I have seen it written that Jimi Hendrix has been the most significant Stratocaster player in terms of raising it's profile. Has Fender ever released any numbers to support this?

One quick google search and you have your answer
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=n ... ratocaster

The top one show 7 different strats that pay tribute to Hendrix.

Remember: Google is the brain you never got

The strat already had a significant reputation and popularity before Hendrix arrived. I think when the CBS sale went through, Leo was back ordered by like 150,000 on Mustangs alone....

Clapton was significant in boosting strat sales, especially vintage strats, in the 70s. Hendrix only ever played CBS strats which were never as collectable or desirable as early strats and by the 1970s there was a growing vintage culture spreading though players and hobbyists alike who felt that the quality of the pre-CBS era was far superior, so you could argue that Hendrix couldn't be significant in terms of raising it's profile because the quality after he died was so poor that people didn't want to buy new strats. many people saw that their favourite players played older strats, so these 'vintage strats' became increeasingly desirable. I read that when Clapton picked up a strat, they went from $75 - nearly $600 almost overnight. What you began to see from CBS was several models that began to incorporate older features like 4 bolt necks instead of 3 bolt. As soon as CBS was gone everything went back to trying to recreate the strat of 54-65 and building on from there.

By the 80s the strats reputation was about gone, so you could argue that for it to still be here and as significant as it is today, the most significant person in terms of raising the strat's profile was maybe Dan Smith or Bill Schultz. In terms of players at that time I suppose you would have to look to the blues revival and players like Robert Cray and especially SRV, maybe even Yngwie for what he did with his neoclassical stuff from the early 80s (which at the time was pretty revolutionary) which kept the strat in the limelight and at the forefront of new music and the player's conciousness

I'd have to say Clapton has done more for strat sales. He hasnt had many tribute guitars, but did have 3 versions of the same guitar running for years. Also he's had a signature guitar since what 87???
The only other person with similar stats is Yngwie. Now ability aside, ask a member of the non musical public about Yngwie and you'll likely get a 'what?' answer. Everyones heard of Clapton though, and most know he plays Fender.

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I just wish I had gone down there and bought several Strats at $100 apiece before Clapton put Blackie together and shot the prices up.
I could have since I live in the Nashville area,but like somebody mentioned,at the time they weren't that popular.
When Hendrix came out it was his unorthodox ways of playing and songs that mimicked LSD trips that had everybody mesmerized.It's taken out of context so much nowadays by people who weren't around then.
When he tried to get back to his roots of R&B and funk,it didn't go over that well at the time,people didn't recognize what he was doing,they were hung up on the head trip stuff of the first album.

I would agree with Niki as there has never been one continuous Hendrix artist Strat also SRV has had a major impact especially on the younger guys probably more so than Eric and Jimi. Brownie was a vintage Strat it was a 56.

It was nowhere near what it eventually became. Look at the Woodstock movie, and you will see very few strats besides Jimi's. I started playing guitar around the same time that Jimi became well known in the U.S. I can tell you first hand that most people that had good guitars were not playing strats. SG's were particulary popular at that time. It was not until Jimi hit the airwaves that interest in the strat was revitalized. I would guess that there was maybe a good deal of interest before this in the U.K. due to Hank Marvin, but not here.

I would just like to toss my -highly- subjective $.02 worth in here...

I really think that the evolution of the popularity of Strats really didn't have too much to do with any single player. I've read in a few places over the years about how when the Strat first came out in the early 50's, most folks thought it was just way too freakish and futuristic. But then the same thing could be said of the Les Paul as well...I remember reading how Gibson originally didn't even want to put the company name on it. Certainly back then most "serious" musicians really weren't all that interested in them...except for folks like Buddy Holly and a few others, no one really took them too seriously.

I have to agree with Rebelsoul in his comments about Hendrix's sound at the time...I think it was really more about how he played and his music than the actual guitar he used back then and I think a lot of people today do tend to take the out of context. For that matter, I think the same thing could be said of Clapton as well...in the early days, Clapton of course used Gibsons. It was really more about his music and his later use of Strats simply became a part of that.

Certainly you will have people who will rush out and buy "such and such" guitar because they're favorite guitar player used that on such and such album but I tend to think that the number of people in that category is really a fairly small minority. That said, I really tend to believe that advertising and "artist endorsement" really only goes so far. Let's be completely honest here...are you -really- going to switch to Coke if you're a Pepsi drinker just because Eric Clapton drinks it?? Yea...sure...some folks truly are -that- weak minded but most folks as a general rule aren't. I think the exact same thing is very true of guitars...if you play Les Pauls and you -like- playing Les Pauls (I don't), it's not like most folks are going to up and switch to a Strat because "so and so" plays/played one.

