The Fender Stratocaster Handbook

Posted by Mad Stratter

November 7, 2007

Stratocaster Handbook

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: