1. Fender Stratocaster Serial Number
2. Fender Stratocaster Deluxe
3. Fender Stratocaster Used
4. Fender Stratocaster Made In Mexico
5. Fender Stratocaster Neck
6. Fender Stratocaster Guitars

Fender literally wrote the book on electric basses, laying the foundation for musical innovation and evolution. Learn more about Fender electric basses.

Old rockers wrinkle as they strut into their sixties, yet the Fender Stratocaster, best loved of all electric guitars and synonymous with rock from Buddy Holly through Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix to Jack White, Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Arctic Monkeys, refuses to age. Celebrating its 60th anniversary, this highly versatile, sleek and supremely good-looking musical instrument defies its age in the most convincing and elegant manner.

Hank Marvin of The Shadows’ fame, who made the ‘Strat’ fashionable in Britain, was given his first – fiesta red with a maple fingerboard and gold-plated fittings – by Cliff Richard in 1959. Recently, Marvin, whose playing is universally admired, told Roger Newell of musicradar.com that the Stratocaster “was like something from space, really, it was so futuristic in its design. Also... the contoured body was very comfortable, and it’s not a heavy instrument. So... you could swing it around a little for posing and leaping about. It lent itself very much to the visual aspect of rock’n’roll.”

So much so, that Jimi Hendrix famously smashed and set fire to his ’65 Strat at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. “The time I burned my guitar,” he said, “it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar.” Pete Townsend of The Who played a Stratocaster at the same Californian gig: in his brilliant, firebrand career he too has evidently loved a good many guitars.

Labour of love

Few prized Stratocasters are likely to be sacrificed today. Townsend himself auctioned a ’57 model in 2000 in aid of Oxfam –it had been a present from Eric Clapton. Townsend bought it back as part of a syndicate with David Bowie and Mick Jagger and presented it to Tony Blair, the Strat-loving New Labour prime minister who, in turn, gave it back for auction where it fetched £75,650 ($125,000). Prices since have soared into the financial high Cs with the guitar Clapton recorded Layla with going for anything but a song a few years later: £317,000 ($525,000).

Fender continues to craft hundreds of Stratocasters a day in its factory at Corona, California. Its ‘signature’ models –named after famous rockers – sell at a hefty premium. These include the Eric Clapton, the Jimi Hendrix (flameproof, hopefully) and two David Gilmours, one of which matches exactly the patina of the Pink Floyd guitarist’s famous ‘Black Strat’ featured on The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall. Gilmour owns Stratocaster number 0001; although made in 1954, this is not the first of the breed, but the first to be given a serial number.

Curiously, perhaps, Leo Fender, the Californian inventor who created the Stratocaster, along with draftsman and steel guitar virtuoso Freddie Tavares, and with a little help from musician friends, never learned to play the guitar. What he understood though was that a new wave of young musicians playing roadhouses and dance halls wanted a bright-sounding instrument that was easy to hold, tune and play. He had an early success with the Telecaster, but the Stratocaster grabbed attention like no other electric guitar before or since. Its seductive looks, while not an accident, derived from functional requirements. The double horned shape is nicely counterbalanced while also allowing muscians’ fingers to roam freely along neck and fretboard. Three pick-ups allow three very different sounds while a tremelo arm offers that distinctive waver popularised by Hank Marvin. The guitar’s ‘Comfort Contour Body’ fits comfortably into the torso.

Born in the USA

The Stratocaster was also a part of a wave of deeply stylish mid-century modern US designs. The year of its launch, saw the Boeing Dash-80, prototype of the 707 jet airliner, take to the air. President Eisenhower announced his highway modernisation programme as Greyhound unveiled its GM Scenicruiser, a split-level coach designed by Roland Gegoux that caught the public imagination: “Every mile a magnificent mile”was the slogan. This was also the year of the first generation Ford Thunderbird, the prototype of Clarence “Kelly” Johnson’s beautifully sinister Mach 2 Lockheed Starfighter and Charles and Ray Eames’s beautifully balanced and lightweight DCM chair (an ideal prop for the design-conscious Strat player). In New York, construction began on Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s peerless Seagram Building.

Buddy Holly was one of the first hugely popular stars to play a Strat and many budding musicians were captivated by the sight and sound of Fender’s masterpiece when the bespectacled singer appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. And while such appearances and word of mouth brought healthy sales, Fender also invested in memorable advertising campaigns. These were the brainchild of Don Randall, his sales chief, working with the Californian photographer Bob Perine.

