Guitars with bodies made from
various types of plastics have popped up from
time to time throughout electric guitar history,
though probably most famously with the Dan
Armstrong Plexiglas “see through” model of
1969. Keith Richards’ use of the guitar didn’t
exactly bring legions of guitarists into the acrylic
camp, but the material seems like a good choice
for a solidbody as it’s tough enough to stop bullets,
is easily machined, and doesn’t require a
finish coat.
Setting aside the questionable “green-ness”
of acrylic (it is a petroleum-based product), the
main problems with the material from a guitar
perspective are its high density and lack of
resonance, which are the things Dennis Fano
tackled straight on when designing the Stratosphear—
which has the body dimensions of a
Rickenbacker 330 and f-holes—as well as its
companion models, the Retrosphear (double
cut, Strat dimensions) and Psonicsphear (single
cut, Les Paul dimensions). To reduce weight,
Fano first routed chambers into the 1"-thick
slab of acrylic that makes up the body core.
To improve acoustic resonance, he clad the
front and back with anodized aluminum “tone
plates,” which are attached with flush-mounted
screws and trimmed to expose the clear plastic
on the rounded edge of the perimeter. The
result is a light and surprisingly resonant body
with an outline that recalls some of the futuristic
Italian- and Japanese-made electrics of the
mid to late ’60s.
To bring the Stratosphear into the 21st
century, Fano outfitted it with a pair of Lollar
Omni-tron pickups, which, though housed in
P-90 covers, are constructed like a DeArmond
Dynasonic and feature alnico V polepieces.
From there the signal is routed to Volume and
Tone controls and a pair of 3-position slider
switches that are used to turn the pickups on
and off, and also put them out of phase with
each other when the switches are set in their
opposite extremes.
The strings load from the top and run over
a TonePros Tune-o-matic bridge on their way to
the chromed Gotoh tuners. The scalpel-shaped
headstock is also faced with aluminum and
painted to match the glossy, Earth Blue bolton
neck (other shades include Saturn Green,
Jupiter Orange, Meteor White, Lunar Grey,
and Mars Red). The comfy neck has an
inviting “C” shape that Fano calls “’50s
roundback” and a radius that transitions
from 10" at the nut to a flatter 16" at the
22nd fret. This provides a cool vintagelike
feel in the neck’s lower range and a
more shred-friendly surface at the upper
frets, which the beveled heel and angled
neck joint facilitate reaching. The polished
frets and tuneful intonation also make the
Stratosphear a lot of fun to play.
The Stratosphear delivered crisp, lively
tones through a bevy of amps that included
a Mesa/Boogie Mini Recto, a Dr. Z EZG-50
combo, and a Fender Deluxe Reverb. Pickup
selection wasn’t as quick as with a 3- or
5-way toggle, but once I got the hang of it,
the switches were easy enough to flick for
neck, bridge, and both settings (center is
off), or a snarky out-of-phase tone with one
switch up and the other down. Sonically,
the Stratosphear has its own thing going,
which might be described along the lines
of Jazzmaster-meets-Junior, with a dollop
of ES-335-like acousticity tossed in. It has
nice jangle on top, well-defined bottom, and
a plump midrange that punches through
a mix when you give it the gas. The guitar’s
ability to go from warm jazz tones
in the neck position to meaty grind with
both pickups on to slicing rock rage on the
bridge setting when pushing an overdriven
amp or pedal makes it suitable for more
applications than you might think based
on the ’Sphear’s space-age look.
The Stratosphear’s target audience may
be the pawnshop-prize set, but given Fano’s
background in creating cool vintage Gibson-
inspired axes such as the SP6 and PX6,
you can rest assured that he hasn’t missed
the mark when it comes to imbibing his
“AlumAcrylic” wonder with a big dose of
classic solidbody soul. And with plenty of
things to offer anyone who yearns to break
out of a sonic or stylistic rut, the Stratosphear
earns an Editors’ Pick Award.
Specifications
CONTACT Fano Guitars, fanoguitars.com
Stratosphear
PRICE $1,999 street
NUT WIDTH 1.687"
SCALE LENGTH 24 3/4" (10"-16" compound radius)
NECK Maple
FRETBOARD Rosewood
FRETS 22 jumbo
TUNERS Gotoh
BODY Chambered clear acrylic core with
anodized 6061 aluminum skin
BRIDGE Tone Pros Tune-o-matic
PICKUPS Lollar Omni-tron
CONTROLS Volume, Tone, dual pickup switches
for on/off and out-of-phase
FACTORY STRINGS Dark Horse, .010-.046
WEIGHT 7.7 lbs
BUILT USA
KUDOS Radical styling. Light and toneful.
Plays well.
CONCERNS Pickup switching takes some getting
used to.