Maple neck with "C"-shaped profile Indian Laurel fingerboard Three single-coil Stratocaster pickups with five-way switching Vintage-inspired hardtail bridge 21 medium jumbo frets ...

In short: the Fender Strat reimagined what an electric guitar ... you need to start playing guitar right out of the box, with a Squier Sonic Telecaster, practice amp, guitar strap, cable, tuner ...

But it was the next design, released in 1954, that would establish Fender as one of the biggest names in guitars. He began designing the Stratocaster, a model that would improve on the Telecaster ...

Many Fender pickups are era-related ... A higher figure (over 12” – see the Squier Contemporary Strat) is flatter and supposedly better suited to shreddier styles. 9.5” is a happy medium.

The relatively no-frills range – consisting of a Strat, Strat HSS ... off at $799 and the Classic Vibe range from Fender’s ...