With Fender guitars as popular and iconic as ever, it is thanks to the hard work and organisation of the company and a genuine dedication to music and musicians that they manage to maintain a consistently high quality of instrument whilst at the same time catering for a mass market.
From the start Fender has relied on the feedback of musicians themselves about their instruments. In the 1950s this style of 'customer service' led to the development of the iconic Stratocaster with its revolutionary third single-coil pickup, the classic contoured body, the cutaway design and Fender vibrato bridge all coming from musician feedback and enabling guitarists to create their own unique sounds.
Due to ill health Leo Fender sold the company to CBS in 1965. The company continued to grow financially but at the expense of their renowned affinity with music and musicians. In 1981 CBS put Fender under new management in a bid to re-invent the company. With William Schultz as company president and William Mendello as his right hand man their plan was to improve quality and invest more in research and development whilst increasing Fender's profile in the music industry. Schultz led a group of employees and investors in buying Fender from CBS in 1985. This was the best possible outcome for the brand as it put Fender back in the care of a dedicated band of people who wanted to commit to creating the best guitars and accessories.
FMIC (Fender Musical Instruments Corporation) had to start building the company up again, finding buildings and machinery and purchasing the name, intellectual property and parts. The first big move was the setting up of Fender's flagship factory in Corona, California. In 1987 they opened a second manufacturing plant in Ensenada, Mexico and the famous Fender Custom Shop in the US. In 1991 the corporate departments of the Fender company moved to Scottsdale, Arizona and have been there ever since. It is from here that the various divisions and factories around the globe are controlled.
Mendello became CEO in 2005 following Schultz's retirement. The last seven years have seen the company continue to grow, never losing sight of its commitment to maintaining consistently high standards in all their instruments.
Over the last 5 years Fender have rejuvenated and extended the core guitar shapes, adding extensively to the range to ensure that there is an instrument to suit everyone. The Fender electric guitar ranges include Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster and Mustang, with Jazz Bass, Precision Bass and Mustang forming the bass guitar ranges. Not to mention their acoustic guitar offerings and huge range of amplifiers and accessories. Their most recent product launch has been the Fender Pawn Shop Series - "guitars that never were, but should have been" - another range of quality guitars, this time combining features from the '50s, '60s and '70s to create a modern sound with a vintage look.
Their popular Custom Shop offers the opportunity for Fender to design and make an individual guitar for the musician. Either by starting from scratch or by altering an existing guitar a personal service is available. Famous guitarists from Clapton to Gilmour have had guitars made at the Fender Custom Shop, but this prestigious area of the company is open to all music lovers.
Fender may have a custom shop, but with the huge array of guitars on offer in the other ranges and the superior craftsmanship of all Fender guitars, each instrument is practically a custom shop piece in itself. To the uninitiated the guitars may all look ostensibly very similar, but when they are picked up the difference is noticeable and when they are played the difference is even more plain to see. A Fender customer has a huge array to choose from and can sample one after another until they find the one that looks, feels and plays exactly how they wish. With a true dedication to high standards in all their ranges and a determination to ensure that every customer finds their dream instrument, it is little wonder that Fender is still the most popular guitar company.
From the start Fender has relied on the feedback of musicians themselves about their instruments. In the 1950s this style of 'customer service' led to the development of the iconic Stratocaster with its revolutionary third single-coil pickup, the classic contoured body, the cutaway design and Fender vibrato bridge all coming from musician feedback and enabling guitarists to create their own unique sounds.
Due to ill health Leo Fender sold the company to CBS in 1965. The company continued to grow financially but at the expense of their renowned affinity with music and musicians. In 1981 CBS put Fender under new management in a bid to re-invent the company. With William Schultz as company president and William Mendello as his right hand man their plan was to improve quality and invest more in research and development whilst increasing Fender's profile in the music industry. Schultz led a group of employees and investors in buying Fender from CBS in 1985. This was the best possible outcome for the brand as it put Fender back in the care of a dedicated band of people who wanted to commit to creating the best guitars and accessories.
FMIC (Fender Musical Instruments Corporation) had to start building the company up again, finding buildings and machinery and purchasing the name, intellectual property and parts. The first big move was the setting up of Fender's flagship factory in Corona, California. In 1987 they opened a second manufacturing plant in Ensenada, Mexico and the famous Fender Custom Shop in the US. In 1991 the corporate departments of the Fender company moved to Scottsdale, Arizona and have been there ever since. It is from here that the various divisions and factories around the globe are controlled.
Mendello became CEO in 2005 following Schultz's retirement. The last seven years have seen the company continue to grow, never losing sight of its commitment to maintaining consistently high standards in all their instruments.
Over the last 5 years Fender have rejuvenated and extended the core guitar shapes, adding extensively to the range to ensure that there is an instrument to suit everyone. The Fender electric guitar ranges include Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster and Mustang, with Jazz Bass, Precision Bass and Mustang forming the bass guitar ranges. Not to mention their acoustic guitar offerings and huge range of amplifiers and accessories. Their most recent product launch has been the Fender Pawn Shop Series - "guitars that never were, but should have been" - another range of quality guitars, this time combining features from the '50s, '60s and '70s to create a modern sound with a vintage look.
Their popular Custom Shop offers the opportunity for Fender to design and make an individual guitar for the musician. Either by starting from scratch or by altering an existing guitar a personal service is available. Famous guitarists from Clapton to Gilmour have had guitars made at the Fender Custom Shop, but this prestigious area of the company is open to all music lovers.
Fender may have a custom shop, but with the huge array of guitars on offer in the other ranges and the superior craftsmanship of all Fender guitars, each instrument is practically a custom shop piece in itself. To the uninitiated the guitars may all look ostensibly very similar, but when they are picked up the difference is noticeable and when they are played the difference is even more plain to see. A Fender customer has a huge array to choose from and can sample one after another until they find the one that looks, feels and plays exactly how they wish. With a true dedication to high standards in all their ranges and a determination to ensure that every customer finds their dream instrument, it is little wonder that Fender is still the most popular guitar company.
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