Digital History Project 

The Fender Stratocaster, a guitar born when rock and roll music was coming in. New, electric sounds that were detested by many, yet the guitar lived on. After its conception, the Stratocaster did face some challenges. After rock and roll burned out, so did the desire for the guitar, until of course Dick Dale and surf. But, then again, the guitar lost its popularity. Even musicians like Eric Clapton favored Gibsons over Fenders for some time. Nonetheless, its renaissance came about in '67, when Hendrix was seen playing it. After that, the true Stratocaster was born: the one of rock. So, why and how did it become synonymous with rock music? What made the Stratocaster the most recognizable guitar in the world? 

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When Leo Fender developed his new, three pickupped guitar, he originally intended it for country musicians, funnily enough. He never could have thought of the innovations and techniques that musicians years down the road would come up with, further bringing attention to his masterpiece. Take, for instance, the selector switch of the three pickups. Many a musician figured out that if one were to put the switch just between two spots, then two pickups could be engaged at the same time. Fender eventually took advantage of this and created the modern five position selector switch available today.  

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The Stratocaster has been adopted by so many musicians largely as a result of its versatility, and because of this, it has become the guitar of rock. Of course, there are other Fender models like the Telecaster, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, and others that have become popular, but none like the Strat. For example, the Fender Guitar Company continually releases special edition artist-inspired Stratocaster guitars, copying the guitars of Clapton, Hendrix, Blackmore, and countless others. This alone is ample representation of the hold the company has on music and musicians all over the world. 

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One final thought is the Stratocaster's association with music, starting from Rock and Roll, all the way to modern times. From Buddy Holly to John Mayer, from Buddy Guy to George Harrison, the Stratocaster has been used to play every genre of popular music throughout the decades. 

It has seen it all.