FENDER STRATOCASTER

A true American icon

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Vintage Strats were not always objects of desire. Clapton bought six in 1970 for a few hundred bucks, and EVH thought nothing of cannibalising a 1958 for the Frankenstrat. It took the likes of Hendrix and Blackmore revealing a Strat’s potential for the public to catch on. Strats require some finesse. JeffBeck proves the tremolo can stay in tune, but a poorly set up one can be a nightmare. Still, the Strat’s pickups cut through like little else, the tremolo was radically more efficient than previous designs, and it was light years ahead on playability and comfort. Even now, the Strat is still the benchmark electric guitar.

MONTEREY STRAT

Hendrix changed the world. This guitar was there...

Strats were not cool when Hendrix rocked up at 1967’s Monterey Pop Festival, associated with such achingly white acts as Buddy Holly and the Beach Boys. As he climbed on stage and reinvented the guitar, the Strat’s possibilities expanded in infinite directions. In the wrong hands, a Strat was thin and weedy, but Hendrix wrangled an almighty roar. Amateurs struggled with feedback at high volume; Hendrix turned it into music. Hank Marvin used the tremolo arm for tasteful bends; Hendrix was an alien invasion.