FENDER ANNOUNCES MAJOR CHANGE TO STRATOCASTER DESIGN

This morning Fender Musical Instruments made a surprising announcement at a press conference centered around a”major change to the design of the Fender Stratocaster guitar”.

The Fender Stratocaster has a long and rich history and is associated with music legends such as Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jimi Hendrix. The guitar was first released over 60 years ago in 1954 and has remained virtually unchanged in its basic appearance. Today Fender announced that as a result of cost cutting measures, they will be assembling the instrument with the body turned 180 degrees from what it has been for the past 60 years.

A long term worker at the Fender factory, Ivbin Fould stated he is glad to see the change. “It really makes more sense this way”, stated Mr. Fould. “the controls will now be located at the top of the guitar instead of the bottom which will be much more convenient for the player. People are going to love it” he stated.

Chief Financial Officer Moe Kash explained the cost cutting move will save the company approximately $0.13 for each guitar. “That might not sound like a lot, but it adds up” he explained. “It comes down to efficiency” he continued, “when the guitar bodies are cut, they come out of the machine upside down, facing to the left. Every single one of those guitars has to be turned around to face the other way before the neck is attached. EVERY ONE OF THEM”, he emphasized. “For the past 60 years, that is how it has been done, but no one asked ‘why?’, but now, finally we have realized that the time and effort our workers spend turning those bodies around is time and effort better spent elsewhere. We are a progressive company and don’t want to continue to do things out of tradition. We need to be looking ahead. You have to agree, it actually looks better this way.”

The new Stratocaster design is already being produced in the factory and should be available in stores on April 31, 2015.