BA1 1UA. Modern Stratocaster bodies are still made of the same woods the originals were made from over 60 years ago: alder and ash. In the compartment routed into the back of the guitar, the whole assemble was anchored by springs (three at first but soon five) that attached to the inertia block at one end and an adjustable anchor plate screwed to the forward wall of the cavity at the other end. C-V-U? After 1965, the Fender company, under the control of CBS Instruments, saw a drop in sales of the Fender Stratocaster to customers. The 1954 Fender Stratocaster also made available some custom colors. Thereafter, a selection of custom colors became widely available for an extra charge. Today, original 1954 Stratocasters are highly sought-after by collectors and can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is easy to identify as there is no paint in this crudely hand chiseled wire channel in the bottom of the lead pickup route. The Fender Jazzmaster had been promoted as the flagship guitar in the Fender line. The skirt was larger and had three spokes on the underside of the skirt to provide support. Prince's While My Guitar Gently Weeps solo wasn't his only great performance at the 2004 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, TC Electronic unveils the Infinite Mini Sample Sustainer a mini-sized version of the John Mayer pedalboard fave, Give the gift of great tone this Father's Day with these Positive Grid deals. The rear of the bridge plate was unanchored and bent slightly upward; the front was fixed to the guitar body with six screws, one in front of each bridge saddle. At this point the 1954 Fender Stratocaster is considered to be production and its characteristics becoming more consistent. [4] Bridges generally come in two designs: the more common pivoting "tremolo" bridges,[nb 1] and the less common "hardtail" fixed bridge. It was obviously time-consuming to do that degree of hand-finishing, so in time it disappeared. The three-pickup design offered players increased versatility and choice in tone quality over earlier one- and two-pickup electric guitars, and a responsive and simplified vibrato arm integrated into the bridge plate, which marked a significant design improvement over other vibrato systems, such as those manufactured by Bigsby. Some Stratocasters have a fixed bridge in place of the vibrato assembly; these are colloquially called "hard-tails". Fender's 50th Anniversary Strat | Vintage Guitar magazine [30] The '57 Vintage Reissue Stratocaster was discontinued in 2012. The Tremolo metal bar has greatly exaggerated bends. In mid 1959, Stratocasters were given multi-ply celluloid pickguards with more screw holes (11) and a notable greenish tint (although some were given faux-tortoiseshell nitrocellulose pickguards). In fact, the Stratocasters second vibrato system was so effectively over designed that it proved capable of far more than its designer intended or imagined. Forrest White insisted that any 1954 Fender Stratocaster guitars produced before October 13, 1954, were pre-production samples or artist models (and were probably all sold directly to musicians from the Fender factory instead of through Fender Sales). The Stratocaster was originally designed in 1953. These new rosewood-fingerboard models also replaced the black marker dots on the side of the neck with new off-white clay dots. The nut step was different - the part of the headstock face behind the nut. Other clues come from residues found beneath seldom removed parts, such as the bridge, he adds. The body, still made with ash, was extremely contoured. And utterly unbeknownst to Fender, players had other plans entirely for the Jazzmaster. If the body of this '54 is not ash (or even alder) somebody has some 'splaining to do. The strings loaded through a cavity routed into the back of the guitar; first through holes in a plastic cover plate, then through a solid steel inertia block fixed to the underside of the bridge plate that ensured sustain, then up through holes in the bridge plate and over individual string saddles that could each be adjusted for string height and lengthanother marked improvement over the three-saddle Telecaster and itself a notable design development. When the Fender company was bought from CBS by a group of investors and employees headed by Bill Schultz in 1985,[28] manufacturing resumed its former high quality, and Fender was able to regain market share and brand reputation. Categories: Solid Body Electric Guitars . Since all of the finishes were nitrocellulose at the time it would yellow giving the appearance of a yellow in the center of the burst over time. Classic gear: 1950s Fender Stratocasters | Guitar World It was a fantastic guitar! The Fender Custom Shop produced an entry level, team built Stratocaster that was discontinued in 2008. Very early volume and tone pots for 54 Strats were 100k ohms, changed to 250k ohms around June 54, with brass-shaft pots manufactured by Stackpole. 1977present, five way pickup selector switch. But other parts are just like they were in 54. All along as design refinements preceded throughout late 1953 and early 1954, Leo and his staff were ably abetted by several western swing guitarists in addition to Gallion and Carson who were happy to field-test Stratocaster prototypes in local nightclubs. This was commonly done during assembly to allow for the fit of the pickup wiring. [29] Some early reissues from 1986 were crafted with leftover parts from the Fullerton factory. Good point. $33,000. Look for tooling marks that . With a little trepidation, we took up our screwdriverto peer under the hood. How many Fender Strats were actually built between 1954 an 1965, How many Teles , Precisions..you get the picture. The end result is a tribute reissue in which the case, strap, collateral materials and guitar have all been faithfully replicated for the first time ever, Tonn said. "Theres a little bit of superficial fret-wear. The Difference Between Strat and Tele Bridge Pickups, A Guide to Fender Single-Coil Stratocaster Pickups, How the Stratocaster Came to Have Two Headstocks. Also, the 1954 Fender Stratocaster bridge pickup wire route is not as deep as on 1955/56 and later models, so sometimes this route is crudely deepened with a hand chisel during final assembly. Originally two- or three-tone sunburst; many other colors subsequently produced. The novel mechanism pivots on a fulcrum design with a six screw bridge plate, allowing the whole set-up to "float" while transferring the strings energy directly into the body. It still looks really rich and lush, as it was when