I Have a Dream

The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously to the present. The Stratocaster has been used by many leading guitarists, and thus can be heard on many historic recordings. Along with the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, and the Fender Telecaster, it is one of the most common and enduring models of electric guitar in the world. The design of the Stratocaster has transcended the field of music to rank among the classic industrial designs of all time; examples have been exhibited at major museums around the world. The Stratocaster has been widely copied; as a result, the term "Strat," although a trademark of Fender Musical Instrument Corporation, is often used generically when referring to any guitar that has the same general features as the original, regardless of manufacturer.

The Stratocaster features three single coil pickups, with the output originally selected by a 3-way switch. Guitarists soon discovered that by jamming the switch in between the 1st and 2nd position, both the bridge and middle pickups could be selected, and similarly, the middle and neck pickups could be selected between the 2nd and 3rd position. Jimi Hendrix would also move the switch across the settings while sustaining a note, creating a characteristic 'wobbly' sound. This trick became widespread and Fender responded with the 5-way pickup selector (a standard feature since 1977)[9] which allowed these tonal combinations and provided better switching stability; the "quacky" tone of the middle and bridge pickups, popularized by players such as David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Robert Cray, can be obtained by using the pickup selector into positions 2 and 4.

Fender supply a variety of signature models, each with specifications similar to those used by a well-known performer. Custom Artist guitars are the Custom Shop versions; they slightly differ from the regular artist signature range in terms of quality and construction, making these instruments much more expensive than the regular production versions. Artists with models available in the signature range include Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Mark Knopfler, Stevie Ray Vaughan and others.

So...After that great reading of wikipedia, I think I finally qualify as an expert now. I think I'll start an opinionated blog on it. OR, I could start a website called ****.** (get it?; wink, wink). No wait, someone already did that. Damn. I Used to Have a Dream. The End.

P.S.: The first 50 users who can crack the website name correctly, may win prizes. Or you may just crack it to inflate your already-inflated-puzzle-solving-egos. Remember, this is not a cheap attempt at increasing comments on this blog. Really, The End. Bye....