Again this is obviously my highly subjective opinion here but personally I think that Strats simply sold/sell themselves. Gibsons and guitars from companies such as Gretsch and Rickenbacker (that were also popular back in the day) were always...well...expensive. Your average "kid" who was looking to get in to guitar and this thing we call "rock and roll" often couldn't afford one of those. Often times the only "affordable" alternatives were the inexpensive clones that, particularly back in the 70's and 80's, were often pretty much really poor quality instruments (there were exceptions of course, but more often than not those old clones could be pretty junky to say the least). I've played a few "Silvertones" over the years and I own a Memphis LP copy...come on...gimme a break! LOL!!! Strats however have typically been of fairly decent quality as a general rule and at prices that most "working musicians" could actually afford...and I think that one single aspect more than anything else and certainly more than any specific "guitar hero" has contributed to their success. Further, the truth is that if you take all of the guitar hero's that have owned/played Strats, that's still a relatively small number compared to the number of working musicians out there who buy them...it's us "weekend warriors" who actually make up the bulk of Fender's sales...not the Claptons, Hendrixs and Malmsteens of the world. Are we influenced by their music? Certainly. But if that's the only reason you buy such and such brand/model of guitar, you really are buying a guitar for the wrong reasons (and probably won't end up playing it much as a result).

Also, to quote Eric Clapton here, "you can almost get a Strat to sound like a Les Paul but you can -never- get a Les Paul to sound like a Strat". Let's face it here...short of some of the elaborate specialty instruments out there today (such as the digital modeling guitars or the Brian May guitars), the Strat is about the most versatile instrument you can buy on the popular market. In the right hands, you can get -a lot- of different sounds out of a Strat where as a Les Paul or SG sounds like a Les Paul or SG (which sound the same anyways). Combine this with the fact that they're more affordable than a lot of other guitars and I really don't think it's too hard to understand why they're so popular.

Last but not least, while I certainly won't speak for others, personally I play Strats because that's what -I- like to play. Very simply I like the way they sound and I like the way they feel. The fact that some of my favorite guitar players such as Gilmour, Clapton and SRV play them (sorry...but I still think Malmsteen is a joke) while it makes me feel like I'm in "good company", it really has -nothing- to do with why I play them myself. I don't like Les Pauls (or archtops in general)...they're heavy, they're bulky and very uncomfortable for me to play. SG's...sorry but I still think they're ugly! LOL! Ok...yea...I'd love to own a Gretsch White Falcon just because I think they're incredibly elegant and beautiful, but I probably wouldn't play it much at all...I still like the way my Strats play. I certainly would not switch to such a guitar just because someone like David Gilmour started endorsing them...I'm sorry but that's completely moronic in my book. I play Strats because -I- like Strats...and accept for the comparatively few simple minded pinheads who are so easily seduced by marketing, I think the same is true of most folks who prefer any specific model of guitar.

Anyways, like I said...just my own opinion,
Jim

Rory Gallagher was my inspiration for getting a strat. Sure Clapton and Jimi had a hand in my decision also, but Rory was the deciding factor for me.

I'd never heard of Rory Gallagher before I visited these boards.

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So then if Gallagher had of played a Danelectro or a Jackson instead, you would have bought one of those instead of a Strat?? Not to be rude but...wow.... I'm sorry but I just don't get that kind of thinking at all.

Jim

I had never heard of Joe Bonamassa ...

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

Yeah he's another one to add to my 'complete ignorance of' list, along with John Mayer.

In retrospect I think I'm on a winner by being shut off from media influence.

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I have to admit that although I played Strats early on,it was Duane Allman and Dickey Betts that got me into playing Les Pauls.Trying to recreate their sounds was as frustrating as it could be,and rewarding at times.After playing Gibsons I went back to Strats slowly until I never touch a Les Paul now.
The Paul only sounds like a Paul to me.
The Strat is more versatile,comfortable to play and just feels good in the right places.You can work on it easier,mod it to your heart's content,change it's looks by buying a new pick guard,and if you drop it....it will bounce....try that with a Les Paul.

My first guitar was a Strat, just because I liked them and I could afford one. My Dad had a Fender Jazz Bass so if anything, that played a role in my decision. But I had never heard of Hendrix or Clapton then, and it turns out that most of the guitar players I liked at the time were Les Paul people. After I found that out, I did get a Les Paul. But it had more to do with the sound, which I liked, than it had with any one person playing one.

I will say this, the reason my Strats came out from under my bed and ended up being my favorite over again was SRV. After I got my Gibson Les Paul I sort of viewed my Strats as my beginner guitars, and stopped playing them. Plus I thought there was no way of getting anything but a 50's/60's bees-in-a-tin-can tone from them. After hearing SRV, that changed. So I guess Hendrix had an indirect influence on my guitar of choice.

But I think they can sell themselves and they'll still be around for another 50 years as more people rediscover them.

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