The Strat that Hendrix built. And Clapton. And Ronnie Wood.

American Vintage ‘70s Hardtail Stratocaster

Throughout the year, Fender will be releasing 10 limited edition guitars. First of the 10 for ’15 is the American Vintage ‘70s Hardtail Stratocaster.

In the 70s the Stratocaster took off into the rock ‘n’ roll…stratosphere. The guitar’s popularity was do in part to the people who played it, Eric Clapton,  Jimi Hendrix and Ron Wood. The Strats that were built in the 70s were the result of how these guys played their guitars.

In the search for unique sounds, guitarist would rest the 3-way pickup switch between settings creating unique tones. Fender took note of this and started building the guitars with 5-way switches, stabilizing the sound. Since 1977 the 5-way switch has come standard on many Fenders, so it’s no surprise to see it here.

Then there is the hardtail bridge. The bridge also came about as a result of the way guys like Ron Wood were customizing their Stratocasters. Not happy with the floating tremolo they would stabilized their bridges with pieces of wood. This Rock Star ingenuity lead to Fender producing versions of the Strat with a hardtail bridge which offered greater sustain, among other tonal differences. It’s not for everyone and the guitar forums are full of opinions on the matter. The distinction in the sound of a hardtail is often described as having more punch. Play before you pay.

Other sweet 70s era details of this limited edition, only 500 are out there, include a black pickup guard, a large headstock, and 3 single-coil pickups. For the full specs visit Fender.