The problem is getting a good, steady supply, and I think it is inevitable that high-end pieces will continue to increase. Custom Colors are also very popular, with Fiesta Red, Sonic Blue and Olympic White being among the favourites. 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. Always in demand, the Strat has to be one of the most popular collectors' items. When I started, even though it was still a relatively expensive guitar, it was still within the price range of most collectors and/or players who were looking for something to keep into their old age. Great guitars new and used Gibson, Fender, Ovation, Gretsch and Rickenbacker available via the website. Learn Flamenco Guitar. Various electronic components, and the configuration of the amplifier and speaker, can be used to alter the sound of the instrument. At the dawn of the Schultz era, things began to come back into focus, and in 1985, with Schultz and his investors now owning the company, Fender faced one of its most daunting design challenges yet: Build a better Stratocaster. Not a reissue, not a cost cutter, not a “Cadillac,” not an import — just a basic U.S. Strat. All the classic US makes, especially Fender, Gibson, and Martin, have increased in value year after year without fail. 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?” Learn Flamenco Guitar.