‘You won’t part with yours either’ was the slogan appended to stylish black and white images showing cool young dudes skydiving, yachting and even commanding a US Army tank – all clinging on to their Fender Stratocasters. Another campaign by the same team, Wherever you go, you’ll find fender includes a shot of a young man, guitar strapped over his back, climbing aboard the rear platform of a London Transport double-decker making its way down the Embankment. It is indeed fascinating to recall that the bright, cheerful and utterly modern Stratocaster made its debut in a year when the hard-pressed British were still carrying ration books on their way to the shops, or even to the latest coffee bar where new guitar sounds might be heard.

Fender also played on its West Coast roots, revelling in adverts featuring California girls and boys, all sun, surf and T-Birds. What better, then, when bands like the Beach Boys picked up Stratocasters, their infectious sound selling a lifestyle, new forms of music and thousands of Fender guitars?

Health fears led to Leo Fender selling his company to CBS in 1965. Cost-cutting and other management strategies tarnished Fender’s glowing reputation, but in 1985 the company was bought by a group of investors and employees who restored it to grace. Today, many of the more expensive, and especially the signature model Stratocasters appear to be bought by school-of-Tony Blair politicians, businessmen, medics and media folk who might otherwise spend on Harley-Davidson motorbikes, trying to recreate a youth played out to a backdrop of Smoke on the Water and All along the Watchtower. Or even, in a more laid back mood, to the Stratocaster played as slide guitar in the deft hands of Ry Cooder; do you know the poetic soundtrack to Wim Wenders’ 1984 film Paris, Texas?

The Stratocaster is truly an instrument for many styles of music and for several generations of musicians. Crease-free, it sets out in its seventh decade, as bright red and beguiling as it was in 1954, the year before Bill Haley rocked around the clock and three before a 15-year old Jimi Hendrix picked up a one-stringed ukulele, perhaps imagining himself playing, if not smashing and burning, a gleaming Fender Strat.

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Coordinates: 33°38′46″N111°53′57″W / 33.6460322°N 111.899058°W

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC, or simply Fender) is an American manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces acoustic guitars, electric basses, bass amplifiers and public address equipment, but is best known for its solid-body electric guitars and bass guitars, particularly the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Precision Bass, and the Jazz Bass. The company was founded in Fullerton, California, by Clarence Leonidas 'Leo' Fender in 1946. Its headquarters are in Scottsdale, Arizona.

FMIC is a privately held corporation, with Andy Mooney serving as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The company filed for an initial public offering in March 2012,^[4] but this was withdrawn^[5][6] five months later. In addition to its Scottsdale headquarters, Fender has manufacturing facilities in Corona, California (US) and Ensenada, Baja California (Mexico).^[7]

As of July 10, 2012, the majority shareholders of Fender were the private equity firm of Weston Presidio (43%), Japanese music distributors Yamano Music (14%) and Kanda Shokai (13%) and Servco Pacific (5%)^[8][9]. In December 2012, TPG Growth (the middle market and growth equity investment platform of TPG Capital) and Servco Pacific took control of the company after acquiring the shares held by Weston Presidio.^[10]

• 1History
  • 1.3After CBS
• 2Publications

History[edit]

In 1950, Fender introduced the first mass-produced solid-body Spanish-style electric guitar, the Telecaster (originally named the Broadcaster for two-pickup models and Esquire for single-pickup).^[11] Following its success, Fender created the first mass-produced electric bass, the Precision Bass (P-Bass). In 1954, Fender unveiled the Stratocaster ('Strat') guitar. With the Telecaster and Precision Bass having been on the market for some time, Leo Fender was able to incorporate input from working musicians into the Stratocaster's design.

Origins[edit]

The company began as Fender's Radio Service in late 1938 in Fullerton, California. As a qualified electronics technician, Fender had repaired radios, phonographs, home audio amplifiers, public address systems and musical instrument amplifiers, all designs based on research developed and released to the public domain by Western Electric in the 1930s using vacuum tubes for amplification. The business also sidelined in carrying records for sale and the in rental of company-designed PA systems. Leo became intrigued by design flaws in contemporary musical instrument amplifiers and began building amplifiers based on his own designs or modifications to designs.

