Stratocaster turns 60 but for its musician fans, it never gets old [View all]

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Last edited Thu Feb 13, 2014, 09:32 PM - Edit history (1)

Stratocaster players such as Jeff Beck, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, the Edge and Buddy Guy sing praises for the electric guitar and its perfectly modern design, which turns 60 this year.

By Randy Lewis
February 13, 2014, 6:00 a.m.

Rock guitar hero Jeff Beck remembers falling in love for the first time.

"I'd only ever seen Spanish-style or jazz guitars, and then I saw a Stratocaster," said Beck, 69, of his schoolboy crush. "I was fascinated by the shape, the double cutaways; it was all too cool. It had all these pickups and knobs and controls — it embodied all the excitement of modern living.

"A few years later I saw one in London hanging in a window, and the guy let me try it on," said the former member of the Yardbirds. "It fit me like it was made for me. That was it — we were married. I thought 'This is it,' and I never forgot it."

Virtually all musicians have a similar story surrounding their first high-quality instrument, and for many guitarists, that tender memory revolves around the Stratocaster.

The Strat, which was created by electric guitar innovator Leo Fender in his Fullerton workshop, turns 60 this year.

..more..

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-stratocaster-60th-20140213,0,3072085.story#ixzz2tFfltZ90

Stars and their Stratocasters,

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-stratocaster-celebrities-photos,0,60116.photogallery#axzz2tFg7Ej6B

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