This legendary electric model has been the instrument of choice for guitar heroes too numerous to list here, but none perhaps as famously as Dick Dale, the “King of the Surf Guitar.” During the late 1950s, guitar maker Leo Fender, owner of Fender Musical Instruments in Santa Ana, Calif., used Dale to "road test" guitars and amps because of his harsh, percussive playing style and certainly there is no mistaking the twanging reverb sound that Dale drew from the instrument for his fast-picking early ’60s hits such as “Let’s Go Trippin’” and “Miserlou.” Following Dale’s lead and the rise of “surf music,” bands from The Ventures to The Beach Boys all used the Strat’s big sound as the anchor of their musical style.

Freddie Tavares was Fenders research and development laboratory assistant from 1953 to 1964 and he told Dale: "The thicker the wood, the purer the sound and the bigger the strings, the bigger the sound.” Dale took note and used heavy gauge strings and he himself has said: “To obtain the most powerful, fattest, thickest, percussive, penetrating, and driving sounds, the thick wood design of the Stratocaster, together with its pickups, has not been matched by any other guitar that I know of."

When it was released in 1954 the standard Stratocaster came only in a two-color sunburst finish. There was also a set of custom colors available that wasn standardized until 1960. These custom colors were mostly automobile lacquers made by Dupont and they could be ordered for an added five-percent cost. Subsequent Stratocaster designs (by both Fender and other imitating companies) have ostensibly improved upon the original in usability and sound, but vintage Fender models are still sought-after, and often worth large amounts of money.

This 1958 “cherry finish” example bears serial number O 23710 and is signed on the pick guard “Keep Playing/Dick Dale/Keep Surfing,” dated 9-23-96.

Dick Dale and the Del Tones - Taken from the film "A Swingin Affair" released in 1963.