By the early 1940s, Leo Fender had entered into a partnership with Clayton Orr 'Doc' Kauffman, and they formed the K & F Manufacturing Corp to design, manufacture, and market electric instruments and amplifiers. Production began in 1945 with Hawaiian lap steel guitars (incorporating a patented pickup) and amplifiers, sold as sets. By the end of the year, Fender became convinced that manufacturing was more profitable than repair, and decided to concentrate on that business instead. Kauffman remained unconvinced, and he and Fender amicably parted ways by early 1946. At that point, Fender renamed the company the Fender Electric Instrument Company. The service shop remained open until 1951, although Leo Fender did not personally supervise it after 1947.

Leo Fender's lap steel guitar made in 1946 for Noel Boggs was probably the very first product of the new company, bearing an early presentation of the cursive 'big F' Fender logo.^[12]

In the late 1940s, Fender began to experiment with more conventional guitar designs. Early Broadcasters were plagued with issues; while Fender boasted the strength of the instrument's one-piece maple neck, early adopters lamented its tendency to bow in humid weather. Fender's reluctant addition of a metal truss rod into the necks of his guitars allowed for the much needed ability to fine-tune the instrument to the musician's specific needs. With the design of the Telecaster finalized, mass production began in 1950. The Telecaster's bolted-on neck allowed for the instrument's body and neck to be milled and finished separately, and for the final assembling to be done quickly and cheaply by unskilled workers.

In 1959, Fender released the Jazzmaster guitar. Like the Stratocaster before it, the Jazzmaster was a radical departure from previous guitar designs. The offset body, vibrato system and innovative electronics were designed to capture the Jazz guitar market which until then was dominated by acoustic guitars. Fender even promoted the Jazzmaster as a premium successor to the Stratocaster, an accolade it never fully achieved. Despite being shunned by the Jazz community, the guitar found a home in the growing surf rock music scene, one that would go into influence the Jazzmaster's successor, the Jaguar in 1962.

Sale to CBS[edit]

In early 1965, Leo Fender sold his companies to the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) for $13 million.^[13][14] This was almost two million more than they had paid for The New York Yankees a year before. CBS entered the musical instruments field by acquiring the Fender companies (Fender Sales, Inc., Fender Electric Instrument Company, Inc., Fender Acoustic Instrument Company, Inc., Fender-Rhodes, Inc., Terrafen, Inc., Clef-Tronix, Inc., Randall Publishing Co., Inc., and V.C. Squier Company), as well as Electro-Music Inc. (Leslie speakers), Rogers drums, Steinway pianos, Gemeinhardt flutes, Lyon & Healy harps, Rodgers (institutional) organs, and Gulbransen home organs.

Fender Stratocaster Serial Number

The sale was taken as a positive development, considering CBS's ability to bring in money and personnel who acquired a large inventory of Fender parts and unassembled guitars that were assembled and put to market. However, the sale also led to a reduction of the quality of Fender's guitars while under the management of 'cost-cutting' CBS. Several cosmetic changes occurred after 1965/1966, such as a larger headstock shape on certain guitars. Bound necks with block shaped position markers were introduced in 1966. A bolder black headstock logo, as well as a brushed aluminum face plate with blue or red labels (depending the model) for the guitar and bass amplifiers became standard features, starting in late 1968. These first 'silverface' amps added an aluminium trim detail around the speaker baffle until 1970.

Other cosmetic changes included a new 'tailless' Fender amp decal and a sparkling orange grillcloth on certain amplifiers in the mid-1970s. Regarding guitars, in mid-1971 the usual four-bolt neck joint was changed to one using only three bolts, and a second string tree for the two middle (G and D) strings was added in late 1972. These changes were said to have been made to save money: while it suited the new 'improved' micro-tilt adjustment of the neck (previously requiring neck removal and shimming), the 'Bullet' truss rod system, and a 5-way pickup selector on most models, it also resulted in a greater propensity toward mechanical failure of the guitars.

During the CBS era, the company did introduce some new instrument and amplifier designs. The Fender Starcaster was particularly unusual because of its shallow, yet completely hollow body design that still retained the traditional Fender bolt-on neck, albeit with a completely different headstock. The Starcaster also incorporated a new Humbucking pickup designed by Seth Lover, which became known as the Wide Range pickup. This pickup also gave rise to 3 new incarnations of the classic Telecaster: the Telecaster Custom, the Telecaster Deluxe and the Telecaster Thinline. Though more recent use by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead has raised the Starcaster's profile, CBS-era instruments are generally much less coveted or collectable than the 'pre-CBS' models created by Leo Fender prior to selling the Fender companies to CBS in 1965.

