What sets the Fender Strat apart ???

just found this :

https://uk.geocities.com/strat110/gear.html

 

@rabi...thanx for the info bro. but loads of guys here suggest dat korean made guitars aint good at all...i dunno why. i think dmf and death87 have ibanez korean made guitars...sorry if am wrong..

wud just like to know...if they r really rocking!

 

the korean made ones arent as good as the japanses made ones.... thats for sure... but its a matter of quality control rather than quality.... as in if u get lucky, the guy who made ur ibanez in korea might be a really good craftsman.... but its gauranteed that a jap craftsman will be really good.... i think i got lucky... one of my friends (who has played an uncountable number of really good guitars) told me that he felt that mine was as good hed expect a jap one to be... i dont know how one tells the diff??? they all sound the same (as in all good ones) on my stranger amp!! anyways... buying a korean is like buying from chor bazaar - you sometimes get good stuff at throwaway prices, but mostly they arent that good....

 

oh i forgot to mention, i wanted to know some stuff about ths strat:
1. When was it first made
2. Who was the guy who designed it
3. Who had the first signature strat

any other random facts about the strat would be appreciated.... (not already mentioned in this thread and interesting ones please - not something like - its made by fender!!!!)

i want to make some sort of archive on all guitars... ppl with loads of knowledge on a SPECIFIC brand pls PM me

 

i can't remember the exact dates but Fender first made (i think it was called) the Broadcaster which was then converted (after a few small changes) into the Telecaster. I think this was around 1952 or so. Then about a year or two later came in the Stratocaster and its been there ever since. The same single coil pickup structure as now, they are just different coils but they always were single coils.

The guy who invented the Strat and the Tele and the Precision Bass was Leo Fender. If he got help from anyone else I don't know but do a google search for it. As for who had the first signature strat that sounds like another job for google but i wouldn't be suprised if its one of the old blues players like Muddy Waters or Howlin' Wolf.

 

u sure about the broadcaster - from clapton speaking about the strat - i found that it was the tele, then the esquire and then the strat...oh and i got a confirmed year of launch - 1953!! pretty close rabi!!

im searching but i cant find the first signature strat - let me know if u get anything else...

@rabi: u seem to be a fender specialist so is it possible for u to help me with my archive - at least on the strat parts?

 

no the broadcaster came first. funnily enough there was another guitar that was made which *I BELIEVE* was in between the very shortlived Broadcaster and the famous Telecaster called the Nonamecaster. This isn't a joke i read it somewhere. something about these guitars being made but no names were put on them even though the guitars have been serialised i read it in a book somewhere in Canada on guitars it was in there even had a picture of one.

First the Broadcaster then the Telecaster.

Yeah i don't mind helping out I don't know that much since there is a lot of other information regarding the neck shapes and the construction changes between the different years and the different factories but i'll help out

 

oh..ok... cool... whenever u have time just pm me nething u feel that every1 must know about the strat (origins etc.) and ill add it to thee archive - also ne specific questions and ill pm u.... oh ya - every1s free to pm me with ne suggestions, ideas, info etc... its all welcome!

and the NONAMECASTER?? hahahahahaah thats hilarious!!!

 

i don't know all the different neck shapes but i know there are C, D U and V neck shapes its basically the shape of the underside of the neck. Different neck shapes result in a different playing experience since some necks are thicker, others are thinner as well as fatter and slimmer.

 

from wat ive heard the thicker necks are generally sturdier (makes sense) and the thinner ones are "faster" - i dont understand this one and wats the v-shapend neck, its it flattened with an angle at the ottom as opossed to a curved neck shape? and dyu know which models had each one?

 

just checking on my guitar - the white 1996 Fender USA Stratocaster its got a D shape neck.

This page explains everything regarding the necks:
https://www.fendereurope.com/fenderfiles/t_to_z.asp
Look under 'V Profile Neck'

 

thanks.... but wats the differnece while playing one of these necks - is it only a matter or preference/comfort - or is there anything more to making this choice?

 

i'm finding lots of good information on Fender and it's history.

this is really fascinating regarding how their guitars changed during the 60s when they got bought out by CBC
https://www.provide.net/~cfh/fender.html

 

difference between the necks i'm not sure since i have only played (knowingly) my D neck and my cousin's neck which is fatter so i'm guessing thats a U neck.

The thinner neck is much more faster to play with since there is less guitar neck between the palm of your hand and the fretboard. however some guitarists may not like this and so is the reason for the fatter U and C necks to exist. I prefer the D necks myself.

 

ah... that makes sense....

ne one know how much a 56 tele would cost (roundabout) or ne other fender amde in that time period for that matter?

 

An original '56 Strat in London would cost in excess of £1,000 if its in good condition. (i'm pretty sure) Reason being is on that site i listed previously is that these are all the pre-CBS production guitars and are of much much better quality.

 

well then i guess its time to save up - and its going to take a lot of saving up!!! - i really want and orignal 50s era fender

 

i was in a guitar shop today in central london and asked how much my favourite electric guitar (Fender Mustang) would cost. He said anywhere between 800-1300 ! And that was the post-CBS models, the pre-CBS models were 1300+!!!!

 

well... now i doubt ill ever get one of em - 1300 pounds is a bit too much!!!

 

while i was cleaning my guitar i was reading my little DIY Guitar book and had some intersting stuff regarding the two different types of Fender bridges compared to the Gibson bridges. It was talking about how to set the intonation and how the Fender bridge was a much better bridge for this compared to the old Gibson bridge as it allows you to individually setup each string on its own. However i think the Tune-O-Matic bridge by Gibson allows single strings to be set individually. I did look at it from the photo and the scews look to be in the most stupid place ever. Where the strat has the screws imagine them on the other side of that. but i'm not sure if that picture was talking about the Tune O Matic