"...otherwise the advertising-blurb-of-the-future would read "Yeah, back in the day everyone had one of these, they found them to be a pretty decent guitars at reasonable prices. Now you, too, can enjoy acceptable quality for the money -- except that this is an expensive reproduction of those workin'-man guitars, so it'll cost you but you can still enjoy the 'standard' sound"

That's exactly on the money, Mondo. Thank you! And you have a sense of humor as well Read his post again, and you'll laugh at how silly it sounds, and yet that's what we're promoting.

Let's not hold the ordinary, the mundane or the cheap up to too bright of a light just cause we own one. I'm going to repeat myself...but guys...I OWN one. That doesn't or shouldn't mean that I can't be honest about it when comparing it to really good ones. Mondo is right. Let's create a better standard, always, but especailly as it applies to re-issues.

Pete..... Totaly mate.
Theres much better to be had from other manufacturers in all fenders price ranges, look a prs. We owe it to fender to keep em on their toes and not accept 'will do' at any price range. Whether it be £3k or £300.

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No no and no

PRS I have to agree. I drove by there Plant last week and have been thinking the next to be

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

On the topic of whats worth reissuing:

I think one criteria would be to compare a specific model against the Am. STD.

Standard in the model name should give it away. (I own and love one, not a hater.) Standard means: This is your basic Strat. We may offer cheaper alternatives with fewer nice features and appointments, or we may offer more expensive 'upgraded' versions with all the bells and whistles you can imagine, but this AM. STD. is the baseline around which the whole line is designed.

So as a criteria for RI candidacy one would have to look a a specific model and ask 1) is this model significantly different than the standard in any way? and 2) is this model BETTER than the standard in any significant way.

When oyu can answer yes, then oyu might just have something to consider reissuing, and making a run of.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Truely wise words Twelvebar. The stndard is the standard by which all others are judged.
Makes sense to me.

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Ah yes, but is it the older American standard or a new standard by which we measure?

I think that there was never anything wrong with the Stratocaster guitar that Leo Fender and company designed. Why can the standard not be a 1954? a '58? A '60 or '62?

Those seem to fetch good money these days, and they are highly desired for playability and tone amongst pros. So make them the standard. It's surely what the world clamors for, so that must be the gold standard of excellence, wouldn't we think?

In relation to the original topic, the important question here is why the 1957 and 1962 Strats (the "Standards" of their time) are the one's that get reissued. Partly it is because those models are felt to be architypal examples of the Strat at certain points in it's development.

But also it is because of what came next. Whether the deprecation of '70s Strats is justified or not (and let's not get into that) the perception by the end of that decade was that the earlier years were the ones before the instrument went "wrong". So guitars with those specs gained a premium - whether originals or reissues.

So to the OP, what they might be reissuing in 50 year's time depends on what happens between now and then. If from 2010 onwards Strat production takes a weird left turn, perhaps with a new headstock, radically different pickups and a questionable neck attachment method, then in years to come people will be saying, "Ah, 2009; now that's when a Strat WAS a Strat!". And the 2009 will become the desired object to be aquired through a reissue.

Doesn't sound very likely, though...

Cheers - C

the bottom line is noboby realy knows
whats going to be reissued 50 years from now.

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sombody get me a doctor!

A 100th Anniversary Reissue model of the Stratocaster in the year 2054. How hard would that be to figure out?

-Harley

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I only have two brain cells left, and I'm saving them....for this weekend!

hi harley i enjoy your post.
heres the reality of the whole thing
were talking about whats going to be
reissued in the next 50 to 100 years.
the reality is we as a human race may
not even be here in 50 years. also in
50 years i would be 97 years old even if
i'm still alive i would most likely not care
whats reissued. just my take on this.

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sombody get me a doctor!

Hi Alwaysstrat,
I enjoy the forums a lot too I'm talking about reality too.
In the year 2054, would'nt it make sense to have a 100th Anniversary
Reissue model of the guitar that changed the way everyone
looked at guitars?
Of course, I'll be 96 when that happens, and if I'm still alive, and
able to pick one up, I'd go for it!

-Harley

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I only have two brain cells left, and I'm saving them....for this weekend!

Harley, if both of us and fender are still around i'll buy you a 100th Anni strat should they release one.

Thats a promise you can take to the bank mate.

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No no and no

maybe if i'm still here in 50 years
i might pick one up also. who knows
its still 50 years away that a long time.

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sombody get me a doctor!