STR AT’S LIFE

With more than 80 current Stratocasters in the Fender line-up, there’s a genuine Strat for everyone – here are six that stand out

FENDER VINTERA ’60S STRATOCASTER MODIFIED £1,009

If vintage feel combined with modern features at a more affordable price is what you’re looking for, the Vintera ’60s Stratocaster Modified puts it all in one guitar. It has a retro look with a choice of the pictured Burgundy Mist Metallic finish or Olympic White, and the 21 medium-jumbo frets on the pau ferro ’board lean towards the classic, but the magnets are Hot ’60s Strat models wired to an S-1 switch. There’s a two-point contemporary vibrato and the neck is finished in a sweat‑friendly satin. www.fender.com

FENDER AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL II STRATOCASTER £1,769

The American Professional II series boasts a long spec sheet, bringing some additional features and modern touches to a US-made ‘workhorse’ price tag. There’s a choice of alder or lighter-weight roasted pine for the body, with maple or rosewood fingerboards (with rolled edges), and a rounded heel/ neckplate for upper-fret comfort. Electronics are Fender’s V-Mod II pickups, individually voiced per position and they’re given a versatility boost thanks to a push-pull pot that engages the neck pickup in positions 1 and 2. Crikey! www.fender.com

FENDER AMERICAN ULTRA STRATOCASTER £2,259

The outline is familiar, but there’s a lot going on with this model, the most contemporary iteration of Fender’s show pony. The pickups are a trio of humkilling Ultra Noiseless Vintage single coils and they’re wired to an S-1 switch that allows you to introduce the neck pickup at any position, plus there’s a treble-bleed circuit, too. Pair this with a Modern D-shaped neck, compound radius (254mm to 355.6mm/10- to 14-inch) fingerboard, contoured heel and a range of eye-catching finishes, and you’ve got a Strat tailored for ‘now’. www.fender.com

FENDER AMERICAN PERFORMER STRATOCASTER £1,249

With an alder body, 241mm (9.5-inch) fingerboard radius and the classic three-single-coil configuration, it’s so far, so Strat. But it’s the controls that hold the magic. First up, those pickups are Yosemites, which have been calibrated for a completely even volume match between the positions. You can bring the neck pickup in using the push-pull pot for combos that a regular five-way can’t reach, and it has Fender’s Greasebucket circuit for removing brightness without losing gain or adding mud on the bridge pickup. www.fender.com

FENDER AMERICAN VINTAGE II 1961 STRATOCASTER £2,179

The Loake’s brogue to the American Ultra’s Nike Air, this 60s-inspired Strat has all the classic appointments that a vintage fan is after. Starting with an alder body, available in three vintage-approved nitro finishes (Olympic White, 3-Color Sunburst and Fiesta Red), it continues to the 184mm (7.25inch) radius rosewood fingerboard (with clay dot inlays). The hardware is ‘vintage-accurate’, too, and the Pure Vintage pickups are designed to look and sound like they came out of a Fullerton parts drawer. www.fender.com

FENDER STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN STRATOCASTER £2,349

Ask 10 guitarists for their favourite Strat player and you’ll likely get 20 answers. But Stevie Ray Vaughan remains a Strat GOAT for many. Fender’s replica pays tribute to his ‘Number One’, decked-out with gold hardware (including the upside-down vibrato) and the distinctive engraved scratchplate. The maple neck is a fat, oval fistful and its pau ferro fingerboard features suitably jumbo 6105 frets. A trio of Texas Special single coils completes the sound, taking you from low ’n’ slow to scorching. www.fender.com