The trouble with being a world leader at anything is the fear of change it engenders. 'Why change a winning formula?' is a philosophy encouraged by massive success — but it can eventually lead to a near disaster, as Volkswagen learned when Beetle sales finally began to drop and they found themselves without a replacement, nor even the instantaneous resources to develop one.

In the instrument world a parallel situation must have been at the back of Fender's collective mind when they finally hauled themselves round to a complete revision of their guitar range. The Stratocaster (undoubtedly the biggest selling electric guitar of all time) is so much an industry standard that, apart from tiny revisions (often making the guitar worse rather than better) it has remained more or less undeveloped since its inception in 1954.

But Fender, ever watchful of Japanese makers, have finally decided that time for a change — and a major one at that — is well overdue and the complete line, from the Telecaster to the basses, has just undergone a radical change.

As things stand now, the Fender guitar range comes in three distinct types — the top quality Elite Series, the Standard range (with some of the Elite's features) and the 'Vintage' versions.

As a sample of the new range, we borrowed an Elite Stratocaster minus the new tremolo system. Other Elite Strat models include a walnut version and the 'Gold Elite' (both of these two have gold plated hardware and tremolo systems as standard).

There are so many differences between the Elite Strat and the original model that it's hard to know where to start. Maybe the logical place is with the immediately noticeable changes which hit you when you first pick the guitar up. Obviously, the Elite looks identically shaped to the original but you can't help feeling a mild shock when your eyes take in the replacement of the old faithful pickup selector mechanism with three push buttons.

Then there are the pickups — gone are the individual pole pieces and in their place are three flat plastic topped units. The rotary controls are rubber ribbed now (an obvious improvement for rapid changes with sweaty hands), the bridge is improved (as are the machines) and, when you start to play the Elite, the neck feels unusual. The frets are fatter (and higher), the fingerboard is flatter and has a different radius to it (12" now). It's like a Strat — but it isn't the same guitar. When you start to examine the full extent of what has been done to the Strat with this new model, the degree of what Dan Smith's design team have been up to assumes very significant proportions. Starting with detail changes to the hardware, the new Elite Strat dispenses with through the body string fixing. In its place, the superbly made new bridge takes the string ends in slots, allowing them to travel up across heavier duty saddles than previously, with full adjustment for string height individually, each saddle now being effectively locked against sideways slipping by the heavy duty cast sideframes of the bridge assembly.

The machines, too, are tougher, still small and neat but smoother than before (and about time too!) they also feel generally more reliable than the old Kluson types. The string clips are also new, grooved ones which should be more friction-free than the old design. A strap locking system is provided and the jack socket is now on the edge of the body.

The maple neck (available with either a rosewood or maple fingerboard) certainly does feel strange to a habitual Strat user. Fender claim that string bending is easier on the slightly flatter fingerboard - and I'd agree with that, although I'm not certain that the height of the frets or their profile really suited me personally. That's down to personal taste, though — there were no faults in their placement or finishing whatsoever. Internal adjustments have been made to the neck too. Firstly Fender have introduced a new truss rod system which they call the 'BiFlex' type. This allows the neck to be adjusted in both concave as well as convex directions — useful when changes in string gauges require alterations. Oddly, Fender have also re-introduced the idea of a neck angle adjuster - possibly the most unloved of all previous Strat ideas. This one, they claim, works properly and also joins a four bolt fixing to the body. Only time will tell how the new angle adjuster fares (ditto the BiFlex concept) but the ideas seem very sound in principle.

But perhaps the biggest change of all lies in the pickups and circuitry — yes folks, Fender have gone active! The Elite features an ingenious new circuit system running from a single PP3 battery.

The first effect of the electronics is in their noise cancelling properties — and yes, this works. I put the Elite Strat up against a standard single coil model and subjected both to considerable interference — the Elite was far quieter.

"FENDER HAVE ARRIVED WITH ONE LEAP INTO THE 1980s FROM THE 1950s"

But, of course, Fender's active circuitry does more than hush things up — it also provides for a range of sounds which you'll never have heard from a Strat before, nor any other Fender, for that matter.

