With the Strat Plus of 1987, Fender went outside of the company for the first time and made the new Lace Sensor pickup standard equipment on this model.

In the 1980s, to help Fender alleviate a high rejection rate during the production of its pickups, Don Lace began developing a single-coil pickup with higher fidelity and more resistance to interference.

The Strat Plus introduced Fender-Lace pickups, along with such “plusses” as locking tuners, a roller bridge, and a pearloid pickguard.