The Fender 'Broadcaster', now known as the Fender Telecaster, was the first mass-produced solid body electric guitar, and the Precision Bass guitar or P-bass as it was then, was the first mass-produced electric bass guitar.
That's how important the Fender Musical Instrument Corporation are to the history of the electric guitar. Yes, others had produced electric guitars, but Fender was the first to mass-produce them and sell guitars in very large quantities. The Stratocaster is still one of the most popular instruments for today's guitarists.
Leo Fender a Southern Californian inventor, improved on the hollow body guitar that was around back in the 1940s by using an innovative and very simple solid-body electric guitar design. This also enabled him to mass-produce the instrument for a more streamline production line.
The Fender Telecaster:
In 1951 the Telecaster was born, the first solid-body mass-produced guitar.
Precision Bass Guitar:
In the same year he invented the revolutionary Precision bass guitar.
A bass guitar with frets, a very new concept and having frets meant it could be play with 'Precision' and it could be amplified which liberated bassists from the guess and play hard to hear bass guitars of the day. This really was a milestone in the history of guitars.
The World Famous Stratocaster Guitar:
Then back in 1954 Leo invented a user-friendlier model. The world famous Stratocaster guitar. A guitar that this time had three pick-ups a sleek contoured body, which made the instrument more comfortable to play. He also added a double cutaway to the design of the guitar, so the guitarist could access the upper registers of the instrument.
Leo still felt there was something missing for his new Stratocaster design. The country bands liked the pedal steel guitars, so Leo decided to add a tremolo arm to enable the musician to bend the strings and achieve a pedal steel type sound that was so popular among the country and western folks.
Sale to CBS:
Due to poor health Leo Fender sold the company to CBS in 1965. The Columbia Broadcasting System, bought out Fender for a cool $13 million, almost two million more then they paid for the New York Yankees a year before. After selling the Fender company, Leo Fender founded Music Man in 1975, and later founded the G&L Musical Instruments company, which manufactures electric guitars and basses based on his later designs.
The sale unfortunately led to a reduction in the quality of Fender's guitars due to "cost-cutting" from the CBS management team. Several cosmetic changes occurred after 1965/1966, such as a larger headstock shape on certain guitars. A bolder black headstock logo, as well as a brushed aluminium face plate with blue or red labels depending the model of the guitar. Bound necks with block shaped position markers were introduced in 1966.
That's how important the Fender Musical Instrument Corporation are to the history of the electric guitar. Yes, others had produced electric guitars, but Fender was the first to mass-produce them and sell guitars in very large quantities. The Stratocaster is still one of the most popular instruments for today's guitarists.
Leo Fender a Southern Californian inventor, improved on the hollow body guitar that was around back in the 1940s by using an innovative and very simple solid-body electric guitar design. This also enabled him to mass-produce the instrument for a more streamline production line.
The Fender Telecaster:
In 1951 the Telecaster was born, the first solid-body mass-produced guitar.
Precision Bass Guitar:
In the same year he invented the revolutionary Precision bass guitar.
A bass guitar with frets, a very new concept and having frets meant it could be play with 'Precision' and it could be amplified which liberated bassists from the guess and play hard to hear bass guitars of the day. This really was a milestone in the history of guitars.
The World Famous Stratocaster Guitar:
Then back in 1954 Leo invented a user-friendlier model. The world famous Stratocaster guitar. A guitar that this time had three pick-ups a sleek contoured body, which made the instrument more comfortable to play. He also added a double cutaway to the design of the guitar, so the guitarist could access the upper registers of the instrument.
Leo still felt there was something missing for his new Stratocaster design. The country bands liked the pedal steel guitars, so Leo decided to add a tremolo arm to enable the musician to bend the strings and achieve a pedal steel type sound that was so popular among the country and western folks.
Sale to CBS:
Due to poor health Leo Fender sold the company to CBS in 1965. The Columbia Broadcasting System, bought out Fender for a cool $13 million, almost two million more then they paid for the New York Yankees a year before. After selling the Fender company, Leo Fender founded Music Man in 1975, and later founded the G&L Musical Instruments company, which manufactures electric guitars and basses based on his later designs.
The sale unfortunately led to a reduction in the quality of Fender's guitars due to "cost-cutting" from the CBS management team. Several cosmetic changes occurred after 1965/1966, such as a larger headstock shape on certain guitars. A bolder black headstock logo, as well as a brushed aluminium face plate with blue or red labels depending the model of the guitar. Bound necks with block shaped position markers were introduced in 1966.
