Vintage 1954 Fender Stratocaster Guitar Forum

Discuss one of the greatest guitar of the 20th Century. The 1953/54 Fender Stratocaster electric solid-body guitar hand-built and designed by Mr. Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender. Please post your comments and photos of your your favorite pre-CBS Strat. Suggest that you view The Electric Guitar Forum for brief write-up on Mr. Leo Fender. DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION OR ARE YOU A KNOW-IT-All and have nothing to share but special interest book opinions and guesses? Do you know the truth and are you subsequently willing to share your insights, if you have anything worth mentioning, with the people who share a genuine interest in the early origins of the 1954 Strat?

Nice! I suggest that you post your guitar in The Vintage Electric Guitar Forum. Also, tell us a little of the history of this guitar? Are you the original owner? Does the guitar have provenance?

Should have kept the Fender sky-blue Mustang guitar. Please chime in if you have pertinent information on The Fender 1954 Stratocaster guitar. The 1953/54 Fender Strotocaster guitar has a dubious history and the truth is yet to come out on this guitar's earlier origins. From prototype to production the history has been really mixed up! Made up stories have been made by certain individuals and certain groups of luthiers and gifted individuals who have the gift of replicating to the slightest degree the most accurate "fakes", "partscasters" or "frankensteins" guitars that were existing between 1954 to 1959! These so-called "original made Strats of the fifties" are existing today because of outright lies by certain so-called "experts" who indoctrinated the guitar community all over the world. Remember, that majority of the earliest of these writers were the ones who made up these stories. These stories went on to inspire guitarist enthusiasts authors to write more books about the history of the iconic Fender 1954 Stratocaster Guitar. These made-up fantasy stories have influenced these younger writers to keep telling the same old story of events and supposed happenings of what went on in 1953 and 1954 concerning the development of the Fender Stratocaster guitar! Trust MR. FORREST WHITE above anybody else to tell you exactly what transpired in the the successful completion of the prototype (and, yes, there was only 1 (one) prototype that Leo worked on toward his goal of making the Strat the guitar of his dreams! And, man, did he do that?! And thus, because of his dream of making the greatest guitar in the world, the Fender company is still reproducing Leo's dream guitar. Leo's dream has become a dream come true! BTW, Forest White's book is called FENDER-THE INSIDE STORY. Read it and be assured that this man was a man of honor and was truthful as could be as an actual eyewitness to what really happened back in 1953 and 1954! PS Mr. Leo Fender had asked his friend Mr. Forrest White to write a book and tell the real truth of his life and the happenings at the Fender Company in the very early years. Reading MR. WHITE'S book will tell you everything that he recalled from the time he met Mr. Fender to the time that Mr. Leo Fender passed away on March 21, 1991 at the age of 82 years old!

Just completed a write-up on Paul A. Bigsby. Please go the VINTAGE ELECTRIC GUITAR FORUM if interested. Also, a write-up on Leo Fender can be read on the VINTAGE ELECTRIC GUITAR FORUM.

I plan to write about the 1953/54 Fender Stratocaster guitar. Stay tuned and tract this thread.

Back in the late 1940s a former radio repair shop owner and designer of some of the best guitar amplifiers in the world went on to design the first commercially available, mass produced, solid body guitar. This guitar was called the Esquire. It only had 1 pickup at the bridge section of the guitar. A secondary pickup was added to this guitar and it was named the Broadcaster. The name caused Leo a problem as this name sounded very much like an instrument name from a larger guitar company forcing Leo to drop the name Broadcaster. For the next 3 months the guitar had no name other than Fender. Subsequently, these guitars are known as Nocasters. By 1951, the guitar was named the Telecaster. Although this guitar was an instant hit, there were some concerns from guitarists in the industry. So, the innovated Leo Fender went back to the drawing board, and redesigned the guitar. It has been said, "What he captured was lightning in a bottle." What he designed was a rocket ship at the time!" This guitar revolutionized the industry and forever changed the way guitars felt, played, and looked. The Fender Stratocaster, even today, 60+ years old, is the guitar by which all others are judged! The Stratocaster is a modern design that had a fully contoured ash wood body with a maple neck and 2 "wings" reminiscent of the cars of the day. These wings allowed for easier access to the upper frets on both the treble and bass strings. It had a fully usable vibrato tailpiece that allowed for accurate bending of notes, and 3 pickups so the musicians could tailor the guitar to their own individuality. Leo also had the presence of mind to use a "bolt-on" neck, rather than the traditional mortise and tendon joint, that made changing the neck, if need be, an easier task. Much, much more can and will be said about the Stratocaster and comments and questions are welcomed. "THE STRAT IS THE MOST EXPRESSIVE OF ALL THE ELECTRIC GUITARS, THE NEAREST TO THE HUMAN VOICE YOU CAN GET."

Feel free to post a photo your pre-CBS (1965 & earlier) Fender Stratocaster guitar for everyone to see. Also, tell us a little something about your guitar. Photos can also be posted on Vintage Electric Guitar Forum.

Just completed a write-up on the legendary Ted McCarthy who was the President and primary designer of the great Gibson guitars, most notably the Gibson Les Paul guitar. Go to the VINTAGE ELECTRIC GUITAR FORUM if you are interested in reading this article.

Let's see your Pre-CBS (1954/65) Vintage Fender Stratocaster guitar. Post a photo and give a little history about the guitar. The photo may be photos of anyone's guitar that falls in that time frame. Famous artists or anybody else's vintage Strat. So, let's see some Vintage Fender Strats. Please contribute your time and efforts because there are literally millions of Fender Stratocaster guitar lovers in our world today!

I will soon do a write-up on Gibson's Les Paul guitars and post it on the VINTAGE ELECTRIC GUITAR FORUM .

A brief write-up on the GIBSON LES PAUL GUITAR has been posted on VINTAGE ELECTRIC GUITAR FORUM.

Hi, there are many info about Fender Stratocaster guitars at https://www.fuzzfaced.net/fender-stratocaster.html