the name stratocaster

[1charger69]

how did the name stratocaster and telecaster come about??? never really thought about it??

[boobtube21]

I dunno but I think the tele used to be called the broadcaster. I'm sure somebody else here knows for sure. I would venture to say they all came about the same way as "Camaro" and "Coupe Deville"--it sounds cool.

[The Nazz Are Blue]

The Telecaster was originally called the Broadcaster. Since Gretsch already had a drum line out called Broadkaster and threatened some type of legal action against Fender. Fender ended up at first cutting out the Broadcaster decal (hence the cool "Nocasters") but quickly replaced it with the new Telecaster name. (somebody around here is bound to know the years of transition, if you're interested in the details)

So anyway, I don't know for sure why they named their guitars the way they did (does anybody, really??) but the most plausible theory IMO is that the name Telecaster came about to capitalise on America's fascination with the television at that point in time. The Stratocaster name came out of the country's fascination with the space stuff that was just coming around at the time of it's release. (stratosphere...).

Can't say wether those are true, especially the space one because the Strat was released in '54 and the Sputnik satellite was launched in '57. Was the populace interested in space before then?? I don't know. 1957 was 32 years before I was even born. So I can't vouch for the truth in these guitar-name theories, but they're my favourite ones none the less. :)

[Marcondo]

Thats whats understood Telecaster was named after the Television which was also sorta new in 1951. The caster part was left over from the Broadcaster I would guess. I dont think anyone in the old days called the early 51's Nocasters thats a name Vintage guys came up with for that rare model.

[1charger69]

excellent replys and ideas so far!! - cant wait to hear some more ;)

[dinobyte]

Don Randall, then president of Fender Sales Inc., is recognized as the one who originated the name "Stratocaster". A lot of influences may tie into it's naming. "Caster", was a catchy and proven suffix which worked well for Fender. Strat or Strato, is representative of the stratosphere and could of course, suffice as a suitable analog for the next level and it was, by all accounts, just that. The Stratocaster was considered somewhat revolutionary at the time. It also played into the popular fascination with the space sciences and modern flight in general. Initial Stratocaster advertising included a simple atomic age graphic which reinforced the "new as tomorrow" attitudes of American industrialization at that time. Don Randall was also a seasoned pilot and so again, another possible influence. It really is a remarkable guitar when you think about it! :yay

[Offshore Angler]

Yes, you'll notice the Boeing StratoJet just prior the Stratocaster.

[Tele-Bob]

In staying true to that logic, the Broadcaster was replaced by the more modern Telecaster, which was then followed by the further reaching Stratocaster. venturing further from earth and the Stratocaster came the Starcaster.

The Fender lineage would fly no more into space until the early 80's when Tele-Bob started building handmade guitars. The need to name these fender-like guitars drove Tele-Bob to continue the natural progression of things and his first guitar was named "Alphacaster." Alpha being the brightest star in a constellation seemed a fitting place to start the new naming convention.

The Alphacaster was then followed up with the "Betacaster" and the "Gammacaster" and then suddenly all production stopped as Tele-Bob set off to throw the next 4 years of his life away attempting success in the music business with a local heavy metal band.

The remains of these guitars have seldom been seen and have left no impact whatsoever on the musical instruments industry. This is a true story.

[Gravity Jim]

Finally in the year 2001 (the true dawn of the new millenium and the Age of Aquarius), Gravity Jim (himself named for a celestial phenomemon) completed the "AlphaBeta" cycle for all time by building the ultimate "Z" guitar, named "Zencaster" for its transcendent and universal nature.

The Zencaster remains in daily use. Everyone can now stop building guitars forever.

[Tele-Bob]

The Zencaster remains in daily use. Everyone can now stop building guitars forever.

LOL!

B b b b but I was going make a come-back with the Unicaster, Omnicaster, and Infinicaster!

[Kap'n]

How about the Alphaomegacaster?

[Fripperton]

Somewhere along the way I built the Motelecaster. I used it on the road for years.

