Colloquially known as the Strat, this is a model of electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 and continuously manufactured by by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present day. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top horn shape for balance. Along with the Gibson Les Paul and Fender Telecaster, it is one of the most emulated electric guitar shapes of all time.

The guitar introduced into the popular market several features that were innovative for electric guitars in the mid 1950s. The distinctive body shape, which has now become commonplace, was revolutionary for the time period, and for the first time a mass-market electric guitar did not significantly resemble earlier acoustic models. The offset waist, double cutaway, elongated horns and heavily contoured back were all designed for better balance and comfort to play while standing up and slung off the shoulder with a strap. The 3-pickup design offered players increased versatility and choice in tone quality over earlier 1- and 2-pickup electric guitars, and a responsive and simplified vibrato arm integrated into the bridge plate, which marked a significant design improvement over other vibrato systems of the time. All of these design elements were popularised and later became an industry standard due to the success of the Stratocaster.