Fender Guitar History

Fender, that single word sends a music enthusiasts heart, mind and soul racing. The Fender name is synonymous with guitars today, but the company had humble beginnings. Fender catapulted the electric guitar industry into new heights of popularity with their early models. These guitars were easy to mass produce, were affordable, stylish and most importantly, sounded great.

Leo Fender

Leo Fender didn’t invent the electric guitar. Various forms of the instrument had been existence for several decades before Fender made its first guitar. What Leo Fender did was improve upon the existing frameworks to create something that can be sold to the public in great numbers. The sound, style, look and feel of the early Fender guitars caught the imagination of musicians and aspiring musicians alike. The music industry and electric guitars would forever have the mark of Leo Fender and Fender guitars.

Leo Fender was a radio technician and repairman living in California. Besides repairing radios, he also found himself repairing audio devices such as amplifiers. He would go on to be the first to create an amplifier with built in quality, sound and tone controls. After briefly having a company of a different name, the Fender Electrical Instrument Company was founded in 1946.

The Stratocaster

The Stratocaster is the most famous guitar in the world. Over half a century after its introduction in 1953, it remains a classic standard for electrical guitars and is one of the most highly sought after instruments for beginners and experts alike. The Stratocaster was not the first guitar released by Fender however.

In the late 1940s Fender released both the Esquire and the Telecaster electric guitars. The Esquire had a single magnetic pickup while the Telecaster had a double magnetic pickup. These two releases essentially created the market for electric guitars, even though previous versions and different companies had gone to market previously.

Improving upon those designs, the Stratocaster would make its massive splash in 1953. It featured many tweaks and improvements to earlier models. Among the most notable are the design and structure of the guitar itself. Like the Telecaster and Esquire, it was a solid body guitar. The body itself was countered and shaped for easier playing and holding. The Stratocaster also featured three pickups.

The Fender Precision Bass

Just as Fender didn’t invent the electric guitar, it didn’t even the electric bass either. What Fender did in both instances was improve upon earlier inventions and models. In both cases Fender was able to produce a high quality instrument that could be easily mass produced and marketed. The Fender Precision Bass was introduced in 1951 and so actually predates the Fender Stratocaster.

Fender in the Modern Era

Fender today is known for its quality in electrical guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers and a host of other musical instruments and applications. The Stratocaster sparked a musical revolution and created an entire genre of music, musicians and music fans. Fender guitars retain their classical styling and still have an extremely wide appeal.