No two Strats sound alike. They have an incredible variety of sounds available on the same instrument. It's brilliant. There is no other instrument like it. The reissues of ’82 were okay, but many players had the real thing and they were still affordable. Great guitars new and used vailable via the website. He produced the first solid-body guitars, including the Telecaster Broadcaster models, in 1951 and the Stratocaster, with its simple built-in electronics, first hit stores in September of 1954. The construction, technology and player-centric design of this guitar makes it truly state of the art. This great American icon is the subject of Gibson's Fabulous Flat Tops, a comprehensive book that chronicles the history of the Gibson company and the growth and development of their flat top guitars. The Stratocaster was first produced in early 1954 by Los Angeles engineer Leo Fender, who had tinkered with improving amplified hollow-body instruments since the 1940s. Body Buy Guitar.