’s an implement which is my voice. A Les Paul feels like a guitar and I play differently on that and I sound too much like someone else. With the Strat, instantly it becomes mine so that’s why I’ve welded myself to that. Or it’s welded itself to me, one or the other.” Jeff Beck

[@steven-jn3vu]

Yea but not you

[@nonemlinus]

Goals!

[@robnamowicz8073]

Thanks Keith. The world needs more humble geniuses like Leo Fender. My Stratocaster told me so. The message came through my Super Reverb.

[@ryangunwitch-black]

I love the Stratocaster SO MUCH. My first Strat changed my playing and my life. ❤

[@Peasmouldia]

As ever, utterly peerless piece of work from 5WW. Thanks and blessings KW.

[@ListenToPowerViolence]

Nothing feels more natural than playing a Strat. Best guitar ever by far.

[@I-Libertine]

except a Tele.

[@Tonetwisters]

Although I have a custom shop SG Standard 1964 reissue that is real hard to put down ...

[@chrisb8193]

Depends on what you’re doing tbh.

[@jordanpratt3821]

I've been waiting all day to get off of work and watch this.

[@stratjed]

Thank you for being a normal human being and working all day.

[@jordanpratt3821]

@@stratjed we're a dying breed.

[@ThatBaritoneGuitarGuy]

Using automotive paint was a genius move. Use what you have at hand. Even more importantly, the flashy colours made Fender iconic.

[@timothyanson1530]

For what it’s worth: There’s a Ginger Rogers movie called Tight Spot from 1954 or 1955 that has a scene or two that includes someone playing a Stratocaster. It’s the earliest film appearance of the Stratocaster that I know about.

[@Tonetwisters]

Now, THAT is cool!!

[@CalixtoElDiablo]

Excellent job on this, Keith. I absolutely love the “short history” series and this one is a gem. I had several “oh wow” moments during this one; especially around prices!

[@fixedgear37]

Yeah they were ridiculously expensive.

[@EmilioConesa]

I bought my friend’s 1964 Stratocaster in 1975 for $250. I was 17 years young. 50 years later it’s still my number one.

[@kevincothron5089]

Thanks for the short history Keith. I love them and always learn something new and interesting. I personally love Stratocasters.

[@honkytonkinson9787]

How is something designed in the early 50s still one of the coolest looking things ever!? That and the Les Paul!

[@48mastadon]

What really amazes me is how they got so much right in their designs.

[@amadigidigaula771]

Many many things designed in 1950’s America still look cool today - not just Stratocasters. There was a certain strong style back then which actually was coming thru already in the ,40’s. It flourished in the ‘50s and morphed into something else in the following decade. The Les Paul is of a much older aesthetic. Edwardian Gibsons basically have the same style. Cool as well but not the same at all, and nothing to do with 1950s

[@larrychung3190]

One of the great "Fender" innovations was the use of the center-hole-shafted Klusons which are some of the easiest tuning machines to restring, no accidental blood-letting, no sharp points or scrapes, easy winding and release, too. A small but important part of the Fender guitar story. (:

[@AtlanteanGuitarist]

You make the best in depth docs for guitars on KZbin, but it works because your such a great bloke

[@edwardyazinski3858]

110%

[@Peasmouldia]

Accept no substitute...KW is the real deal.

[@Frankie_Holt]

I’ve probably owned 25-30 Strats over the last 40 years , still have 3 including my first strat, A gift from my parents in 1986 that I judge all other Strats I play on

[@andyswift79]

My dad bought me my first Fender Strat, a 1996 Mex which is still my main. With all the new guitars I buy or build, nothing beats it. Maybe it’s just because it’s the one a learned how to play on and holds sentimental value.. or it’s just that good. Not sure, but I play my best on it.

[@chrishh03]

if you don't know the exact number of Strats you've owned, you're not a real Strat man....(iim kidding btw)

[@PeterMoore350]

@@chrishh03 ha. tbh i agree with ya. collectors ? buy and sell a lot so yeah. unless you're an idiot you know what guitars you've had. i've sold a few in the last 4 years due to health reasons. i want them back but don't have the $$$ right now which is fine coz i'm fighting cancer. Guitars can wait.

