why there was so much variation in those early guitars. A couple of extra seconds on the belt sander here, a few extra winds on the pickup there and you have a very different guitar.

got the design of the Stratocaster so absolutely, completely right first time around that it still looks impossibly modern and futuristic today.

I showed this clip to my son who recently saved to buy his first Stratocaster and is now head over heels in love with all things Fender.

He came up with something I thought was quite perceptive. This is the gist of what he said:

When you watch grainy footage like this with all the vintage cars and the 50s factory workers with their old fashioned clothes and square haircuts and then you see them handling brand new Stratocasters, it's like seeing time travellers holding a shiny object from the future.

I think there's something in what he says.

It's a magical clip btw.

That's the first bit of porn I've watched on it.

Superb stuff, thanks for posting.