The Strat Evolves Into the '70s!

This Strat^® is unmistakable with features like an ash body, "U"-shaped neck, that big headstock, Bullet^® truss rod, distinctive '70s FENDER^® logo, Fender/Schaller Vintage "F" tuning machines and three vintage single-coil pickups. Choose a maple or rosewood fingerboard. Platform shoes and lava lamps sold separately!

Fender Classic '70s Stratocaster^® At a Glance:

• Natural polyester finish over a select ash body
  
• Multi-ply (white/black/white) pickguard
  
• Three vintage style single coil Strat pickups with staggered Alnico pole pieces
  
• One-piece maple neck and rosewood fingerboard with '70s "U" shape

Straight from the Time Machine
While the Telecaster^® (and the single pickup version, the Esquire) was a success, Leo Fender listened to players who were looking for an instrument that was a step up from the "plain vanilla" Tele^®. The company had moved into a new factory and now had the ability to build an upscale solid body electric. In 1954, the Fender Stratocaster made its debut and a true American icon was born. But by the 1970s, the Strat had evolved to the point where the design changes were no longer considered "minor." Most notable of all was that big '70s headstock, complete with a new Fender logo and the guitar model in big black letters. Other '70s features included a "bullet" truss rod and three-point Micro-Tilt™ neck adjustment. Players had a choice of rosewood or maple fingerboards.

The '70s Strat looks like it came straight from the Time Machine™. Its sleek, stylish lines didn't change much from the original 1954 design, but other features make this unmistakably a "seventies Strat!". This recreation features a sweet natural polyester finish over an ash body, along with a three-ply white pickguard and a vintage style synchronized tremolo.

That Trademark Strat Sound
The distinctive look is just part of the story. The '70s Strat also sounds faithful to the original thanks to three vintage style single coil Strat pickups with Alnico magnet pole pieces. This delivers all the "spank and sparkle" you'd expect, but unlike early Strats (which came with a simple three-position pickup selector switch) the '70s Strat comes with the more versatile five-position blade selector switch. This allows you to quickly access the popular, glossy "out-of-phase" sound (which really wasn't) produced by combining the bridge and middle or middle and neck pickups (in the '50s and '60s, players had to carefully place their switches in the "in between" positions).

Historically Accurate Maple Neck with Rosewood Fingerboard
Leo Fender wasn't afraid to "think outside the box" when it came to guitar designs. In the 1950s and well into the 1960s, the blond natural maple neck turned more than a few heads and became almost synonymous with Fender guitars. But by the 1960s, rosewood fingerboards became an option. The '70s Strat comes with a one-piece maple neck and rosewood "round lam" fingerboard with the fast-playing, '70s "U" shape and a gloss polyurethane finish.

Fender Classic '70s Stratocaster Features:

• Color: Natural
  
• Body Type: Solidbody electric
  
• Finish: Polyester
  
• Neck Wood: Maple
  
• Neck Shape: "U" shape with 7.25-inch radius
  
• Body Wood: Ash
  
• Machine Heads: Fender / Shaller vintage "F" style tuning machines
  
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
  
• No. of Frets: 21
  
• Position Markers: Black dot inlays
  
• Pickups: Three vintage style single coil Strat pickups
  
• Controls: Master volume and two tone control (neck and middle pickups)
  
• Bridge/Tailpiece: Vintage style synchronized tremolo
  
• Pickup Switching: Five-position blade switch
  
• Hardware: Chrome
  
• Case: Deluxe gig bag
  
• Scale Length: 25.5 inches

Fender Guitars
You could easily make the case that Fender electric guitars were responsible - at least in great part - for the birth of modern rock 'n' roll. Originally designed to be easier to build, and thus more affordable, Leo Fender's masterpieces, which include classics like the Stratocaster (is there a more distinctive guitar shape in the world?), the Telecaster and the original Precision Bass^®, were at the core of a musical revolution that spawned everything from surf to country to punk!

In the 1960s, when Fender guitars first hit bandstands and stages all around the country, it was astonishing to see that trademark Fender maple neck and fingerboard. Though the company eventually offered rosewood fingerboards as standard or optional on its entire line of instruments, those first"blond" necks really shook things up. Others have picked up on the maple neck theme, but it's clearly yet another of Leo Fender's "firsts."

Today, no other manufacturer can match Fender for the sheer number of options available throughout its entire line. While vintage Fenders can command astronomic prices, the company now has the widest range of quality instruments in the world, along with the highest profile players like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, all of whom are legendary.

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