In addition to the volume control, there are two further pots, the first of which operates the newly developed MDX system. This is in effect, a mid range control which works by boosting mids and applying high frequency cut. In theory it's designed to allow you to switch the sound of the Strat from the classic single coil Strat sound to that of a humbucker — I'll comment on my impressions of its effectiveness later.

The third knob applies what Fender call TBX circuitry. This pot is centre detented. Taken from its centre setting and twisted anti-clockwise it cuts the highs in much the same way as a standard passive control does. Turn it the other way and it's supposed to boost the treble range.

First impressions of the new Elite Strat were that mine was an extremely well made sample — I couldn't find any faults at all with it from either a constructional or setting-up point of view — which may imply that the changes implemented at Fullerton may have begun to have some effect. Weight and balance were ideal (as anticipated) and the finishing detail was flawless.

I've already said that I'm not too certain about the fretwire used — but I've also said that this is a personal thing — you'll just have to try this for yourselves and see what you think of it. The neck profile, though, was superbly fast and remarkably good for modern playing styles — bending, particularly, being a treat.

Surprisingly (like most of us I'm so used to the standard Strat selector switch that I could operate it in my sleep) I found the new push button system of pickup control excellent — although I couldn't find that legendary 'in between' setting. Surely Fender haven't overlooked this vital feature? Maybe they'll contact us and comment on this apparently missing point.

On the sound front I suppose a vital question must be, will the new Elite duplicate the work of a standard Strat? Well, to an almost complete degree it will, and I tend to feel that only the really fussy player could detect much difference in the sound of this model beside a later vintage Strat. I didn't have the guitar for long enough to satisfy myself completely either way on this point, but the sound the Elite makes can be pretty damn close to the 'real thing'. More importantly, though, the guitar will go much further than any Strat I've previously encountered could hope to. Forget the idea that the MDX will give you a Les Paul sound — it won't and probably never could. The scale length difference, the wood type and density, the fretting, the bridge and other differences all make for a gap in sound between a Gibson and a Fender that no pickup or active circuitry to date could bridge. The Elite does have a fantastic range of sounds on tap though and can get fatter, warmer and fuller than you'll ever have dreamed possible from a Fender before. Full marks here.

The third pot (the TBX) is extremely subtle in its effect. In many ways I found this to be virtually ineffective when used with a cheap transistorised amp (especially at lower volumes) but it did seem to come into its own when used at higher power levels, especially with a more sensitive professional class valve amp. As this is undoubtedly a pro's guitar then that's probably fair enough — few professional players would buy a guitar like this and use it with a 10 watt Woolie's special! Don't expect this control to knock you off your feet, though, it takes time to get used to its subtlety and works best at stage levels or during high power use when recording

Overall I found the test period with this guitar a journey of exploration - and one that I hadn't even begun to approach the end of before the loaned sample was whisked away from beneath my snout (destined for one of the Shadows, would you believe!). I feel, on balance, that the Elite Strat is going to open many pairs of eyes. It isn't a standard Strat with a few swift tart-ups having been undertaken to attempt an up-date; a far better way to look at it would be to think of it as being a new development — almost an altogether new instrument with some of the qualities of the original but a lot of totally new features. It's certainly a guitar to try and shows that Fender have arrived (with one leap, as it were) into the 1980's from the 1950's.

Whether it'll be the guitar for you will, as with every instrument, be a matter of what you personally need — but whatever you do, don't make the mistake of dismissing it just because you don't happen to like the traditional Strat — try this guitar whatever you play now and judge it on its own as a new instrument. I didn't have it for long enough to decide whether I'd buy one (assuming that I could afford it!) but I know enough about it now to realise that I couldn't buy anything else until I'd made up my mind about this important new guitar. It could be the start of a new age for the Strat — but only time will tell. Me? Well I could easily be in line for one — but I'd need more time before I could be certain. Either way it's a damned fine guitar!

FENDER Elite Stratocaster (RRP £613 inc. VAT & Case)