“When this kid plugged into my amp and played this Strat, he was playing louder, better and cooler than me. I was like, ‘Whoa’”: Nile Rodgers on what convinced him to buy a Fender Stratocaster – and why it was the best investment he ever made

It wouldn’t be a celebration of the Fender Stratocaster’s 70th anniversary without speaking to one of its most iconic proponents about the Strat that has shifted so many units it is forever to be known as the Hitmaker

Here, Nile Rodgers of Chic explains what makes the Strat so special – and how he got turned onto it in the first place.

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Andrew Daly is an iced-coffee-addicted, oddball Telecaster-playing, alfredo pasta-loving journalist from Long Island, NY, who, in addition to being a contributing writer for Guitar World, scribes for Rock Candy, Bass Player, Total Guitar, and Classic Rock History. Andrew has interviewed favorites like Ace Frehley, Johnny Marr, Vito Bratta, Bruce Kulick, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Rich Robinson, and Paul Stanley, while his all-time favorite (rhythm player), Keith Richards, continues to elude him.