Stratocaster Chronicles

[ZMAN]

For my Birthday I got a new Hendrix Guitar strap by LEVY, very nice, a copy of the CD Live Wire Blues power by Albert King. A rare find indeed, and the book the Stratocaster Chronicles. It is a hard cover with 280 pages of great information on the 50 years of the Strat from its inception until today. Great color shots and many insights into Leo Fender the man behind the Strat. Eric Clapton does an intro and he mentions going into a Guitar shop in Nashville in the 70s called Sho-buds and finding a whole rack of 50s Strats in the back. He said you could pick them up for 200 dollars so he bought the whole rack. He gave one to Steve Winwood, one to George Harrison and one to Pete Townsend, he kept the rest and made the guitar Blackie from parts of several of them. Just amazing stories. It goes nicely with my 50th Anniversay Deluxe Strat and my Tweed Blues Deluxe reissue. A real cool read.

[Spudman***]

Happy Birthday then.

Why didn't we know? Did somebody not fill out their info when they registered? How do you expect to get all the presents we usually give out on birthdays if we don't know?

[just strum]

Happy Birthday then.

Why didn't we know? Did somebody not fill out their info when they registered? How do you expect to get all the presents we usually give out on birthdays if we don't know?

Yep, keeping this one on file.

[peachhead***]

Sounds like a great book- Hope you had a great birthday as well!

[ted s]

Belated HBD fellow southern Ontarian !

[SuperSwede]

Not too shabby birthday presents!

[M29]

Happy Birthday ZMAN, what a great bunch of gifts. That was interesting about Clapton, thanks for sharing:

M29

[ZMAN]

I am only on page 50 or so and I have learned a lot about a fledgling company strarting out in the 40s. Another thing that is strange is that Leo Fender did not play guitar. Another fact that not a lot of people know is that Paul Bigsby(of the Bigsby Tremelo) actually had the Fender style headstock before Leo. He had a 6 on top stype peg head with the same shape as the Fender large headstock.
Apparently Leo says his design came from a 2000 year old stringed instruments that he saw at a museum. Apparently they had the peg head with the 6 on top and the angled headstock. He said that gives the strings a straight line to the bridge which allows them to resonate better. He said he did not want to fan the strings like most 3 on a side pegheads do. Everything he did on the Strat was logical and functional.
Oh and I did get a Happy Birthday from the Fret Net, so the program is working! But thanks anyway.
I did get some nice gifts. I have a lot of people around me who fuel my addiction.
Clapton in his forward said that he never met Leo but if he could ask him one question he would ask him how he came up with such a perfect design with the very first prototype for a guitar that hasn't changed much in over 50 years?
What really boggles my mind is that Clapton was able to buy a whole rack of 50s Strats. With prices for them now in the 5 and 6 figure range, it must be an amazing memory.

[dan P]

That is one book I would like to have, just cant seem to get enough of fenders ------- period !

[ZMAN]

Yes Dan since we have the 50th Anni Deluxes, it goes without saying that we should have the book as well. I sort of put it down before my vacation and I am just about ready to finish it. Still a lot of information on original colors etc, that I thought were more recent editions. When you think of the 50s Cars and the colors they came in, that is what Fender used to paint the guitars. A lot of very interesting facts that make sense now.

[Brian Krashpad]

For my Birthday I got a new Hendrix Guitar strap by LEVY, very nice, a copy of the CD Live Wire Blues power by Albert King. A rare find indeed, and the book the Stratocaster Chronicles. It is a hard cover with 280 pages of great information on the 50 years of the Strat from its inception until today. Great color shots and many insights into Leo Fender the man behind the Strat. Eric Clapton does an intro and he mentions going into a Guitar shop in Nashville in the 70s called Sho-buds ...

Iirc Sho-Bud is also the brand of a pedal-steel guitar.