Small headstock (normally with soft edges), two-tone sunburst finish, one piece maple neck with skunk stripe and 7.25" fingerboard radius, 4-bolt neck attachment with serial number (very early instruments have the serial number on the tremolo cover), "bakelite" pickup covers and control knobs, tremolo cover has round string holes, round string tree, 8-screw single layer white vinyl pickguard, "spaghetti"-style headstock logo decal, two-piece tremolo with adjustable saddles stamped with "Fender Pat Pending", Kluson tuners with no name on them.
Notes: First year of the Fender Stratocaster. Expect some variation in contours due to hand finishing. Early models will have slightly different volume/control knobs called "tallboys" (taller and thinner than the subsequent "bakelite" knobs). The "bakelite" is is not actually bakelite, rather an experimental thermo-plastic.

Small headstock with sharper edges than the 1954 model, two-tone sunburst finish, one piece maple neck with skunk stripe, 4-bolt neck attachment with serial number (very early instruments have the serial number on the tremolo cover), "bakelite" pickup covers and control knobs, tremolo cover has oblong string holes, round string tree, 8-screw single layer white vinyl pickguard, "spaghetti"-style headstock logo decal, two-piece tremolo with adjustable saddles stamped with "Fender Pat Pending", Kluson tuners with no name on them.

Same as 1955 until changes start appearing in the summer of 1956: alder body instead of ash (except for the blonde finish that remains ash), rectangular string tree replaces the round tree, in October the neck profile becomes a "soft V", tuners now say "Kluson Deluxe".

"Bakelite" pickup covers and knobs are replaced by vinyl (early '57 instruments may have a mix of bakelite and vinyl), neck profile becomes a more pronounced "V".

Two-tone sunburst becomes three-tone sunburst, adding the color red, neck profile becomes a "D".

Rosewood fingerboards introduced at the Summer NAMM Show in July, 1959. They feature a rosewood "slab" fingerboard glued to a maple neck, a mint green three-layer celluloid pickguard, 11 pickguard screws (variations exist in the early '59 rosewood slab fingerboards), and the string tree now has a metal spacer at the bottom.
Notes: Some 1959-1960s may appear to be two-tone sunburst due to the red having faded. This would be corrected in 1961. About rosewood slab boards: From their introduction at the summer NAMM Show in 1959 until mid-1962, the rosewood fingerboards were of a slab construction. The top of the maple neck was planed flat as was the corresponding bottom of the rosewood fingerboard. From 1962 the two surfaces were given a curvature, reducing the thickness of the fingerboad. Also note the lack of a date on the neck heel.

Headstock logo decal now has two patent numbers: 2,573,254 and 2,741,146.

Headstock logo decal now has three numbers: 2,573,254, 2,741,146, and 2,960,900. From the spring of 1962, neck heels received a "stamped" date - no more dates in pencil.

Rosewood "slab-board" changed to curved, non-slab rosewood fingerboard. Body contours less pronounced. Pickguard screw by the middle pickup moved half an inch toward the neck in around March.

In the autumn, the headstock logo decal changes to the "transition" logo - thicker gold script and four patent numbers: 2,573,254, 2,741,146, 2,960,900, and 3,143,028, pearl fingerboard dots replace clay, mint green pickguard replaced by white pickguard on some late 1964s, the name "Kluson Deluxe" on the tuners now takes up two lines as opposed to the previous "single line" name stamp, pickup bottoms are gray instead of black, and the metal spacer below the string tree becomes white plastic.
Notes: When the transition specs appear the sunburst takes on a slightly different look, especially noticeable in the yellow.

For most of 1965, logo decal now has five numbers: 2,573,254, 2,741,146, 2,960,900, 3,143,028, and 2,817,261. Late 1965: See 1965 CBS Stratocaster.
Notes: Optional maple fingerboard offered: two piece maple neck (unlike earlier single piece maple necks) and no skunk stripe. Late 1965 (possibly as late as December): Transition to large headstock.