How to Identify a Fender Stratocaster Guitar
- 1). Look at the writing on the guitar's headstock. Fender Stratocasters have the words "Fender" and "Stratocaster" written on the headstock as well as where it was built and the serial number.
- 2
Stratocasters can be identified by their unique headstock.guitar - machine head image by Chris Edwards from Fotolia.com
Examine the shape of the headstock if the writing has worn away. All of the machine heads are on one side of a Fender Stratocaster headstock and the headstock itself is straight in line with the neck, not angled. The other side has a shape that is unique to Fender Stratocasters. A semicircular shape is cut out of the top of the headstock, and beneath that is a carved section of wood that juts out before being cut back in line with the neck. The size of the jutting out section may differ slightly for different era Stratocasters, but the basic shape is the same. If the guitar's headstock matches the Stratocaster shape, at the very least, the neck is a Stratocaster neck. - 3
The body shape of a Fender Stratocaster is easily recognizable.neon electric guitar image by Peter Helin from Fotolia.com
Examine the body shape of the guitar. Fender Stratocasters bodies are cut away on both sides of the neck, known as a double-cutaway body, and have rounded edges near the bottom of the guitar. - 4). Other defining features for most Fender Stratocasters include the neck plate on the back of the guitar, which usually has a fancy "F" that signifies Fender engraved on it, and the pickup and knob configuration. The pickups on a Stratocaster usually are three single-coil pickups lined up in a row underneath the strings, with the bridge pickup angled slightly. Stratocasters usually have three knobs below the bridge pickup in row that roughly follow the angle of the bridge pickup, and above them is generally a five-way pickup selector.
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