[@caiusmadison2996]

I've had around 14 but I've loved em all. Had vintage, customs, main line offers... I find the modern mainline is best. That's my opinion, but it's due to the guitar functioning best, amd not being a problem until perfect for a brief period of time, like vintage and classics behave. For me, it starts in 86', when the prototype American Standard was floating around.

[@caiusmadison2996]

​@@PeterMoore350best of luck and health to ya. Stratocasters are the main guitar of virtually everyone anyone wants to be, so it's an addiction that rewards the user. Rare, wouldn't ya say?

[@gregorysmith5375]

The one thing I love about Leo Fender was that he listened to players and build his guitars to satisfy the players.❤

[@calsurflance5598]

I feel very fortunate to have been friends with Dick Dale, and to have played his one and only 61 Strat. He also insisted I play his custom shop Strat ( The Beauty) He signed and played mine. I will never let that go. Rest easy Dick!🙏

[@handle433]

Wow, what was it like? I’ve watched many interviews with him talking about it and the 20 layers of paint😂😂❤

[@calsurflance5598]

@@handle433 He always said it was a prototype but it had a slab rosewood board and a 1961 serial number. ( somewhere at home I have it written down) it was a fat baseball bat like neck. No tone pots and just a volume pot with no knob. It had a 3 position switch, with a toggle that combined the neck pickup to whatever other pickup was selected. He didn’t even have a case for it. He carried it around in a gig bag. His custom shop Strat had a slab of mother of Pearl on the headstock with the Fender logo inlayed in jewelry quality gold wire. All hardware was gold plated and his name was inlaid in the fingerboard. He said it was too pretty and was afraid to play it for fear of tearing it up, but insisted I play it. Cheers!🎸

[@handle433]

@@calsurflance5598 wow no case for a gem like that! Maybe the neck was a prototype? ‘61 is usually a thinner profile, Leo could have designed that neck for him? Was it very heavy?

[@calsurflance5598]

@@handle433 It’s been almost 30 years, but I do remember it feeling slightly heavier than mine.

[@davidwilson2065]

I’ve been (not so) patiently waiting for this episode! Thanks for all you do!

[@mariodriessen9740]

