Strat’sAll,Folks

Thisyearmarksthe60th anniversaryofLeoFender’s masterpiece, the Stratocaster. It’s testimony to his genius for design that, even today, if youaskedachildtodrawan electric guitar, chances are the outline they’d scrawl wouldhavetwincutaways, threepickupsandascrollheadstock.

Whyisitsoiconic?Well,partoftheStrat’s appealisthatitwaslaunchedwhenrock’n’roll wasitselfnew.Itbecameatoolofchoicefor playerssuchasBuddyHollyandHankMarvin (seep82)whoweretakingguitarmusictonew places, which ensured that thevoice of the Strat becamepartofrock’sveryDNA.

But, tellingly, when the era of PeggySue eventuallysupersededbythatof PurpleHaze, andthen RisingForce, the Strat continued to rise totheoccasion,andthat’swhatmarksitapart fromdecentbutuninspiredguitarsthathave fallen by the wayside over the years – it’s a supremelyadaptable,balanceddesign,and remainssointhehandsofplayerssuchasSimon NeilandJohnMayertoday.

ToinvestigatetheStrat’sremarkableappeal further,MickTaylorwenttoSwedentogethis mittsonagenuinevintage’54model(seep72)to find out what the first of the breed feels like to playtoday.Wehopeyou’llalsoenjoyhisguideto whatcamenext:thetechnicalevolutionsinthe Strat’s design that propelled it into the future it seemeddesignedtoinhabitwhenitwas launchedsixdecadesgo.

Elsewhere,you’llfindinterviewswithmasterly exponentsoftheStrat,includingAdrianBelew andAndySummers(yes,heusedhis’62model almostmuchasaTeleinThePolice),plus reviewsoftwonewversionsofthatothergreat double-cut,Gibson’sSG(seep10).Raveon…