The culmination of the CBS 'cost-cutting' may have occurred^{[citation needed]} in 1983, when the Fender Stratocaster received a short-lived redesign including a single ('master') tone control, a bare-bones pickguard-mounted output jack, redesigned single-coil pickups, active electronics, and three push buttons for pickup selection (on the Elite Series). Additionally, previous models such as the Swinger (also known as Musiclander) and Custom (also known as Maverick) were perceived by some musicians as little more than attempts to squeeze profits out of factory stock. The so-called 'pre-CBS cult' refers to the popularity of Fenders made before the sale.

After selling the Fender company, Leo Fender founded Music Man in 1975, and G&L Musical Instruments in 1979, both of which manufacture electric guitars and basses based on his later designs.

After CBS[edit]

In 1985, in a campaign initiated by then CBS Musical Instruments division president William Schultz (1926–2006), the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company employees purchased the company from CBS and renamed it Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC). The sale did not include the old Fullerton factory; FMIC had to build a new facility in nearby Corona.

In 1991, FMIC moved its corporate headquarters from its Corona location to Scottsdale, Arizona, where 'administration, marketing, advertising, sales and export operations' take place, not only for the United States operations, but many other countries also.^[15] Fender guitars built in Ensenada, Mexico, now fulfill the primary export role formerly held by Japanese-made Fenders. The Japanese Fenders are now manufactured specifically for the Japanese market, with only a small number marked for export.

On February 11, 1994, the Ensenada plant burned down, and main production was temporarily moved to Corona.

Acquisitions and partnerships[edit]

FMIC has purchased a number of instrument brands and firms, including the Guild Guitar Company, the Sunn Amplifier Company, and SWR Sound Corporation. In early 2003, FMIC reached an agreement with the Gretsch family and began manufacturing and distributing new Gretsch guitars. Fender also owns Jackson, Olympia, Orpheum, Tacoma Guitars, Squier, and Brand X amps.

On October 28, 2007, Fender acquired Kaman Music Corporation, which owned the Ovation Guitar Company, Latin Percussion and Toca hand percussion products, Gibraltar Hardware, Genz Benz Amplification, Charvel, Hamer Guitars, and is the exclusive U.S. sales representative for Sabian Cymbals and exclusive worldwide distributor of Takamine Guitars and Gretsch Drums.

In 2011, Volkswagen partnered with Fender to manufacture premium sound systems for its vehicles in North America.^[16]Volkswagen vehicles in North America that offer optional Fender Premium Sound are the Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Beetle, Volkswagen Jetta Sedan, Volkswagen Passat, and Volkswagen Tiguan.

Fender Stratocaster Deluxe

In February 2015, KMC was sold to Jam Industries^[17] by FMIC.^[18]

Publications[edit]

Fender Frontline[edit]

Fender published the Fender Frontline magazine as a source of product, artist and technical data for the company's customers.^[19] The first half featured interviews and articles about the guitars and the stars who played them, and the second half was a catalog section.^[20]

Fender Stratocaster Used

Fender published 27 issues of the magazine from 1990 through 2000.^[20] Notable interviewees included Kurt Cobain in Fall 1994, in what was his last interview.^[21] Fender had designed a hybrid guitar for Cobain, known as a Jag Stang.^[22][21] Other notable interviews featured Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour,^[23]Glenn Hughes from Deep Purple,^[24] and King Crimson's Adrian Belew.^[25]

Fender Stratocaster Made In Mexico

In 2001, Fender eliminated the interviews and features section, and Frontline became an annual illustrated price list until 2006, when it was replaced with a product guide.^[20]

Product guide[edit]

Since February 2007, Fender produces an annual illustrated product guide in place of its traditional annual Frontline magazine. This change was made in large part due to costs associated with paying royalties for both print and the Internet. With the new illustrated product guide, this removed print issues. The new guide contains the entire range of instruments and amplifiers, with color pictures and basic specifications. These are available through guitar publications and are directly mailed to customers who sign up on the Fender website. As well as these printed formats, Fender Frontline Live launched at the winter NAMM show in January 2007 as a new online reference point, containing information on new products and live footage from the show.

Products[edit]

Fender's core product are electric guitars in Duo-Sonic, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, Mustang, Telecaster and Stratocaster models. This is alongside bass guitars in Mustang, Jaguar, Jazz and Precision models. Fender also manufactures acoustic guitars, lap steels guitars, electric violins guitar/ bass amplifiers and the Fender Rhodes electric piano.