Of my first 6 good quality guitars 5 of them were Stratocasters. Everything about that guitar is well thought through. Literally everything. Parker and other companies tried a similar approach, but although those were ergonomically brilliant, none of them ever had the appeal of the Stratocaster. I sold most of my strats because…., well, people change and so do I. I’m more of a Telecaster player these days. But I’ll never forget that one day, after I’ve read that book about the Stratocaster you showed. I could literally remember every little detail that was written and shown in that book. My love for the Stratocaster was at its peak after I bought another book and documentary called ‘Curves, Contours and Body Horns’, with lots of famous Stratocaster players talking about the Stratocaster… Those pictures were so beautiful! And it was nothing less than a dream to once play a real fifties Stratocaster. Anyway…., that day. That day I went to Denmark Street during a 4 day visit to London. It didn’t take long before I saw two fifties Stratocasters in the window of one of those shops. I can be one or two years off, but I think this was in 1991. Both guitars were very similar of course and both were all original, yet what I thought was a little weird was the fact that the 1957 Strat was £7,700.00 and the slightly younger 1958 Strat was £8,800.00 (that’s why I still remember). I didn’t really dare to do it, but I wanted to try and see if ‘they’ (actually, there was only one guy standing behind the counter and next to the shop window) were willing to let me play one. There was nobody else in the store. Not that I remember anyway. This guy was cool about it and he handed me the ’58. 😬😬😬 To me this was the highlight of the four day trip. The shop owner (frankly, I don’t think he was the owner. He looked too young, so I guess he just worked there) kept talking to me, but it didn’t come through. I was in awe, looking at the beautiful wear and tear of the front of the body and I was specifically interested in the dark spots on the fingerboard (well…, one piece maple of course). And then I just started playing it. I wasn’t plugged into an amp, so I have no idea what it sounded like, but even without an amp it sounded like the best thing ever to me. And when I looked at my girlfriend, hinting at her to make a picture of me playing this ‘58 Stratocaster (remember in these days digital photography was either non existent or it was still very new and bad, so we had an old fashioned camera). And it was only then that some of the words that this ‘shop assistant’ was trying to convey were slowly coming through. And I think he had my full attention when I heard something like “….bla bla and so I bla blabla when Ron Wood…” And I said:”… rrr… Ron Wood? Sorry, I didn’t hear you well enough…?” And then he told me that the guitar I was holding in my hand was a guitar they got out of Ron Wood’s collection. And he asked me to turn around the guitar, which oddly enough was something I hadn’t done yet. So I flipped the guitar around and what I saw on the back of the guitar was a huge round sticker that was almost as wide as the waist of the guitar itself and the first thing I noticed was the Rolling Stones logo (the tongue with the lips). The sticker itself had a number of colours, but the only colour I can clearly remember as it covered most of the background was a fairly dark shade of green AND it said something about the tour. Not much. Probably something like ‘The Rolling Stones Tour 1977’. I hate the fact that we didn’t take more pictures than the one my girlfriend took. Because 1977 is a bit of a guess, although I do think it was 1977. It was absolutely somewhere mid seventies. I just did some research and I read that Ron Wood joined the Stones a year earlier, so now I’m quite convinced that it was indeed 1977. Anyway, it was so cool! Another little detail about the big round sticker. It wasn’t printed on paper and it wasn’t glossy. But do you remember those stickers from the seventies that looked like it was made of a fabric like silk or something similar? It was like that. Of course years have gone by and since I spend a lot of time on KZbin anyway, I did try and see if I could find that guitar being used onstage. I didn’t necessarily pay a lot of attention to the sticker, because who knows when that was added? By the way, it was the only weird and easily noticeable thing on that guitar. I have seen a lot of footage of Ron Wood playing a late 50’s maple Stratocaster that looked a lot like the one I played (with a ‘tremolo’ by the way - Ron is known for his love for hardtail Strats, but this one had a normal ’tremolo). But every time I saw him playing a late fifties Stratocaster I could see a clear yellowish spot, the size of an Oreo, located near or on the armrest. And I can’t see that spot on the one picture I have of me and this guitar. It could have been hidden under my arm, but I honestly don’t remember that guitar having weird spots. Anyway, I realise that I probably bore the heck out of you all with this story. But hey, it was one of the highlights of that year for me. Back then, the fact that I could play a REAL old Stratocaster was already like a dream for me. The fact that this guitar used to belong to Ron Wood (and who knows who else played that guitar? I’ve heard Ron and Keith played each others guitars frequently), all of this makes it so much more special to me. Side note: in another store that day in Denmark street, on the right corner when you enter it, they had a Marshall full stack, with the logos of Motörhead painted on the cabinets. It (of course) used to be a part of Motörhead’s back line. It wasn’t expensive at all. Probably needed some work. I think that was enough excitement for a day. O no, not for me, I could’ve stayed there for a week without being bored. However, my girlfriend was way more interested in Christmas decorations and wandering through Harrods. Her eyes were burning. She didn’t seem happy. I’M TRULY SORRY FOR THE LONG STORY, KEITH! Love you as always. Thank you sooooo much! 🧡🧡🧡

[@davegallagher7428]

I must have purchased one of the few great 72 American Standard Strats , there isn’t much I wouldn’t give to get it back. Great video Keith!

[@Nightmerica]

I actually just got my first Strat at the ripe age of 47. I’ve always had Gibson/Epiphone styles, but a 75th anniversary with that silver metal flake finish showed up used at a local shop. I went to try out a D’Angelico semihollow, but I tried the Strat and it won me over.

[@8153max]

Great roundup history on the Fender Stratocaster… and how Fender squire played an important role as well ❤

[@davidcavazos2270]

Love my American Ultra strat. Who knew that design would be as fresh today as it was when it was first designed

[@kevinjohnbetts]

The Ultra Strats are really nice. The tortoiseshell scratchplate on a white finish looks a bit garish but I have a silvery one which came with the EMG DG20 set and will be fitted the next time I change the strings. It's one of the great things about Strats generally - Don''t like something? There are plenty of aftermarket parts you can swap in. As long as the wood is good you can make it your own. I think the Ultra will be my Strat with the least modifications.

