Ask any non-musician to draw a guitar and chances are they’ll come up with the iconic double-cut shape of a Stratocaster. Possibly the most popular and well-known musical instrument of all time, Leo Fender’s innovative electric guitar continues to age like a fine wine, finding new fans with each generation of guitarist. Since its popularity continues to grow, we've set about finding which are the best Stratocasters you can buy today.
An evolution of the first mass-manufactured solid-body electric guitar, the Telecaster, the Fender Strat was designed to be lighter and more player-friendly than its dual pickup predecessor. Adding a tremolo, a trio of single coil pickups, as well as a thinner more contoured body shape, this guitar was an instant hit.
Since its launch in 1954, the Fender Strat has come to redefine the public’s expectations of what an electric guitar is, leading to countless imitators and a list of players that quite literally make up the rock and roll hall of fame. From Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughn right through to modern heroes like John Mayer and Cory Wong, the versatility of the Stratocaster has captured the imaginations of guitarists through the decades.
There are a lot of different types of Stratocaster you can get, with pretty much every aspect of the instrument being customized over the years, from pickups to neck profiles, hardware, and finishes. So which is the best Strat for you? Well, we’ve searched high and low to put together this guide so you can see what’s on offer right now.
Our top picks
Available in SSS and HSS pickup layouts, the Squier Affinity packs in a lot of Strat goodness for such a low price. Ok, you're never going to mistake every Affinity in a lineup for a USA-built Fender but these are serious giggable guitars that'll set you on the road to brand loyalty, just as crafty old Fender intended.
The Ultra is the guitar equivalent of a muscle car. Fender has tweaked and tuned this thing to be the best playing Strat since whenever. Extra contouring on the back of the body gave our fretting hand access all areas, and the 10" - 14" fingerboard radius offered us a combo of old school chording comfort and super slick above octave noodling during our testing.
You'll find a repro set of '65 Grey Bottoms on the Fender American Original 60s Stratocaster, and, during testing, we felt that the wood of this guitar really came through when using these pups. Although the 9.5" fingerboard radius isn't quite period correct, we felt that the improved playability from the flatter radius made things a little more comfortable.
Best on a budget
Available in SSS and HSS pickup layouts, the Squier Affinity packs in a lot of Strat goodness for such a low price. Ok, you're never going to mistake every Affinity in a lineup for a USA-built Fender but these are serious giggable guitars that'll set you on the road to brand loyalty, just as crafty old Fender intended.
There's a great range of finishes available but the best news is the comfortable C shape neck and option of Indian Laurel or maple 9.5" radius fingerboard. If you like a bright, snappy response, choose maple. Yields get a tad more warmth from the Indian Laurel timber. 21 medium jumbo frets make for a playing experience that punches a few notches above the price tag.
Best budget reissue
Look, it's no secret that Fender made some of its worst guitars in the 1970s. Anchor heavy bodies, toffee apple thick finishes... it wasn't pretty. Thing is, Fender guitars of the '70s looked really cool. The big CBS headstock shape screams hard rock, funk, leather jackets, getting juiced up on Spangles and hijacking your dad's souped up Ford Cortina.
The Squier Classic Vibe '70s Stratocaster HSS gives you all that old school aesthetic loveliness at an impressively low price. The contoured poplar body plays host to a slim bolt-on maple neck with a tinted gloss finish for an aged vibe. The HSS branding means you get a humbucker in the bridge position and a pair of single coils in the middle and neck slots. A SSS version is available at the same price. Trust us. This Squier guitar is built way better than many of its original '70s American ancestors.
Best mid-priced option
The beloved Player Series has just received its much-anticipated sequel, and we're happy to report that it does not disappoint!
Now, It's fair to say that the new Player II models are about small tweaks rather than a dramatic overhaul of specs, but we don't think that's a bad thing. The original Players were incredible guitars, and this new iteration feels like a natural progression.
Now featuring a rosewood fingerboard option as well as rolled edges and an array of eye-catching finish options, these new Fender models look, play, and sound better than ever before.
