The Fender Stratocaster was designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares in 1954. It has been manufactured continuously since launch, and is still one of the most popular electric guitars on sale today.

Originally conceived as a guitar that could be easy to manufacture and assemble, it proves beyond doubt that sometimes simple is best when it comes to design. Lucky for us, simple is also best when it comes to sweet sweet tone!

It's solid body with double cut-away made it much easier to play than some other electric guitars of the time. With its bolt on neck it was also lighter and sleeker than most of it's counterparts.

Originally supplied in a sunburst finish, it was later available in custom colour finishes. Interestingly these were actually vehicle paints supplied by Dupont. So I suppose, if you fancied it you could buy a new car and buy a Stratocaster in the same colour. This also makes me wonder on average how much of a longer life does a strat have compared to a car. I know which one seems like the better investment to me!

Guitarists being guitarists love to play and experiment with sound (after all, we do play the best instrument ever invented!). The Stratocaster was originally fitted with a three way pick up selector. It was common for players to wedge the selector between positions in order to open both circuits and therefore two pick-ups to be selected, adding a whole new range of sound to the already versatile Strat. It wasn't long before Fender modified the design and switched to a five way pick-up selector.

In 1959 single piece necks were replaced with necks with a glued on fretboard originally a design to save money. The single piece necks did make a reappearance some years later on more expensive custom models.

There have been various design tweeks over the years, but the original idea and concept of the Stratocaster has remained constant. A design classic! There are not that many designs from the 1950s that still make money today. If you are thinking of buying a Stratocaster then take the plunge, you won't be disappointed. Whats the worst that could happen? You keep it a few years and get back more than what you paid for it in the first place.