[NeoFauve]

Forecaster
Aftercaster

[Tele-Bob]

Milkycaster

Crabnebulacaster

[NeoFauve]

Aspersioncaster
Firststonecaster

[sabby]

Darkmatterocaster
Bigboomocaster

Backocaster (70s model, made of Hard Ash, known to ...)

[NeoFauve]

Dragnetcaster

Great for scoring detctive shows.:yay
Just the quacks, ma'am.

[Johnny64]

Delicaster.

Ask any drunk student late on a friday night ;)

Tele= Sound

Strato= well,ya know already

[dinobyte]

I think Fender tried to stop this runaway "caster" train by introducing the "nocaster". The supposed Gretsch legal action letter is nothing but a ruse. Fender tried desperately to stop all the other casters from coming but it was too late. Alas, it was not to be...

I know, I know, "nocaster" is a collector term which appeared much later on but the theory is sound... pun intended.

[fezz parka]

Dumbasscaster. We all made that one.

I built the Fezzsquire. Didn't need no "caster" for that one.

[boobtube21]

Mine's a McCaster (customized by me, Colin McLean).

[sabby]

McDonaldcaster. That's synergy baby!!! :toobad

[Strummin' Ronin]

Or my Stratoclonester that is being done?

[boobtube21]

McDonaldcaster. That's synergy baby!!!

Would that be yellow with red p'ups/knobs?

[refin]

With all the imports,how about Naftacaster?

[Plugger]

I always assumed it was so-named because of the buzz and excitment generated by that technological marvel, the B-52:

The B-17 was the "Flyingfortress"
The B-29 was the "Superfortress"
The B-52 was the "Stratofortress"

The B-52's first test flight was in April, 1952. (Just to show that a good design will stand the test of time -- like the Stratocaster.)

It wouldn't be the first or last time American pop culture took a cue from the military industrial complex build-up of the 1950s. A daring two piece swimsuit was named the "Bikini", after Bikini Atoll, a site in the Pacific used by the US military to test the H-bomb. I guess that's when nukes still had a certain popular "wow, that's cool" factor -- before the Cuban crisis, and later the superpowers settling into the dull and decidedly uncool doctrine of mutually assured destruction.

I can't imagine either a guitar or swimsuit being named after, say, the Bay of Pigs (Fender's new Pigocaster 1962 RI!), or much later, Guantanamo Bay (Honey, do you think my bum looks big in this new Guantanamo?), for example.

-Mark

[StratRat]

I called mine a Ratocaster when I first built it but i think Im going to call it a Doggocaster after my nickname that my friends know me by.

I have always thought Telecasterr and Stratocaster were bumb names for really awesome guitars.

[Offshore Angler]

I always assumed it was so-named because of the buzz and excitment generated by that technological marvel, the B-52:

The B-17 was the "Flyingfortress"
The B-29 was the "Superfortress"
The B-52 was the "Stratofortress"



-Mark

Mark, 1947, Boeing B47 was the StratoJet.

[Kap'n]

Mark, 1947, Boeing B47 was the StratoJet.

Chuck, 1688, the Strativarius gutar.

[sabby]

More synergy! :rofl

[CocoTone]

Didn`t the Plastercasters start their own line of Fenders too?? :bug No wait,,,thats an entirely different thread!!

CT.:ahem

[Tele-Bob]

Plasmacaster

Ioncaster

Stellarcaster

[Offshore Angler]

Intergalacticaster

Of course, the Tropocaster was a flop, along with the Ionocaster.

[Tele-Bob]

Gravicaster

Solarcaster

Centaricaster

Stringcaster

[Plugger]

Mark, 1947, Boeing B47 was the StratoJet.

Yeah, but arguably had a negligible or very limited impact on the American pop culture mass-psyche compared to the B-52. The B-52 even had a hairdo named after it! (and much later had a band named after the hairdo named after the aircraft.)

I can't imagine a band called the B-47s, somehow... ;)

-Mark

[sabby]

And '52 is closer than '47 to the Strat's 1954 birthday.

[Los7]

my mum still to this day calls mine a strato fendercaster, i almost pi**ed myself when she said it.