The Quest for the Ultimate Vintage Fender Stratocaster

The Fender Stratocaster

There are a few guitars that awaken our musical ears by evoking a sound and inspiring a passion of what has become the classic sound of the electric guitar. The Fender Stratocaster is one of those iconic guitars that has impacted modern music beyond anything that was imagined before it came to be in 1954.

As a result, certain vintage Stratocasters have become the stuff of Guitar Search legend and their value continues to grow, as does the search.

In 1954, Leo Fender and his team in Fullerton, California were already reveling in the glory of having created and launched the Telecaster. After years of struggle to get an electric guitar into mass production, Leo’s dream was finally happening.

The Improved Stratocaster

The improvements of the Stratocaster over the Fender Telecaster of a more comfortable sculpted body, three single coil pickups with a three way selector, along with a spring loaded vibrato tailpiece were refinements that have proven Leo right, as the Stratocaster is the most popular and biggest selling guitar Fender has ever made.

With musical pioneers like Buddy Holly becoming identified in the early days of Rock and Roll with the distinct sound and look of the Fender Strat, it took off as the guitar everyone wanted to play.

The Vintage Stratocasters most sought by guitarists and collectors and of the highest value are:

• the early ‘54-‘57 maple fretboard, two tone sun bursts;

• the ‘58-‘64 three tone sunbursts with rosewood “slab board;” and

• the custom color and rare custom factory colors (sonic blue, black, sea foam green, fiesta red) from ‘59-‘64, primarily from the 1960s Stratocasters.

PRE-CBS FENDER STRATOCASTERS

After Leo Fender sold the company to CBS in 1965 and in the years since, those “Pre-CBS” Fender Stratocasters have become the most sought after Strats in the world. In those days, Fender guitars were practically hand built and the quality was like no other era at Fender. In fact, in 1959 the Fender Guitar Company only had about 300 employees!

These are the Strats by which all other Strats are measured and therefore, they are most highly coveted and the most valuable to collectors. Finding them in all original and excellent condition is a genuine triumph for any serious guitar collector or player.