BILL AND SUE-ON HILLMAN: A 50-YEAR MUSICAL ODYSSEY
www.hillmanweb.com/book
Presents
Hillman Guitar No. 15
Fender Stratocaster Plus
Serial No. N3146907
www.hillmanweb.com/guitars/g15.html
. .Since its official debut in early 1954 the Fender Stratocaster has proven to be one of the most successful, most influential and most cloned electric guitars ever manufactured. This blue Strat was another of Sue-On’s surprise Xmas gifts and it made our first Brandon Christmas away from our country home a memorable one. One of my first guitar heroes was Hank Marvin of England’s Shadows. I have always been intrigued by his red Strat, but since Sue-On knows that blue is my favourite colour, blue is what I got.Back in the fifties, I was introduced to many forms of American Blues in a very roundabout way. I became obsessed with the skiffle music of Lonnie Donegan and set up many pipelines through which I could import his records. It was only later that I fully grasped the debt he owed to American Blues artists and that many of the guitar riffs I had learned from his records were actually this Brit's version of the blues. (Ten years later a whole new generation of guitarists would go through a similar experience when they would be introduced to the Blues by the Beatles, Stones, Animals, Cream, etc. - interestingly, most of the guitarists in these groups had been influenced by the music of Lonnie Donegan).
I expanded upon these contacts I had made in England and was soon importing the records of Cliff Richard - England’s 'Elvis.' This led me into the world of the Shadows, Cliff’s backup group, featuring bespeckled Hank Marvin. Since there was a tremendous demand for instrumentals in the groups I worked with, the sounds created by Hank's Strat were soon being imitated by a red-haired, black-hornrimmed, Gretsch playing Canadian. It was to be thirty years before I could try out these songs on a Strat.
My first experience with playing a Strat was not an auspicious one. We were booked for an arena dance at the Oak River Dance Gardens just after my Gretsch had just been stolen. I took along my Silvertone but my rhythm player offered to swap his Strat for the evening. Soon into the performance however, I realized that I was so used to the feel of the Gretsch with its saddle bridge and its well-positioned Bigsby lever that I could palm, that I just couldn't get used to the Strat. The whammy bar kept dropping out of reach and my combined picking/strumming technique constantly turned down the volume control by accident. I finished the evening playing trusty ole Sears Silvertone.
As the years passed by, however, many more of the guitars players I admired, and often imitated, showed a preference for the Strat: Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Ventures, Vince Gill, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, etc. In fact, seldom do you see any sort of popular band that doesn't feature a Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul.
Thanks for the present, kid . . . it's a classic.
Standard Tuning D-A-D-G-B-E
D-A-D-G-B-D
|
Down One Step F-B-E-G-C-F
D-G-C-F-A-D
C-F-Bb-Eb-G-C
|
Open E E-E-B-B-B-B
C-G-C-G-G-E
|
PLAYERS TRIVIA Eric Clapton: Fender Strat (Knicknamed 'Blackie' and made up of several different strats) ~ Telecaster (while with the Yardbirds)
(Work in progress... please send trivia bits)
Jimi Hendrix: Fender Stratocaster (White played upside down with strings swaped around - as left-handed)
Buddy Holly: Fender Stratocaster (sunburst)
Hank Marvin: Fender Stratocaster (Red) ~ Burns 'Marvin' (White and 'Green Burst')
Mark Knopfler: Stratocaster (pink)
Chrissie Hynde: (Pretenders) Telecaster (Blue)
Eddie Van Halen: Stratocaster
Ritchie Blackmore: (Deep Purple)
Jeff Beck
Dick Dale
Harrison & Lennon
Forty Years Of The Fender Stratocaster Leo Fender had worked as an accountant and radio repairman before taking up musical instrument manufacturing during the waning days of World War II. Riding on the double wave of post-war prosperity and the guitar's rising popularity, his novel, tradition-breaking designs quicklybecame popular with working musicians who played western swing, country, and rhythm and blues--the roots of rock and roll. He started designing the Stratocaster in 1953 for these cutting-edge musicians destined to shape popular music's next forty years.
by Richard R. SmithFender's intention was more than simply adding a new guitar to his successful line, which already included the highly popular Telecaster. Packing his new model with the latest "Fender Firsts," he hoped to outdo all other guitar inventors and make all other electric guitars obsolete. Besides looking streamlined and modern, the deep cutaway body balanced the instrument, made the high frets more accessible, and reduced weight. Musician Rex Gallion had once implored Leo, "Why not get away from a body that is always digging into your ribs?" The Stratocaster's contours allowed a snug fit to the player's body.
The Stratocaster's advanced, built-in vibrato put shimmering, sustaining sound effects at the player's fingertips. The distinctive Fender headstock design let the strings pull straight over the guitar's nut, minimizing the only real source of de-tuning friction. Surpassing earlier designs, Fender made each individual Stratocaster bridge section adjustable for length and height. To get the best tone, he tested a wide variety of pickup coils and pole pieces with different lengths and diameters.
Musicians soon discovered that by carefully positioning the Stratocaster's switch between settings, the signals from two pickups mixed and produced snarling nasal tones that redefined electric guitar sound. These unintended tones were reminiscent of a muted trumpet or trombone, but with the sting of downed power lines. Fender's new guitar offered much more than he anticipated.
