2004-03-01
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/8068474.htm

Leo Fender's 1954 invention of the Stratocaster guitar, of solid body and hip
sound, is hailed as a milestone in the evolution of music.

BY MATT YORK

Associated Press


SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The year 1954 was full of pop culture benchmarks. Elvis
Presley recorded his first single; the Miss America pageant was televised for
the first time; Ernest Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for literature.

And in a small factory in Fullerton, Calif., an inventor named Leo Fender
created his Stratocaster.

If the general public overlooked that last milestone, musicians do not. In fact,
for many it's a pivotal event.

''Who knows how many different designs they've used to imitate and top it and
nobody's come close,'' says Nils Lofgren, guitarist for Bruce Springsteen's E
Street Band. ``It's definitely as beautifully crafted an instrument that you'll
ever find and I'm very, very grateful for all Leo went through to create it.''

The guitar known affectionately as the Strat celebrated its 50th birthday in
February. And it's had a busy 50 years.

Americans know this instrument, even if they don't know its name, because it's
been in so many famous hands and its tones form the foundation of so much of the
music we listen to.

Jimi Hendrix made it scream.

Stevie Ray Vaughan made it cry.

Eric Clapton made it rock.

Fender was known for incorporating musicians' suggestions into his designs.

As a result, the Stratocaster was a collaboration by Fender and his close
associates and those who played guitar for a living.

''Leo created a work of art that remains useful to millions of players and will
always be useful,'' says Lofgren.

Says Richard McDonald, a spokesman for Scottsdale-based Fender Musical
Instruments Corp.: ``He just nailed it right out of the gate.

''You measure an instrument's success or failure on the merits of what gets
recorded with it,'' says McDonald, the company's vice president of marketing.

``Once huge masses of work were recorded with the Stratocaster, it became a
cultural [icon].''

Unlike many guitars of the 1950s, the Stratocaster's body was made of solid
wood, making it extremely durable.

Hendrix set it on fire; Vaughan and others administered countless beatings.

''The Strat is like a workhorse -- you don't have to baby it,'' Lofgren says.
``You can be gentle and subtle and when you're leaning into it a bit too hard,
it doesn't cave early on you. It pushes back a bit. No other guitar I've played
allows that.''

The tonal result of the Stratocaster's solid body is a highly sustained tone
that produces a clear, bright sound unlike hollow-body guitars.

''I was a young guitarist and mostly played jazz with hollow bodies,'' says Gin
Blossom guitarist Scott Johnson. ``When I landed my first pro gig they told me
to go get a solid body for the sustain, so I got a Strat.''





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