Read the full Fender Player II Stratocaster review
Best for playability
You might already know this but the Fender Vintera guitars come in two formats: regular and modified. The idea is you get a vintage looking Strat but you can choose original or modern spec.
Original spec gets you a Soft V profile neck, 21 vintage frets, a 7.25" radius fingerboard, '50s voiced pickups and an old school six point Synchronized vibrato. Modified scores you a Modern C shape neck, 22 medium jumbo frets, a flatter 9.5" radius fingerboard, hotter output pickups and a modern 2-point vibrato unit. The latter guitar also has the S-1 switch for expanded tonal range.
Which one's for you? The clue’s in the spec. If you prefer a lower action, a bit more grunt in your dirt channel and more tuning stability, go modified. The locking tuners will make all the difference when you take a dive. For those that like the look and feel of an old guitar, a few Vintera models are now available in a Road Worn finish.
Best for noiseless pickups
Fender's Player series of Stratocasters has been one of their most successful to date, acting as an affordable, high quality point of entry for those who want 'Fender' on the headstock. The Player Plus series takes that to the next level.
One of the main changes in the Player Plus series is to the electronics. This setup may look like that of a traditional Strat, but the three pickups incorporated in a Player Plus Strat are noiseless, single coil sized humbuckers. They still produce a pretty traditional Strat-esque tone, but with some extra refinements. This edit to the traditional design makes the Player Plus series great for the modern guitarist. A wide range humbucker is also available in the bridge position - offering expansive, vast tones with some extra power.
The other main difference with the Player Plus series is the updated 12" fingerboard radius. Unlike the standard Player series - with its fairly generic 9.5" radius - the Player Plus is a guitar designed to make string bending and general playing so much easier. The neck profile is still the modern 'C', however - so don't worry too much about this guitar feeling alien. To top it off, there's a host of new finishes too.
Read the full Fender Player Plus Series Telecaster and Stratocaster review
Best budget USA Strat
The Performer is the most affordable USA built Fender Stratocaster you can buy. The thing is absolutely bursting with features including the Greasebucket tone circuit that allows you to dial out the treble without causing muddiness or losing gain.
There's also a push/pull function that gives access to a Tele-style neck and bridge pickup combo, or all three pups engaged. Speaking of pickups. The Yosemite single coils were specifically designed for this model. Note: there's a HSS version in the catalogue with Fender's Double Tap humbucker in the bridge position.
We found playability to be enhanced with a pleasantly plump Modern C neck profile, 9.5" fingerboard radius, and 22 big ass frets. The neck has satin urethane finish to keep our sticky mitts moving even with stage lights melting us down.
Read the full Fender American Performer Stratocaster review
Best Strat overall
The Ultra is the guitar equivalent of a muscle car. Fender has tweaked and tuned this thing to be the best playing Strat since whenever. Extra contouring on the back of the body gave our fretting hand access all areas, and the 10" - 14" fingerboard radius offered us a combo of old school chording comfort and super slick above octave noodling during our testing.
Modern sounding pickups work in cahoots with custom spec wiring including a treble bleed to prevent muddy tone when you dial back the volume. Fender's S-1 switch is also present to add more tonal options.
We'd expect to see a nitrocellulose finish at this price but Fender has chosen harder wearing polyurethane and urethane for the body and neck. This guitar isn't about recreating the past.
Read the full Fender American Ultra Stratocaster review
Best for vintage tones
Back in the mid '60s, Fender began installing some of its lowest output pickups into Teles and Strats. These pups are described by tone junkies as "Gray Bottom" single coils. Why? Well, Sherlock... they're grey... on the bottom. The upshot of all this lack of output was tone, lots of sweet tone.
You'll find a repro set of '65 Gray Bottoms on the Fender American Original 60s Stratocaster, and, during testing, we felt that the wood of this guitar really came through when using these pups. Although the 9.5" fingerboard radius isn't quite period correct, we felt that the improved playability from the flatter radius made things a little more comfortable.
Aside from that, this guitar represents the best if it's era with accurate Pure Vintage hardware and your classic Olympic White as one of three available nitrocellulose finishes.
Read the full Fender American Original 60s Stratocaster review
FAQs
What should I know when buying a Strat?
