'With a Strat you can rule the world'

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Apologies if already been shared on here somewhere, but a nice little article in The Guardian about the 70th anniversary of the Strat:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/apr/10/fender-stratocaster-turns-70

lovestrat74

Indeed... - albeit a Tokai  

1Strat2many

Great Article. Pretty much the must have “ toolbox” for the music industry since the 50’s. I have always enjoy playing and gigging my ones though I doubt I could gain a nod of acknowledgment for doing so in Beckenham let alone the entire Globe! Nice one.

CaseOfAce

Would I be wrong in thinking that the last person who really did match that statement "With a Strat you can rule the world" would be Mark Knopfler back in '78.?? 

for sure there's been many, many famous guitarists using strats over recent years but none so intrinsically linked with one so sonically and visually (obv. pre Les Paul , Pensa Suhr , dobro etc...).

LionAquaLooper

CaseOfAce said:

Would I be wrong in thinking that the last person who really did match that statement "With a Strat you can rule the world" would be Mark Knopfler back in '78.?? 

for sure there's been many, many famous guitarists using strats over recent years but none so intrinsically linked with one so sonically and visually (obv. pre Les Paul , Pensa Suhr , dobro etc...).

He's certainly up there, but for me when I think strat it's always Hank Marvin first that pops up in my brain.  I dont know why  because I'm not even a fan lol.  It's that image of him and his fiesta red strat and the twang of his songs.  It's an automatic association.   

TeleMaster

Hank and Knopfler are definitely associated with the Strat but I'd say that Hendrix and his Strat, whether he's playing it with his teeth, behind his head, setting them on fire or playing festivals with them is the most iconic and famous Strat player.

Edit: Sorry I see you said last player. SRV, Frusciante, Mayer etc are good candidates. 

english_bob

CaseOfAce said:

Would I be wrong in thinking that the last person who really did match that statement "With a Strat you can rule the world" would be Mark Knopfler back in '78.?? 

for sure there's been many, many famous guitarists using strats over recent years but none so intrinsically linked with one so sonically and visually (obv. pre Les Paul , Pensa Suhr , dobro etc...).

Stevie Ray Vaughan came to prominence after that, so...

fnpt

So did Gilmour, but I agree that Hendrix is the ultimate strat player.

munckee

Ultimate player certainly hendrix.

For me though, John Frusciante is the player I think of when I think about strats

sweepy

Beck for me is the ultimate  Strat player, if such a beast exists, the beauty of a Strat is that the individuallity comes out 

ICBM

Blackmore.

But Hendrix is unquestionably the most iconic Strat player as well as guitar player.

ElectricXII

No world domination for me then.

Vintage65

LionAquaLooper said:

CaseOfAce said:

Would I be wrong in thinking that the last person who really did match that statement "With a Strat you can rule the world" would be Mark Knopfler back in '78.?? 

for sure there's been many, many famous guitarists using strats over recent years but none so intrinsically linked with one so sonically and visually (obv. pre Les Paul , Pensa Suhr , dobro etc...).

He's certainly up there, but for me when I think strat it's always Hank Marvin first that pops up in my brain.  I dont know why  because I'm not even a fan lol.  It's that image of him and his fiesta red strat and the twang of his songs.  It's an automatic association.   

Hank the imposter 

BobHillman

lovestrat74 said:

Indeed... - albeit a Tokai  

He has got a Fender strap on it, though!

1Strat2many

Whilst we are rightly acknowledging the greats, Rory G and SRV certainly deserve a “mentioned in dispatches”.

willo

CaseOfAce said:

Would I be wrong in thinking that the last person who really did match that statement "With a Strat you can rule the world" would be Mark Knopfler back in '78.?? 

for sure there's been many, many famous guitarists using strats over recent years but none so intrinsically linked with one so sonically and visually (obv. pre Les Paul , Pensa Suhr , dobro etc...).

As mentioned above, I'd say Frusciante is probably both the most recent major guitarist associated with a strat, and also probably the most recent major mainstream guitar hero.

TTBZ

Simon Neil pretty much only plays strats too. 

CaseOfAce

willo said:

CaseOfAce said:

Would I be wrong in thinking that the last person who really did match that statement "With a Strat you can rule the world" would be Mark Knopfler back in '78.?? 

for sure there's been many, many famous guitarists using strats over recent years but none so intrinsically linked with one so sonically and visually (obv. pre Les Paul , Pensa Suhr , dobro etc...).

As mentioned above, I'd say Frusciante is probably both the most recent major guitarist associated with a strat, and also probably the most recent major mainstream guitar hero.

Yeah - I can understand why chronologically Stevie Ray Vaughan and then Frusciante could be considered more recently.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Surprised we've gone this far in the thread and nobody has mentioned Clapton! Surely up there with the likes of Hendrix, Marvin etc as being synonymous with the Strat.

BigPaulie

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

Surprised we've gone this far in the thread and nobody has mentioned Clapton! Surely up there with the likes of Hendrix, Marvin etc as being synonymous with the Strat.

Meh!

Vintage65 said:

LionAquaLooper said:

CaseOfAce said:

Would I be wrong in thinking that the last person who really did match that statement "With a Strat you can rule the world" would be Mark Knopfler back in '78.?? 

for sure there's been many, many famous guitarists using strats over recent years but none so intrinsically linked with one so sonically and visually (obv. pre Les Paul , Pensa Suhr , dobro etc...).

He's certainly up there, but for me when I think strat it's always Hank Marvin first that pops up in my brain.  I dont know why  because I'm not even a fan lol.  It's that image of him and his fiesta red strat and the twang of his songs.  It's an automatic association.   

Hank the imposter 

This.

Revolutions

I’d say Nile Rogers is arguably the most likely person who the mass public would identify with a Strat, after Hendrix.

Obvs Clapton’s solo stuff & his black Strat is iconic (maybe more so than Knopfler from level of fame/visibility), but I imagine most people think of him with an acoustic. That’s my bias showing, though. I remember the singles from unplugged as a teenager,

More modern: Weezer, early Green Day, Kurt Cobain at Reading, Biffy Clyro, the dude from Khruangbin literally only owns the one Mexican Strat, Michael Kiwanuka was a Strat guy for the first few albums.