1954 Fender Stratocaster & the Pre-Production Models

We currently have a beautiful 1954 Fender Stratocaster in the shop, the first year of the model, and it is a stunning instrument! It also happens to be a very, very early guitar from this year. The arrival of this guitar got Tyler thinking again about early Fender, so join him on a quick trip to the land of early Stratocasters!

For more information on the guitar, or to check out the previous demo, please check out:

[denAlexVA]

Many thanks for this video and what I have learned. I have owned for fifty years a Nov. 54 production model. By the way, in 1976 I managed Danny Gatton's shop in Maryland. The best!

[chrisraatz]

love the concise and not hyped-up history lesson. Well done.

[Scaredycat-dad]

I learned more in five minutes with you than I do in 5 months on other channels. Thank you!

[markmcdonald]

I was born in Oct 1954, when I turned 50 got a G&L strat as a birthday present, best birthday ever.

[mikegoldberg]

in 1979 I had a aqintence come to my house in phoenix, az. with what = he said was a 1953 Fender prototype Fender Stratocaster, = i played it, = was just Amazing and bear in mind I own an all original 1956 strat. his 53 was see thru white or blonde as we now sort of call it today, it had the tremolo bridge also a Big fat V Pointy Neck all the way up and down and 8 hole or screw pickgaurd and most notably was the fact that there were no contours at all what so ever it was like a telecaster except it was shaped like a strat and sounded and played like my strat. please tell me more about that guitar. i wish i owned it now. the person that brought it to my house back then would not sell it to me no matter what I WAS STUPID TO NOT THINK OF TAKING PICTURES OF IT, = IT WAS MAGNIFICINT. SOUNDED GLORIOUS IT HAS MORE HIGHS THAN MY ORIGIANL 56 WHICH I STILL OWN IT WAS SUPER EASY TO PLAY AND JUST SOUNDED GLORIOUS. I WANT TO OWN IT OR SEE IT AGAIN THHERE HAD TO BE MORE THAN ONE THAT WAS MADE, YOUR PLEAESE. m.g. IN phoenix, Az..

[dt-vntk]

your shop, your video's, just great, miss the chalk board!

[likeakite]

More of this type of content would be fantastic 😀

[linheitzig]

Thanks for the video Tyler, very informative.

[craigusselman]

Really interesting video Strats are my favorite to play. I own a couple.

[george-st-george]

great information and presentation!!!! really

[Tonetwisters]

My very first guitar was one of these ... it was stamped, 0517 in the trem cover plate. Looked like knotty pine ...

[kevinhuber]

Even though Holly had such a brief life he kicked the door open for the Stratocaster to flourish

[mark]

Thanks for that. I thought I knew all there was to know about the Strat. I was wrong. Beautiful guitar by the way.

[nj]

What serial number does this one have? Are the 0100, 0101, 0102 etc considered "pre-production" models?

[David-skvv]

My ultimate guitar is the 54' Strat of Buddy Holly's... none of this modern rubbish with so called improved tech. The music I love was made on the old guitar's; that's what I want to hear. Shame I will never afford one. But if there is some chance... thanks for mentioning Buddy Holly and Hank Marvin.

[kentpierce]

So... I know we're not supposed to ask what would that bad boy be worth. Ball park. Great video thanks.

[noahclark]

how are you gonna leave out bill carson?

[recaster]

not a pre-production...
This is a first run production for customers.
it probably have the 304341 (41 week 1953) 100k pots on it, yellow surgery tubing, glossy back pickguard...

[leechild]

0:05 if your cranked it to 10 and strummed it as you did, it would not sound like it does it the video. first it would break the mic and you`d hear nothing. lol

[Turboy]

I still think Fender guitars are hardly anything more than a gimmick. Give me a Les Paul, an SG, a V, an Explorer, even a Firebird...I can work with those. I can never get into Fender guitars and I've tried many times. Seven times with Strats, to be exact. At no point have I ever found happiness with any of them.