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The Fender Strat has had nearly 70 years of tweaking and tinkering so there is quite a lot to consider when looking to buy one. Think about the style of music you’ll use it to play mostly.
What are the best pickups for Stratocasters?
Do you want something with low output pickups that give you a nice clear, clean sound, or something with hotter pickups that will break up a little quicker? Many players find that a humbucker in the bridge position gives them the best of both worlds as they can switch from a big, beefy sound to a more delicate, chimey tone at the flick of a switch. The Strat has so many configurations and they all sound killer, but it's definitely worth putting some thought into the tones you'd like to achieve, and how best you'll achieve them.
On retro-inspired models like the Squier Classic Vibe and American Vintage II, you’ll find vintage voiced pickups that are low output and great for blues and surf rock. The lower output comes from the strength of the Alnico magnets, which degrade naturally over time. This is why a genuine vintage instrument will sound low output, and to some ears, warmer. Many manufacturers replicate vintage pickups using new parts, emulating the winding techniques, and artificially aging the magnets to give them the same sought-after sound.
Modern pickups are higher output for a couple of reasons. Firstly the magnets haven’t had time to age, so they’re still at their maximum strength when you get them. They usually have more windings and they’re more uniform, as they’re machine operated rather than wound by a human. This gives modern pickups a thicker tone than their vintage counterparts, at the cost of some brightness, a characteristic seemingly preferred by modern guitarists. That said, in comparison to a P90 or a Humbucker any Strat single coil pickup will sound relatively low output.
Does neck profile matter on a Strat?
Neck profiles can be pretty important too - how comfortable a guitar is for you will have a huge impact on how much you want to pick it up. Finding the best Stratocaster for you will be just as much about how it feels, as well as how it sounds. Necks tended to be thicker in the 50s, and got thinner in the 60s. Their most popular one nowadays is the Modern C profile, which lends itself nicely to any and all playing styles.
The profile refers to the shape of the neck as you look down its length, with a letter denoting its curvature. ‘C’ necks are the most popular on Strats, as you get the best and even profile that’s great for bending and playing fast licks. ‘D’ profile necks are considered to be much faster playing, at the expense of some feel whilst bending, while ‘V’ profile necks feel slightly slower thanks to the ‘hump’ in the middle, which also gives you more grip when doing those massive blues bends. They’re pretty rare on Strat’s but you can also get a ‘U’ shaped neck, affectionately known as the ‘baseball bat’, these hefty profiles were often found on the earliest guitar models, and are can be unplayable for those with smaller dimensions.
What do i need to know about Strat fingerboards?
The guitar’s fingerboard has a huge impact on how it looks, but it also imparts a little tonal flavor too - maple tends to be a little brighter than rosewood, or pau ferro as is often found at the more budget end of things.
There’s also the fingerboard radius to think about; more vintage models are likely to feature a 7.25” radius, and more modern guitars tend to have either 9.5”, 12” or a compound 10-14”. While it all boils down to personal preference, the general consensus is that a smaller radius lends itself better to chord work, and a larger, or wider radius can be more comfortable for lead players. This can all be adjusted with action tweaks and playing style though.
Should I worry about buying a Strat online?
Concerned about buying a Strat online without playing it first? You needn’t be. Online music instrument retailers like Thomann, Guitar Center, Sweetwater and Musician’s Friend offer hassle-free returns as standard, so you can purchase a Strat, play it in the comfort and privacy of your home and, if it’s not for you, send it back with ease. Most offer between 30-45 days to return an item, as long as it’s in original condition.
How we chose the best Stratocasters
Here at MusicRadar, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing, creating and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything music gear related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our guides.
When choosing what we believe to be the best Stratocasters available right now, we combine our hands-on experience, user reviews and testimonies and engage in lengthy discussions with our editorial colleagues to reach a consensus about the top products in any given category.
First and foremost, we are musicians, and we want other players to find the right product for them. So we take into careful consideration everything from budget to feature set, ease of use and durability to come up with a list of what we can safely say are the best Stratocasters on the market right now.
Find out more about how we test music gear and services at MusicRadar.
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