[@amadigidigaula771]

Just wish they’d release the so called ‘higher’ spec in the basic colour schemes. Henry Ford had it right

[@Metalcop5150]

Lol, Mark Knopfler is playing a Schecter in that first pic. Love all these Short History videos!!

[@harrymusselwhite2535]

Maybe the best strat video out there. Well done, so articulate, and completely informative.

[@thatampguy]

I’m 15 min from the original factory. If you’re ever here, will give you a tour and show you the mural. Lots of amazing artifacts left in the town. All the hardware and upholstery stores Leo walked to grab parts for cabinets are still here in one form or another. Great video!

[@jamesgriffin7680]

Top notch! Thank you Keith.

[@titustorkelsonmusic]

Thank-you Keith for such a comprehensive history of the strat. So well done! Makes me love my strat all the more to know how it has developed over the years

[@tidepoolbay]

Keith, As always, you deliver the Goods! Nice Work! WooF!!🐶🐶

[@StarQueenEstrella]

6:09 this is perhaps one of the more obvious examples of Leo Fender not being a guitar player. The effect created by the arm is not tremolo, which is modulation of volume from loud to quiet, but rather the effect of vibrato.

[@ericwarrington6650]

Yeah bro 😊..great surprise this morning.. fantastic work as always

[@alexanderroy5713]

Facts

[@tylergorham7301]

Thank you for making this, Keith!

[@Johnny.D]

Thanks for another great fender video. I stopped in to Dr. Guitar in Watertown on Saturday past and while checking out their great selection of PRS SE guitars I test drove a Squier affinity strat fmt hss in Sierra burst. It was a struggle to not bring it home.!!!

[@WoodyBlueberry]

I'm completely sold on Fender stratocaster. I love everything about it ! I recently bought a road worn Mike McCready and I don't regret my purchase at all. I even wore it down a bit more to make it look even more relic.

[@cr8cat794]

I love the way Keith delivers these...not just a bunch of very interesting facts, but warmth and resonance, too. Thank you for doing them!

[@joshuapark1749]

The most iconic guitar shape and sound of all time!! 🎸

[@mattraino3274]

I appreciate the work that goes into a well studied presentation like this. Well done sir.

[@Selzor]

Thanks for putting this out here, this throws me back.

[@wesst.422]

The Fender Stratocaster: Definitive Remastered Enhanced Extended Edition DX 4K (Anniversary Director's Cut)

[@FigidiniHillStudios]

Another great documentary Kieth! I have been diving into the 80’s post CBS era Fender history myself while reshaping a Squier like a Performer. It was such a difficult time and the brand almost disappeared completely before being saved by the employees themselves.

[@caiusmadison2996]

I watched the video about reshaping the squier into a performer. Very good stuff, I love performer, but it's never been worth the price it's sitting at for what seems like forever. I just want the body like that, I want a proper Dog Leg headstock. Like all Fender have.

[@FigidiniHillStudios]

@@caiusmadison2996 Cheers and same here. It’s hard to justify spending so much on something so rare that I’ve never seen in the wild.

[@monovision566]

The Strat is so ubiquitous that when I began playing (mid-90s), my first two guitars were cheap Strat copies (Hondo and Mako) because that’s what I could afford. From there it was a 15-year journey of buying and trying EVERYTHING else only to realize at the end that I never could bond with the ergonomics of any other model no matter how much I paid or played. Sitting in a shop one day, I finally gave Strats another go. I bonded instantly with a Mexican Roadworn that made me realize the model simply had my heart.

[@benallmark9671]

Great work Keith. Thank you kindly.

[@bigsby6bender]

Your videos are amazing. I love the history, the music clips and the way you pay homage to those who created the guitars and amps we all love so much!

[@carsgunsandguitars]

Great job as always, Keith - thanks for doing what you do!

[@skylarcarlson7745]

My dad texted me a picture a few weeks ago, he said was holding the first made fender Stratocaster in a local brewery. I did not believe him at first but after a bit of research I did online, he was in fact holding the first strat, it was the prototype. Pretty wild. I want put together a replica of it.

