Fender 75th Anniversary Stratocaster

Diamonds Are Forever

Most products that were invented in 1954 have faded away by now. Our society has gone through half a dozen periods of social upheaval, multiple wars, and several financial crises since then, and our day-to-day life looks nothing like it used to. Technology has progressed at such a rapid rate since then that even the fifties’ most space-age designs became obsolete in a couple years. Yet despite all the change that occurred on this ball of dirt and water over the last six decades, one thing has remained constant: the Fender Stratocaster.

The Stratocaster’s longevity is a testament to the brilliance of Leo Fender’s original design. Originally, Leo wanted the Strat to be Fender’s flagship high-end guitar, and he put an immense amount of research and development into making it the best axe on the market. It went through two years of refinement before Leo finished the first small batch in 1953, but the tremolo system made the guitar sound like “an amplified banjo with no sustain” according to early beta-tester Bill Carson. Rather than put out a product he wasn’t satisfied with, Leo retooled his factory and took another crack at designing a better vibrato system.

The resulting revolutionary “floating tremolo” tailpiece is an excellent example of why the Stratocaster has withstood the test of time. Leo Fender designed the Stratocaster’s bridge thinking it would be used for gentle bends and narrow vibrato, but he did such a good job overdesigning it that it was able to handle Jimi Hendrix’s rampant whammy bar abuse during the psychedelic seventies and Kurt Cobain’s on-stage freakouts during the noisy nineties. The basic design of the Strat never had to change, because Leo got it right the first time.

Timeless Tone in the Modern Era

The 75th Anniversary Stratocaster is proof that the Strat remains a basically-unchanged butt-kicking machine more than seven decades after its invention, and it's a continuation of Leo's legacy of excellence. It delivers classic fat '50s tone in spades thanks to its vintage-style single-coil pickups. With the 5-way selector, you can find everything from warm, lush tones to gorgeous sparkly jangle, and when you play it through a dirty amp it has that vocal bite that inspired generations of guitarists to bend up that minor third and really make it wail!

Though its tone may be timeless, the 75th Anniversary Stratocaster does sport a few high-performance tweaks that make life easier for the discerning modern player. It has a modern 9.5" radius and medium-jumbo frets, a combination that works well with a wide variety of techniques and playstyles. It also has a slim modern C neck profile that feels like your favorite worn-in pair of jeans, making this mean machine a real joy to play!

Ultimately, the 75th Anniversary Strat wraps the vintage Strat tones we love in a package that offers modern playability at a player-friendly value, and it's a cool piece of Fender history to boot! We have no doubt its many sonic and aesthetic charms will delight lucky Fender fanatics and inspire them to embark on all sorts of exciting fretboard adventures!