FENDER STRATOCASTER
Total Guitar|December 2020
A true American icon
FENDER STRATOCASTER

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.

Bu hikaye Total Guitar dergisinin December 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Total Guitar dergisinin December 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

TOTAL GUITAR DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
"THERE WILL BE A LOT OF GREAT GUITAR PLAYING AT THESE SHOWS!"
Total Guitar

"THERE WILL BE A LOT OF GREAT GUITAR PLAYING AT THESE SHOWS!"

Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram is a huge fan of Slash- and the feeling is mutual

time-read
4 dak  |
June 2024
"THE WHOLE LINE-UP IS STELLAR!"
Total Guitar

"THE WHOLE LINE-UP IS STELLAR!"

Samantha Fish is thrilled to be joining Slash's blues festival - with a new band and as many guitars as she can handle

time-read
5 dak  |
June 2024
"WHEN YOU HEAR THAT TONE, YOU KNOW IT'S HIM"
Total Guitar

"WHEN YOU HEAR THAT TONE, YOU KNOW IT'S HIM"

Mike Clink is the producer who first worked with Slash on Guns N' Roses' debut album. Now, having reunited with the guitarist for Orgy Of The Damned, he reveals how this new album was created - and recalls those magical sessions with Slash in the '80s

time-read
10 dak  |
June 2024
“IT'S ALL THE SAME CHORD CHANGES.MORE OR LESS THE SAME NOTES.BUT IT'S JUST THE WAY THAT THE INDIVIDUAL CHOOSES HOW pos a im TO PLAY THEM.THAT IS WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT BLUES GUITAR...”
Total Guitar

“IT'S ALL THE SAME CHORD CHANGES.MORE OR LESS THE SAME NOTES.BUT IT'S JUST THE WAY THAT THE INDIVIDUAL CHOOSES HOW pos a im TO PLAY THEM.THAT IS WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT BLUES GUITAR...”

The rock icon finding new inspiration in deathless blues standards. The guitarist synonymous with the Les Paul now mixing up his Gibsons with a Strat and a Tele. This is Slash as you've never heard him before...

time-read
10+ dak  |
June 2024
"I VIEW A GUITAR AS A WEAPON!"
Total Guitar

"I VIEW A GUITAR AS A WEAPON!"

As a cult hero of underground American rock, Buzz Osborne describes his band Melvins as \"an avant-garde, weird thing”. And as a guitarist, he's all about heaviness and spontaneity...

time-read
6 dak  |
June 2024
"I'M VERY GOOD AT NOT FOLLOWING RULES!!!
Total Guitar

"I'M VERY GOOD AT NOT FOLLOWING RULES!!!

As one half of Slayer's fearsome guitar attack, Kerry King shaped the sound of extreme metal. With a new album and a new sparring partner, he hasn't mellowed...

time-read
9 dak  |
June 2024
"PEDALS CAN AFFECT YOUR PLAYING SO MUCH"
Total Guitar

"PEDALS CAN AFFECT YOUR PLAYING SO MUCH"

Shoegaze stars DIIV have abandoned their roots as a live band to redraw their sonic landscapes - with a vast array of effects at the heart of their songwriting

time-read
6 dak  |
June 2024
"PEOPLE SAID, "WOMEN AREN'T REALLY SUPPOSED TO DO THAT.SO WE WERE VERY LOUD!"
Total Guitar

"PEOPLE SAID, "WOMEN AREN'T REALLY SUPPOSED TO DO THAT.SO WE WERE VERY LOUD!"

Flying in the face of sexism in the '70s, Heart made it big with some of the most powerful and beautiful rock songs of that era. In turn, Nancy Wilson became one of the most inspirational female guitarists of all time. Now, on the eve of a UK tour, she tells TG: “You have to feel proud of your gnarly hands!\"

time-read
8 dak  |
June 2024
"IS THIS PERSON VIRTUOSIC OR DO THEY TOTALLY SUCK? THAT'S KIND OF WHERE ILIVE!"
Total Guitar

"IS THIS PERSON VIRTUOSIC OR DO THEY TOTALLY SUCK? THAT'S KIND OF WHERE ILIVE!"

St. Vincent's new album sees her teaming up with two Foo Fighters, stealing Josh Homme's secret weapon, using Prince's favourite pedal and embarking on a prog odyssey. It also sees her return to real amps played real loud...

time-read
7 dak  |
June 2024
"THERE'S SOMETHING MAGICAL ABOUT THREE-PART HARMONIES"
Total Guitar

"THERE'S SOMETHING MAGICAL ABOUT THREE-PART HARMONIES"

BATTLESNAKE ARE PUTTING THREE CLASSIC GUITAR RIGS INTO ONE CRAZY HEAVY METAL MELTING POT

time-read
2 dak  |
June 2024