[@aldovergara9035]

I love your videos, and this was one of your best, great work.

[@ibji]

I used to own a '73 strat and used to keep a pick in between the neck and the body. After it got stolen, and I bought another strat, I tried to put a pick back in there, and the guy at the store said, yeah, you can't do that anymore. I also remember that whenever I played Sweet Home Alabama, I said to myself, sounds just like the record, he must have used a strat. Then, years later I found out it was the same year that I had.

[@briangardner5905]

My first Stratocaster was a beautiful blue Squier with a dark neck (always my favorite), in the 80's. Years later driving by a garage sale, I was able to pick up a Yamaha Pacifica for just $25 and a friend played this guitar at an art show live performance, remarking that the guitar was really good. Being an acoustic singer songwriter, it was only this year that I purchased one of the $119 Stratocasters from Amazon, AFTER watching many, many reviews of it. Then the "Strat world" sent me a blessing. A bass player friend of mine, who owns five Strats gave me a pick guard from the Vintera series American Strats - all the pieces on the pick guard pick ups knobs, selector switch all of it and Fender locking tuners. This going to be added to the Stratocaster purchased for such a low price and the sunburst Strat is going to sound very good indeed, I think! WOW!!

[@nonemlinus]

Man, you make great videos! Covered what I (think I) know, plus the holes. . I started with acoustic classical in ‘89 when I was an undergrad. While I loved Classic Rock, Hendrix, and The Dead, I stuck with classical for a decade learning pieces painfully, slowly, by finding notes on the finger board note by note from sheet music. Meanwhile SRV, Grunge, The Red Hot Chilipeppers and many others kept my ears busy while I finished 14 years of school, a decade+ of work, and starting a family. . Last year, I finally cashed in a forgotten small 401k my wife found and kept track of over the years. I bought a G&L Asat classic blues boy with a P90 and a tiny tube amp, I was hooked. Over the year I bought 6 guitars and four tube amps. Three are strats or s-styles, including a PRS Silver Sky which, is def. a beautiful sounding, feeling “precision machine” as a life long player friend of mine likes to say. . One of those strats is a ‘23 fender avrii 1961 Stratocaster, which I love beyond reason. It has something like soul, I’m not sure. . All I want to do now is master the fingerboard (I’m close) and jam, just improvising before I leave this world behind. . So, idk why I’m telling you my life guitar story. Perhaps just in thanks for the video. . Peace, my friend.

[@FuzzyForties]

Amazing content as always! A lot of things I did not know. Thanks Keith

[@rhabs2895]

Thanks Keith - so tastefully done and informative.

[@amadigidigaula771]

Great well paced documentary- thanks

[@zacharysmithingell5460]

Another superb short history video. Thanks Keith!

[@crunchyflower]

Good job Keith! Love this video, Love my strats! Always my go to choice!

[@monstrok]

Really enjoyed this one! I was never a fan of Strats until acquiring the unlikely pair of a Mexi Roadhouse and a Fender Custom Shop '62 re-issue. Both are true players in every sense of the word.

[@hartlee1160]

I never knew I was a strat player till I was basically forced to start back at guitar with a strat. The neck position is my all time favorite cleans! Also when I understood how many tone palettes the strat has, I understood why our most influential artist stuck to the strat. Damnnn that volume knob sometimes

[@caiusmadison2996]

Yeah the volume knob sucks for placement.

[@scottdrumm4828]

Great video thanks!…nice to understand the history of the Strat🎸

[@gregrandallbtsr03]

My first electric guitar was a Martin Stinger (yep, I'm old). It launched a desire for a Fender Stratocaster and it is where I've always felt at home. I still have the Stinger, but the Fenders and Squires are what I play every day. Thanks Keith. Peace

[@EdSpargo]

Another A+. Excellent, Mr Williams.

[@TheRealChetManley]

I'm nowhere near anyone in this video, but over 20 yrs of playing guitar I've pretty much played or owned all of the major styles. The Stratocaster is 100% my favorite. The carves fit into my body just right. And I've grown so used to the 7.25" fingerboard radius that anything else just doesn't feel right. Sure I play others from time to time. But my Stratocaster is and always will be my favorite.