Squier[edit]

Squier was a string manufacturer that Fender acquired. Fender has used the Squier brand since 1982 to market inexpensive variants of Fender guitars to compete with Stratocaster copies, as the Stratocaster became more popular. Squier guitars have been manufactured in Japan, Korea, Mexico, India, Indonesia, China and the United States of America.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'Fender Musical Instruments Corporation Appoints Andy Mooney to CEO'. 2 June 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
2. ^Instruments, Fender® Musical. 'Fender News & Tech Talk - Fender'. spotlight.fender.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
3. ^About Fender - Official Fender WebsiteArchived 2015-05-06 at the Wayback Machine, 5 May 2015
4. ^O'Toole, James (2012-03-08). 'Guitar-maker Fender files for IPO - Mar. 8, 2012'. Money.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
5. ^Editorial, Benzinga. 'Fender Withdraws IPO'. forbes.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
6. ^'Why Fender pulled its IPO'. fortune.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
7. ^Hennigan, W.J. (March 8, 2012). 'Guitar maker Fender files for initial public offering'. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
8. ^'Amendment No. 6 to FORM S-1 Registration Statement - Fender Musical Instruments Corporation'. Washington, D.C.: United States Securities and Exchange Commission. July 10, 2012. p. 146. Registration No. 333-179978. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
9. ^'Fender changes tune on IPO'. The Orange County Register. Associated Press. July 21, 2012. p. Business 3.
10. ^'With control, TPG Growth and Servco make Fender more consumer friendly - PE Hub'. pehub.com. 30 September 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
11. ^'Broadcaster Guitar Development'. Britannica. 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
12. ^'Brad's Page of Steel'. www.well.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
13. ^'CBS Acquires Guitar Concern. Purchases Fender Co. for $13 Million in Cash Deal'. The New York Times. January 5, 1965. Archived from the original on May 24, 2013. Retrieved 2012-08-23. The Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., which entered the sports field by acquiring the New York Yankees, is further diversifying into the guitar and amplifier manufacturing business.
14. ^Day, Paul (1979). The Burns Book. pp Publishing. p. 36.
15. ^'About Fender Musical Instruments Corporation'. 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-09-20. Retrieved 2014-09-22.
16. ^Raymundo, Oscar (2012-06-11). 'Volkswagen Unveils Beetle Fender Edition'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
17. ^'FMIC Sells KMC Music Wholesale Distribution Business to JAM Industries'. Music Inc. Magazine. February 12, 2015. Archived from the original on March 14, 2015. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) announced on Feb. 10 that it has completed an asset sale of the KMC Music wholesale distribution business, including the trade name B & J Music, and certain proprietary brands, to JAM Industries, Ltd. JAM Industries is a global leader in the MI, pro-audio and consumer electronics wholesale distribution business.
18. ^'Fender Musical Instruments Corp: General form for registration of securities under the Securities Act of 1933: List of Subsidiaries'(Type: EX-21.1; Act: 33). EDGAR. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2012-03-08. Acc-no: 0001193125-12-101896 (33 Act), File No: 333-179978, CIK#: 0000767959. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. KMC Music, Inc. dba KMC Musicorp., CT / •KMI Europe, Inc., DE / •B & J Music Ltd., Canada / •Takamine Gakki Co., Ltd. (12% KMC Music, Inc.), Japan
19. ^'The Fender Bass: An Illustrated History'. books.google.com. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
20. ^ ^abc'Fender Frontline'. 2tuguitars.com. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
21. ^ ^ab'Fender Frontline Fall 1994 Article'. jag-stang.com. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
22. ^'Nirvana: Super Fuzz Big Muff'. guitarworld.com. 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
23. ^'Glenn Hughes from Fender Frontline'. pink-floyd.org. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
24. ^'Big Shots'. thehighwaystar.com. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
25. ^'Interview with Adrian Belew in Fender's Frontline'. elephant-talk.com. Retrieved 2019-01-09.

External links[edit]

Fender Stratocaster Neck

• Leo Fender Exhibit, Permanent exhibit at the Fullerton Museum on the Fender company history in the city
• NAMM Oral History Interview with William Schultz (2000)
• NAMM Oral History Interview with Bill Mandello (2010)
• NAMM Oral History Interview with Larry Thomas (2012)

Fender Stratocaster Guitars