In “A Fistful of Dollars” there are distinctive guitar sounds that were created with the use of a Fender Stratocaster (Cooke, 2008). The stratocaster was created in 1954 by Leo Fender, who was a radio repairman. It has a curved body that was designed to be especially comfortable for the musician playing due to the curvatures of the guitar that could more easily fit the musician’s body (World Wide Entertainment, 2007). The guitar also features a synchronized tremolo which allows the musician to have more control over both the string tension and string length allowing for greater pitch change opportunity. It is most well known for its use in rock music. In fact, in the mid 1960s it was almost discontinued until Jimi Hendrix popularized it through his usage (World Wide Entertainment, 2007).

Below is a video of the Fistful of Dollars theme as an isolated guitar performance. The signature sound of this song is enhanced by the tone of the Fender guitar used. Using semi-electric hollow body guitars like the Fender Stratocaster allowed Morricone to produce a sound not unlike surf guitars popular in rock music of the 1960s. The anachronistic nature of using an electric guitar for a film set in the 19th century American West was definitely a bold move, but remains etched into the minds of Western fans everywhere.

Images/Videos Courtesy of:

orphantabber, YouTube