April 30, 2009
Coming to Grips with the Collectible Fender Stratocaster Market
New to the maze that's the collectible Fender Stratocaster market? Join me as I reacquaint myself with the current state of the market after a several-year Stratocaster hiatus. In light of the world's current state, economic, political and health included, it will be interesting to see what impact things have had on the vintage and non-vintage collectible Stratocaster. But first, for those new to this world, let's first go over a few basic ideas. An old Stratocaster may or may not be collectible, despite the word vintage. Its collectibility depends on a number of factors such as year of manufacture and current condition (refinished, refretted, replaced electronics, etc.). Likewise, a rare and significant Custom Shop Stratocaster might not be a vintage instrument, but still very collectible. What's of concern in this article are collectible Stratocasters, both vintage and non-vintage...
April 28, 2009
The Current Fender VG Stratocaster Fades Out
"The Stratocaster of the future is here," said Fender in January of 2007 when it introduced the VG Stratocaster at that year's Winter NAMM Show. Even more impressive was the fanfare given the VG on Fender's website as the company pulled out the stops by producing retro-looking videos to tell the VG story and sell the instrument's concept: the marriage of traditional Stratocaster features with avant garde computer modeling technology via the Roland GK bridge pickup. The VG's future, however, lasted only a little over two years as Fender has quietly announced in a side note on its VG product webpage that the model will be "* Discontinued as of April 2009. Please check with your local authorized Fender Dealer for availability." Here's a compilation of the Fender VG retro-style videos from the VG Strat promo section of the Fender site, which includes demos by Fender clinician Greg Koch and an explanation of the VG's features...
September 14, 2006
Bill Carson's 1959 Stratocaster to be Auctioned
On October 13, 2006, the New York office of Christie's auction house will offer the 1959 Fiesta Red, custom-built Stratocaster that Fender made for Bill Carson, a Western Swing guitarist and Fender employee whose career with Fender spanned more than 40 years. Carson began his association with Fender as a part-time assembly person and product development field tester and had a significant influence on the evolution of the Stratocaster...June 6, 2006
Carlos Santana Talks to Modern Guitars
Press release Source: Modern Guitars Magazine On June 1, 2006, a day before his appearance at the Rock 'n' Rio festival in Lisbon, Portugal, guitarist Carlos Santana spoke with Tom Watson, news editor for Modern Guitars Magazine, in an interview that covers a wide variety of topics, including the Paul...March 22, 2006
Robin Trower Interview
by Brian D. HollandFebruary 23, 2006
Monster Mike Welch Interview
by Brian D. HollandJanuary 13, 2006
George Gruhn on the State of the Vintage Stratocaster, 2006
by George GruhnI still have vivid memories of the time during the early 1990s when Guitar Player magazine published an issue with Stratocasters on the cover and a large title "Stratmania". No sooner did that article appear than prices on Stratocasters plunged approximately 40% and took several years to recover...