[@markbeavers5747]

Love love Fender Strats!!!!

[@AJMjazz]

Great video, Keith. As a 40+ year strat player, you managed to pack a mountain of essential history in a concise presentation. Well done!

[@matt_ess153]

Thank you

[@MikeMaselli-p6y]

What a great vid! Thank you Sir!

[@carlmontney7916]

Absolutely no other guitar sounds like a Strat. So many things about the Strat have been elevated to statements such as Leo Fender must have been in a state of grace when he designed the Stratocaster. Things like the switch is a masterpiece because it allows you to have that special in between setting. In an interview with Leo Fender when asked about the Stratocaster switch and the supposed secret in between positions and was it intentional to get that cool sound. His statement was no we use that switch because it was the only one that would give us three positions and was shallow enough to fit in the body. Regardless of what Leo's reasoning was behind the Stratocaster there is no doubt that he created an iconic guitar. Quite possibly the most iconic.

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

Great video, like all of your videos. You are the Custom Shop of making watchable videos for guitar nerds that don't play.

[@ejm922]

fantastic video- presentation, photos- you are the best!!

[@markspurgin8225]

Thanks Keith for the history lesson

[@ryanfulldark2775]

I have a couple Strats, a 66 LPB and a black 79 hardtail. Both great, both so different. Different tools for different jobs! Great revision of this iconic 5WW vid!

[@luvbasses5487]

Hi Keith. Excellent video! Although mainly a bass guy, I noticed that you covered everything from the famed fifties boat hull “V” necks to the beautiful soft contours/rib cuts of 1954. Early ‘54 P’s were still plank-bodied but with the advent of its first cousin the Strat, it then got the same contour treatment. It’s true also what you mention about the neck pockets during the middle seventies. MANY a P-Bass I’ve had over the years and many of those seventies ones did in fact have enlarged pockets thus letting you shift the neck side to side (usually needed) a bit to correct string alignment up n down the neck. It quite pissed me off some and I’ve always frowned upon it - I’d be thinking: “we’re these craftsmen having liquid lunch during these years or what?! I could go on and on….I’ll stop now. I enjoyed the video very much! It’s all in there!

[@RandomShites]

I'm 89 years old. I play stratocasters since 1778. The best ones were from 1549, the woods were better when Brazilian rosewood was still pangea rosewood. Good old times

[@TractorMonkeywithJL]

Yeah, well I'm 108 years old. I play Stratocasters since 2000 B.C. The best ones were from 1066 with wood the Vikings brought from Australia. Good old times.

[@johnnorris1983]

So neither of you played the strat from the Apple tree from the garden of Eden.. The true reason we got kicked from paradise was cause Adam made the first Strat. Shame Eve set alight to it for a cup of tea..not on stage…

[@deionsandals423]

Thanks Keith. Very informative as always. I’ll never let my ‘98 CIJ Strat go

[@scottyvalero3691]

Back in 2020, I went to house of guitars like I would regularly do at that time in my life. I saw they had a 60th anniversary 1954 reissue. Built exactly how it was in 54 with the extra contouring and soft edges all over the instrument. It had the short skirted knobs and the football switch tip. I’m not a Stratocaster player, and I had never played a Stratocaster that I liked, even after modifying it, but that Strat was a thing of beauty. I asked the guy there what the best offer he could do on it was, and he said “man, it’s been been here for six years. It’s dinged and scratched, and no one has bought it. The MSRP is $3100, but because it’s been here so long, I’ll give it to you for 1550 just to get rid of it.” Needless to say, I spent the next seven months putting money on it on layaway. I ended up buying it and taking it home and I loved that thing. I was an idiot to trade it for a Japanese fender boxer Stratocaster. Really stupid trade. I kick myself every day because I’ve never seen felt or heard a Strat like that one ever again

[@Anode230]

A fantastic video. Thank you!

[@artrogers3985]

Great job as always Keith 🎸

[@stank7200]

I really like how you get into the economics of the guitars, all the pricing and stuff. Great work.

