Fender Stratocaster Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster is a model of electric guitar designed in 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously manufactured the Stratocaster from 1954 to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top "horn" shape for balance. Along with the Gibson Les Paul and Fender Telecaster, it is one of the most-often emulated electric guitar shapes. "Stratocaster" and "Strat" are trademark terms belonging to Fender. Guitars that duplicate the Stratocaster by other manufacturers are usually called "S-Type" or "ST-type" guitars. The Stratocaster is a versatile
Inlay (guitar) Often the edges of the guitar around the neck and body and down the middle of the back are inlaid. Because some electric guitars (like the Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster) do not have a separate fretboard under which they can fit a truss rod, they fit it in the back of the neck and cover it with a strip of dark wood. This has popularly become known as a "skunk stripe," and while it is not inlay, some makers use inlay to simulate it. The edge of the soundboard around the sound hole of an acoustic guitar is almost always