a group for anyone who likes or dislikes fender strats and the reasons.....since '54 and still going strong, oviously they're doing something right...long live the strat!

History of the Strat®: Leo Fender, introduced the Stratocaster® guitar in 1954. This new instrument incorporated many design innovations that were based upon feedback from professional musicians, as well as from the staff at Fender and from Leo himself.

Included were the addition of a third single coil pickup to offer a wider array of tonal possibilities, contours on the body of the guitar to provide more comfort for musicians while playing, and an added cutaway on the lower bout of the guitar that provided better playing access to the higher frets. Most importantly, however, was the addition of the all new Fender vibrato, ore “tremolo” bridge. This innovation was originally intended to allow guitarists to bend the strings to achieve a sound similar to a pedal steel guitar, which was very popular at the time among guitarists playing country music.

At the time, nobody could have foreseen that the Stratocaster guitar would go on to revolutionize popular music, but since its introduction, it has become the most popular and most influential electric guitar of all time. Players of all genres of music—many of which were born on a Stratocaster guitar!—have embraced this instrument for its sound, playability and versatility, and musicians continue to turn to the Stratocaster guitar as the essential tool for expressing their creative passion.



_source