Mad Stratter

Every Strat lover’s library should include Paul Balmer’s ‘The Fender Stratocaster Handbook.‘For beginning guitarists and new Strat owners, this book takes a lot of the mystery and confusion out of that canoe-paddle-with-strings you’ve been fiddling around with, and eases your frustration when something stops working properly.

The Stratocaster Handbook gives an abridged version of the history of Fender’s flagship guitar, and breaks down the Strat into it’s bare-bones components, revealing an amazingly simple combination of metal and wood behind all that magic that you hear coming from your fingertips.

If you’re looking for a little more in-depth information, or just trying to save an extra $40 a year on setting up your ax, Balmer covers the basics of Strat set-up like bridge adjustments, neck adjustments, tremolo alignment, truss rod adjustments and pickup height settings, as well as some more complex projects like pickup replacement, nut adjustments and anti-relicing (otherwise known as refinishing.) While he only touches on finish touch-ups, the rest of the information is presented with enough clarity and detail to make even a complete novice comfortable fiddling with his guitar’s guts after a few reads.

For long-time Strat-lovers, the Stratocaster Handbook features an analysis of several different styles of Stratocasters, as well as famous Strat player’s and their guitars (with large, glossy, extra-purdy color photos to boot!).

Specific case studies include:

• 1954 Custom Shop Reissue (2004)
• 1957 Vintage Reissue (1996)
• 50th Anniversary 1959 Reissue (Japanese- 1996)
• 1974 Vintage Reissue (2005)
• Squier Affinity series Strat (Chinese- mid 1990s)
• Squier Standard series Strat (Indonesian- 2005)
• Mexican Fat-Strat (SSH) with Floyd Rose tremolo
• Custom Shop ‘Blackie’
• 2005 American Series

Featured Stratters and their Strats include:

• Buddy Holly and his 1958 Sunburst Strat
• Hank Marvin with his 1958 Fiesta Red Strat
• Eric Clapton with ‘Brownie,’ ‘Blackie,’ and a graffiti-Strat
• George Harrison and John Lennon’s 1961 Sonic Blue Stratocasters
• Jimi Hendrix’s 1968 Olympic White Strat
• Mark Knopfler’s 1961 Strat
• SRV’s Number One

So whether you’re a veteran Fender man or a Strato-n00b, there’s something in The Stratocaster Handbook for every Stratter, everywhere.

BUY IT HERE.

This post is tagged Fender Stratocaster, Fender Stratocaster Handbook, Hot-Rodding, Maintenance, Repairs, Resources, Reviews, Setup