Fender "The Strat" Walnut

Fender's "The Strat" was the first attempt at a high-end Strat. These instruments were special because they had a smaller pre-CBS (like) headstock, 4 Bolt Neck and regular truss rod instead of the bullet truss rod and large headstock that all other stratocasters had in this era.

Furthermore, they featured brass parts that were coated in 100 micron thick of gold. To put that into perspective, that is the same grade as fine watches. For an item to be advertised as gold plated, it must have at least .5 micron of gold. Heavy Gold Plated is considered 2.5 microns. This was 100 micron! It is believed that Fender actually lost money making this guitars since the price went up during production.

The parts plated included the special bridge, Tremolo Arm, Knobs, Jack Plate, Tuners and Switch Tip.

These instruments can be rather heavy with all the gold plated brass, but they are also very versatile guitars with the X-1 Bridge pickup that is hotter than a regular stratocaster and the S-1 Switch that replaces the 2nd tone knob.

The S-1 system mimics a varitone in that you turn it and it clicks into different positions from standby to the two main categories.