Anyone have any links to "the very beginning" of the Stratocaster?
What brought it on? I recall something about early Tele owners asking why
a stratocaster was needed as they were happy with their teles.

Also, I have a personal theory as to the name, itself.
"Strato" in the name "Stratocaster" may be a play on the name "Stratofortress" as used by Boeing for their then new B-52 bomber
or the earlier B-47 Stratojet or the still earlier 307 Stratoliner which first flew in 1938. The name "Strato" seems to have a Boeing presence to it.

Oops, me find a source!

http://books.google.com/books?id=iUSatH ... er&f=false

Google is yer buddy.... well, sometimes.

The words "strato" and "sonic" were both buzz-words reflecting the cutting-edge advantage in the post-WWII aerospace industry that the US enjoyed pretty much exclusively at the time of the Stratocaster's development. It's not surprising that Leo chose that name for his latest guitar creation and would later adopt the term "sonic" as well for many other guitar and amp designs.

As for the Stratojet/Stratofortress debate, I'll take the B-47 any day......one of the most graceful aircraft ever developed.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

"Buzzword". That's what I thought.

Just thinking in the same vein as "Telecast", "Broadcast", "Cybercast"


Hey look out Flycaster & Co.! Fender just might come after ya!

The Stratocaster name apparently came from Don Randall, head of
marketing for Fender. He also named the previous guitar the Broadcaster
and then renamed it the Telecaster (because Gretsch already had a
drumkit using the Broadkaster name).

Don Randall just died last year. At the time Brad wrote a memorial piece
about him and his achievements for the company which I expect might still
be found somewhere on this website...

Cheers - C

The following is a quote from The Fender Stratocaster book by guitar guru A.R.Duchossoir ".....it is assumed that the name was later coined by Leo Fender himself as a blend between a sort of space-age "stratospheric" appeal and the catchy "caster"suffix used on the Telecaster."

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I wish I'd seen that tribute, Ceri.

Indeed, they're all gone now -- Leo, Forest White, Freddy, Bill, and Don.

Gentlemen all, and visionaries well ahead of their time.

(hand salute)

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I hope nobody gets me wrong. They're all cool names.

In the back of my mind, I always wonder about names and copyrights.
It's been that way for a long time.

Chevrolet ala Louis Chevrolet
Ford ala Henry Ford
Cadillac ala http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac,_Gironde


Here's one for you.
Pete Biltoft - http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/I ... spx?Page=2

Now read this:
http://www.peterbilt.com/history.aspx

Either "Pete Biltoft" is the man's real name or it's a fictitious name
spun off of... "Peterbilt". It could be that the man's parents named him
that drawing from inspiration of the truck and their last name.
notice the term "pickup".


Here's another one:
Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" and Bob Will's Ida Red
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maybellene
The article states that "Maybellene" was drawn from the cosmetics company "Maybelline".
Well, now suddenly you have a combination of what some may call infringements.
Interestingly enough, Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" precurses the Beach Boy's Surfin' USA.

Pretty bizarre when the term "Chevy" refers to Chevrolet and Don McClean "...drove my Chevy to the levy..." and away he went.
I wonder if there were any issues with GM over that.

http://community-2.webtv.net/stratocoup ... tocasterA/


On Bill Carson:

http://lyricpro.com/LyricProStratocaster.HTM

+1 Ceri,
It's almost Don Randall choose all the names for Fender product

I was born the same year the Strat was supposed to be born,1953,and I remember everything that was advertised as new and cutting edge had a "space age" name or something like a little rocket in the ads...I even remember kid's writing tablets in the late 50s with a rocket ship on the cover.
At least they didn't call a Fender guitar something like "sputnik".

Hey, well done finding that, Nevin! I couldn't put my finger on it - thanks.

And it's saying he named the P-Bass, Bassman, Esquire, etc, as well! Busy fella...

Cheers - C

I think you about have it right. Back then people were obsessed with Flight and Space. Only makes sense since the Strat was a futurisitic guitar of the time...

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


facebook.com/313DBC

Read the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Stratocaster-Chro ... 0634056786

_________________
Bill

I have this book and all other about Fender. It's one of the best book about Fender guitars.

Purchasing and reading books about instruments and amplifiers and musicians and music is a very, very good thing.

Think of it as taking those courses you really wish there had been at school.