A new Strat was developed in 1986, unveiled to key dealers, and introduced to critical raves at the January 1987 NAMM trade show. Details included typical features (three-layer pickguard, one-piece maple neck, etc.), plus a small headstock, 4-bolt neck, a 9 1/2” radius fingerboard with jumbo frets, a TBX tone circuit, a redesigned tremolo with two bearing points instead of six screws, flat-polepiece pickups, a hum-reducing, reverse-polarity pickup in the middle position, a silver transition logo, and a urethane finish. Following a complete history of this distinctive instrument's development, this book offers extensive portions of interviews with dozens of great guitarists like Dick Dale, Otis Rush, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Buddy Guy and many more. These musicians describe their first experiences with the Stratocaster, why they choose it over other guitars, the individual models they own, and playing techniques that maximize the Strat sound. This is the comprehensive, must-own owner's or collector's manual for any Gretsch fan. It uncovers the history of the guitars through 32 pages of color photos, hundreds of black & white photos, and forewords by Fred Gretsch, George Harrison, Randy Bachman, Brian Setzer, and Duane Eddy. Marshall is the company that originated the amp 'stack' - tracing the impressive lineage of its valve guitar amps. Acoustic Guitar Online. So how would the new Fender company accommodate changing styles and tastes, and adapt its venerable Stratocaster guitar to the needs of the present? During the CBS era, clear answers had often eluded the suits who ran the company. One exec opined in private, “What are we supposed to do — build in the same old mistakes, just to keep the purists happy?” No one changed the sound of guitar music more than Leo Fender. Another industry standard, the Fender Jazz Bass, was released in 1960. The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument similar to an electric guitar but larger in size and with a deeper tone. It is also closely related to the double bass and shares things in common with a range of bass instruments. Acoustic Guitar Online.