Fender's business partner, Don Randall, came up with the new guitar's name. Fender Sales shipped the first few commercial units by May 15, 1954. No one envisioned the Stratocaster's eventual commercial success and historic impact. Considered by many an instrument for teenagers--bandleader Lawrence Welk often introduced Buddy Merrill as "our teenager"-- the Stratocaster sold well in the 1950s, but did not dominate the market. Dick Dale first explored the Fender's high decibel capabilities playing surf music in the early 1960s. Beatles George Harrison and John Lennon had matching Stratocasters heard on the single "Nowhere Man" and numerous album cuts recorded after 1965. Of course, Jimi Hendrix revolutionized electric guitar playing with his Stratocasters and proved the wisdom of Leo's original design--which stood up to almost every abuse except a match and lighter fluid. For the next two decades, the Stratocaster's popularity grew almost unabated.
In 1987 Guitar Player magazine hailed the Stratocaster as the "undisputed Guitar of the 1980s." The Stratocaster, recognized by players for its wide-ranging, versatile tone, had become the most commercially successful and copied electric guitar design in history. The almost endless list of Stratocaster-playing stars included Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Gilmour and Mark Knopfler. While many players had turned to vintage Stratocasters in the 1970s when CBS owned the Fender company (Leo Fender and Don Randall sold the company to CBS in the mid-60s) an increasing number of 1980s guitarists discovered new Stratocasters made by a revitalized Fender company under new ownership.
In 1985, the Fender company was purchased from CBS and in fact, a new chapter of Stratocaster history was being written. In 1990 the company offered a single-spaced index that included 31 different Stratocasters on the first page alone. The 1992 literature pictured 44 different Stratocasters. Players failing to find production models fitting their needs could consider a top-of-the-line custom-built guitar from the Fender Custom Shop. John Page, the shop's manager, sums up the company's philosophy quite well: "Old guitars represent a starting point," he said. "Vintage (product) is something you learn from. Then you go on and design something for tomorrow."
Leo Fender designed the original Stratocaster to outdo all other electric guitars. In 1954, it was a guitar for tomorrow. Astonishingly, after 40 years, it still is.
A former working guitarist, Richard R. Smith has written extensively about vintage guitars and guitar company history. He is guest curator for the Fullerton Museum Center's show Five Decades of Fender: The Sound Heard Around the World. His articles and columns have appeared in Guitar Player, Guitar World, Guitar (Rittor Music, Japan) and Bass (Rittor Music, Japan) magazines. In addition, he is the author of The History of Rickenbacker Guitars (Centerstream) and a forthcoming book about Leo Fender and the Fender Electric Instrument Company.
|
|
|
Reference: Fender Stratocaster Site and the Official Fender Instruments Site There are scores of Fender Stratocaster models. Here are a few of them: U.S. Stratocasters
* U.S. Vintage 1957 Stratocaster Maple fingerboard, single layer pickguard
* American Standard Stratocaster [Rosewood fingerboard]
* Strat Plus [maple fingerboad
Signature series:
Japanese / Mexican Stratocasters The Japanese and Mexican Stratocasters are intended to be the best value for the money. Most Japanese instruments appear to be made with lighter Basswood bodies and the Mexican ones made of Poplar. v-shaped maple neck and single-layer pickguard * Reissue 50's Hardtail Stratocaster The no whammy bar version * Reissue 60's Stratocaster u-shaped neck with rosewood-slab fretboard, triple-layer pickguard * HRR '50's Stratocaster [maple fingerboard ~ heavy metal] * HRR '50's Stratocaster [rosewood fingerboard ~ heavy metal] * H.M. Strat [maple fingerboard ~ 1 humbucker, 2 single coils] * H.M. Strat [rosewood fingerboard ~ 1 humbucker, 2 single coils] * H.M. Strat [maple fingerboard ~ 2 humbuckers, 1 single coil] * H.M. Strat [rosewood fingerboard ~ 2 humbucker, 1 single coil] Japan / Mexico * Standard Stratocaster [Maple fingerboard] * Standard Stratocaster [Left handed] Korean Squier, Squier II Stratocasters Fender uses the Squier line for their cheap instruments, so as to cash in on the low end of the market, but keeping the business somewhat separate from their main market. * Squier Standard Stratocaster [maple neck]
|
Fender Stratocaster Signature Guitars ~ 2021 www.guitarchalk.com/list-fender-stratocaster-signature-models/ |
Click
Factory Blueprint of the American Standard
Neck
In early 1965, John Lennon and George Harrison dispatched their roadie, Mal Evans, to purchase two Fender Stratocasters. Beatles manager Brian Epstein apparently offered to pay for both guitars, as long as they were a matching set. |
STEVIE RAY VAUGHN'S RIG
Click for full-size image
STRAT PLUS REFS
Fender
Stratocaster Plus Reference Page: xhefirguitars.com
Strat
Plus in Wikipedia
Strat
Plus Review on YouTube I
Strat
Plus Review on YouTube II
Lace
Sensor Gold Single Coil Pickups
THE GUITAR PAGES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|