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
Ken Parker (guitar maker) Ken Parker (guitar maker) Ken Parker is an American luthier known for his unique archtop guitars and the controversial Parker Fly electric guitar which came out in 1993. He is the founder of Parker Guitars. Parker was raised on Long Island, New York and made his first guitar (out of wood and cardboard) at the age of 13. In his early 20s, after studying various aspects of tool-making and woodworking, he worked in a grandfather clock factory in a Rochester, New York and began building stringed instruments while working with the furniture-maker Richard Newman. Guitar lessons further sparked his interest