[@Tonetwisters]

You forgot Kenny Lee Norton. His very first guitar was a very worn 1954 Stratocaster, serial number 0517 that he received from his dad, Christmas Day of 1963. It went out the back window of his brother's Ford station wagon on the Jacksonville expressway, early AM, July 25, 1965 and was replaced by a 1964 model. And if I recall correctly, most if not all of the 1990's USA made Stratocasters were pancake bodies, the first non-pancake was the 2000 American Series Stratocaster. By the way: try a set of Klein's 1963's in that Squier. Play it exclusively in the notch positions for a few weeks, to break in those pickups (two at a time!), as ALL new pickups need to be broken in, just as nearly all new speakers need to be broken in (hemp cones not included!). And well done, Mr. Williams, as usual ... very well done.

[@503punxoioioi9]

I got a mint NOS 2016 Fender American Standard Strat in Sienna Sunburst w/ Maple neck, original hang tag, case candy and original Fender hardshell case for $500 locally a few days ago. It has stock Custom Shop Fat 50s pickups! Amazing score 😎 The guy selling it was the original owner who bought it new w/ the intent to learn and never did so and wanted to get rid of it. He said over 5 dozen people had contacted him wanting to buy it! The craziest part is that the guitar sounds really killer and I'm mainly a Gibson person. I keep finding "classic" sounds just messing around w/ the 5-way. It can do Link Wray, Surf, Blues, Clash, Jazz, etc. Such an awesome and inspirational guitar😃 I lean toward Gibson necks, but this one is buttery smooth, no sharp fret ends, plays more like a flatter Gibson 12" radius. Love it!!

[@picksalot1]

I purchased a Reissue Strat ages ago because like Keith, many of my favorite guitarists played one. I soon discovered that it couldn't do what I wanted without being significantly modified, so that's what I did. "Modding" Strats was something frequently done, as it is an easy platform to work on. 😎 Keith, "A Short History of How CNC Changed Guitar Building" would be interesting.

[@StarQueenEstrella]

24:15 it’s also worth noting that due to the rise in popularity of heavy metal and so-called superstrats, Fender had a handful of their own responses to what were essentially heavily-modded Stratocasters. From 1984 to ‘87 they had the Japanese-made Contemporary Stratocaster. From 1985 to ‘86 there was the short-lived Fender Performer, designed by John Page. From ‘88 to ‘92 they had the Fender HM Strat, with the “HM” being short for “heavy metal”. (The logo on the headstock is about as ‘80s metal as it gets.) From 1991 to ‘93 they had the Prodigy. And from 1998 to 2009, there was the Fender Showmaster. Edit: the Contemporary Stratocaster is still offered by Squier as part of the Contemporary series.

[@spookybaba]

Yeah, the SuperStrat!

[@StarQueenEstrella]

@@spookybaba incidentally, that has actually never been an official term used by Fender nor any other guitar manufacturer. The very definition of what a superstrat is also varies depending on the player.

[@a-nus]

​@StarQueenEstrella *tips* *fedora*

[@spookybaba]

@@StarQueenEstrella The HM Strat was known by many as The Superstrat. Officially, or not!

[@alparotti]

Stratocaster is simply perfect. since 1954 that's crazy

[@karmicselling4252]

Great that you mention Buddy Holly, Buddy Guy, Dick Dale, Hank Marvin, Bob Dylan, Rory Gallagher, Ritchie Blackmore, Curtis Mayfield, Yngwie Malmsteem. But no mention of David Howell Evans better known as The Edge ... one of the greatest Strat players. And for the record, some of those 1980s MIJ Stratocasters are the best Stratocasters ever produced in the history of the instrument.

[@Nordic_Sky]

Fun fact: there was one paisley Strat made back in '68. Everyone knows about the Tele's, but there was one Strat as well. It was produced as a prototype along with a Lucite Strat. Both were offered to me for sale in the early 1980s. Don't know where they ended up.

[@marvinthemartian6788]

I grew up with a 60’s teisco Kingston in the house. It had a metal cover over the vibrato bar. Now I know it was a duplication of the Strat. I never knew strats came with the ashtray cover!