it left the factory, he adds. This thicker board lasted until 1962, when the fretboard was made with a thinner 'veneer' of Brazilian Rosewood. Early models of the stratocaster came with a removable metal cover plate that fit over the bridge. The smaller headstock with more round edges than later Strats. Also seen very often is Gloria as in Gloria Fuentes, another Fender factory employee assembler. One of the myths surrounding the first Stratocasters is that the plastic parts were made from Bakelite, he said. Note the ball-ends of the strings sit higher in their recesses in the vibratos block than on later Strats. Fender's latest ode to its own, the Custom Shop 50th Anniversary 1954 Stratocaster, made its debut at the January '04 NAMM show, just four months after the idea was pitched by Mike Tonn, Marketing Manager for Electric Guitars and Basses at the company's Arizona headquarters. How to date a Fender Stratocaster - True Vintage Guitar How many were actually made before the first production run in October and roughly how many are still accounted for today? '57 sunbursts have one of the sweeter looks. New book - Should we still revere our heroes when we know bad things about them? The tremolo tip basically stayed the same shape for all three generations of Stratocaster plastic. Fender PlayThe #1 guitar learning platformTRY FOR FREE. Dan Smith, with the help of John Page, proceeded to work on a reissue of the most popular guitars of Leo Fender's era. They are faithful replications made with the same exacting detail as the original instruments, using many of the same machines and manufacturing methods used 50 years ago. The selector switch is also a rounder type of switch tip, often known as a football switch. Or, at this stage in the game, is it in fact beneficial that a few near-perfect examples are preserved carefully for posterity rather than played to bits? Along with the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, and Fender Telecaster, it is one of the most-often emulated electric guitar shapes. Inspired by a gram scale, he hurriedly completed an entirely new design in late 1953 in which the whole bridge assembly moved with the strings rather than having the strings move over rollers with the bridge remaining stationary. Its not uncommon to see a dig out cavity or slight route in the bridge pickup cavity of the body. This changed in 1955 to be less rounded. They did not have a truss rod. Here is a video documenting serial number 0100 which is one of those very early 1954 Fender Stratocaster. Documented 1954 Pre-Production Run Stratocasters However in newer guitars, since the middle pickup is almost always wired in reverse (and with its magnets having opposite polarity), this configuration creates a spaced humbucking pair, which significantly reduces 50/60 cycle hum. Also, the pots used with the third generation bakelite volume/tone knobs had a split shaft instead of a solid shaft. Channel route or wiring in lead pickup cavity is usually more factory looking and has finished over the route (but even late the 1954 Fender Stratocaster can still have the lead pickup wiring worm route done during final assembly, showing bare wood with no finish). So we procured original 54 Strat plastic parts and [had] them tested by the best laboratory in Southern California, he said. The full story on the Strat's initial groundbreaking years. The development of the Stratocaster also saw a notably elegant touch in Fenders first use of a sunburst finish, which was included at Randalls insistence to give the guitar a more high-end look. The 4-digit serial number on metal neck plate starting with 0001. The screw holes in the bridge plate were countersunk from both sides, creating a knife-like edge and a fulcrum pivot point on which the entire bridge could be rocked back and forth using an easily detachable tremolo arm, thus raising and lowering pitch. Purchase order PO #242 from Fender Sales for about 100 of the 1954 Fender Stratocaster, which was finished and delivered on October 13, 1954. Later on, they were recessed much deeper. Who knew if it had any kind of future ahead of it, let alone a bright one? Fender Production numbers are unfortunately not available. In response to player feedback on the Telecaster, Randall wanted the new guitar to have some kind of vibrato system, and Leo was eager to better the designs by his former business partner, Doc Kauffman, and by his contemporary, Paul Bigsby. To compete with more high-end instruments from other manufacturersparticularly Gibsons Les Paul, introduced in 1952 in response to what Randall once called the plain Jane Telecasterthe Stratocaster was a marked step up in design and innovation for Fender. So, the March September models of the 1954 Fender Stratocaster each have some minor differences from guitar to guitar as Fender was adjusting pieces of the guitar that would become the official release. This guitar shows a neck date of TG 6-54 or June 1954 and shaped by famous neck shaper Tadeo Gomez who was an early Fender employee. #1 Is there any documentation of the pre-production run Stratocasters from early/mide 1954? In fact, if you asked a child to draw an electric guitar theres a high chance theyd draw something that resembled one, right down to the trio of pickups with one mounted at angle at the bridge. Is it wrong to feel a little intimidated by such time machine guitars? And take it they did. Their input was invaluable, and while the Stratocaster was in one sense Leos baby through and through, it was in another sense the collaborative work of a remarkable group of designers and musicians. Also during the Stratocasters first few years, Leo Fender and his staff continued working on it; revising and improving as they went. ), White bakelite (actually Polystyrene) plastic knobs/covers, third generation (9/54 to spring 1957): The plastic used on these bakelite knobs is the same as the second generation, but a new mold and knob shape was used. The archetypal Stratocaster is a solid-body electric guitar with a contoured asymmetric double-cutaway body with an extended upper horn; the body is usually made from alder or ash. Most contemporary Strats are alder, while the Strats featured in the Deluxe range feature ash bodies. The famous Fender vibrato system, first fitted on the 54 Strat, was a steel two-piece unit with six saddles that could be adjusted for intonation and height. Strat Talk is the leading online community and marketplace for Stratocaster guitars. Year: 1954. Number of pre-CBS Stratocasters | The Gear Page
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