[@alexanderroy5713]

Ohh word, nice! Thanks Keith. We weren’t expecting this haha.

[@AndrewAlex92]

Didn't think I'd be here for a "rerun" but i like to think of it as a refresh

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

I purchased my first (preowned) Stratocaster (black with rosewood fingerboard and white scratch plate) in August 1995 when I was fifteen and had just begun learning to play. I still own it, but I haven’t played it since 2005. I acquired another in 2012 (3-tone sunburst, maple fingerboard, bridge humbucker, again white guard) which I played consistently from then until 2019 when I had a parts caster assembled for me. Letting that Stratocaster go in October 2022 may have been a mistake, but it had become redundant to the other models I had and played more frequently.

[@graemepooles]

Love strats. I remember going to John Langdons guitars in Boscombe, Dorset, England. Probably around 2009, I picked up a white strat with a maple neck. I played an open e and went into a little machine gun finishing on a 7th. John looked a little impressed and I said "this guitar plays like butter"! John said "its the shop guitar, I use to test amps however I'm closing the shop and you have it for £300. I went straight home got the money and returned with the guitar. When i stopped playing, I looked at the head stock and read Squier. I was shocked that I'd bought a Squire for £300. I looked the neck plate and stamped into it were 2 prefix letters, JV...

[@rifftipton7709]

The Strat is arguably one of the coolest guitars on the planet.

[@jordanpratt3821]

Not arguably...it just is.

[@michaelstern864]

I bought my first Strat in 1976: a sunburst with a maple fingerboard. I wanted it - no I NEEDED it - after seeing Keith Richards play one on TV. I didn't think I would ever sell it until I saw my current Strat: a '66 with a rosewood fingerboard and a bird's eye maple neck. No finish on the body at all; just a dirty, worn-looking chunk of wood. If I had NEEDED the sunburst Strat, my longing for this particular guitar was off the charts. I traded in the sunburst and forked over my cash. I think the total value was $375. This was in 1977. Although other guitars have come and gone over the years, my Strat has been my constant. Sometime in '78, I changed out the middle pick up for a Dimarzio SDS-1 ( needed more oomph for the cover band I was in and refused to get a guitar with humbuckers), and at some point, I switched out the tuners for Dimarzio low mass tuners, and put in a five way switch. Fortunately, I kept both the original pickup and tuners. Don't hate; back then it was just another post-CBS Strat that wasn't anything special and making those mods was no big deal at all.

[@bruiserbrawler8054]

The Strat has been my go to since 1989.

[@jeremythornton433]

Great video, Keith. I was born in 1955. The guitar that was the mist rock and roll to me has always been the Strat. Les Pauls are okay but they to me just don't have the right look. I've never been able to afford American made ones but my made in Mexico one from the late 90's and my Chinese one from around 2019 are amazing to play and sound great. Hoping to get a '54 re-issue for my 70th birthday, Fingers crossed!

[@ToddSauve]

I really enjoyed this Keith. I love the Strats and the way they sound. I suppose the first time I got knocked out by them was when Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits came out with their first album in 1978. What a record!!! 🎸🎸🎸👑⭐😎👌💖💖💖

[@louisdombrowski4198]

Great video and thanks Keith 👍 Wish I would've never parted with my '66' Strat and yes it was one of the earlier wider headstocks.

[@larrys009]

Another gem Keith !! :)

[@Ididitjoemama]

How’d you know I was watching the first one on repeat and begging for more?

[@MikeMaselli-p6y]

I'm not a paid endorser. So I can tell you without bias (no amp pun intended) that TrueFire is the mother lode of great guitar resources regardless of where you are in your musical quest; and Five Watt world with Keith Williams is it's herald. BTW.. I've been a s Strat player a Loooong time. Love these videos!

[@johnny.musician]

I like pretty much everything about the Strat except the pickup sound! I have two…one with 2 minibuckers, the other with 2 P90s. Great episode again, Keith.

[@blackfishgaming7145]

I have one of those Squiers from 82. I've owned and played dozens of Strats over the years and that Squier has (so far) been the best. The only other one that competes is a 78 Ibanez Challenger Strat I own. The Ibanez was built in the same factory just a few years before.