![]() ![]() The Fender Custom Shop has since become known worldwide and industry-wide as the pinnacle of craftsmanship and sheer instrumental artistry.įMIC moved its corporate headquarters from Corona to Scottsdale, Ariz., in 1991. Fender had always recognized the importance of an open-door policy for professional musicians, accommodating their requests for specific features on an individual basis. ![]() ![]() A second modern manufacturing facility opened in 1987 in Ensenada, Mexico.Īlso in 1987, the renowned Fender Custom Shop opened at the Corona facility, creating dream instruments for professional guitarists and guitar enthusiasts. The new Fender initially imported its guitars from offshore manufacturers with proven ability to produce affordable and viable instruments, but the move toward greater quality control soon led to the establishment in 1985 of Fender’s flagship U.S. Supported by a core group of loyal employees, dealers and suppliers (some of whom had been with the company since Leo Fender founded it), Schultz and his colleagues set out to rebuild an American icon. Among other things, FMIC purchased the name, intellectual property and some leftover parts. The new Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) had to start from scratch-there were no buildings or machinery included in the sale. The sale put the Fender name back into the hands of a small group of dedicated people committed to creating the world’s best guitars and amplifiers. When CBS shed its non-broadcast media businesses in the 1980s, a group of employees and investors led by Schultz bought Fender from CBS in 1985. Their 5-year business plan was based on increasing Fender’s marketplace presence with dramatic quality improvement and greater commitment to research and development. William Schultz became company president, supported by associate William Mendello. To “re-invent” Fender, CBS recruited new management in 1981. Fender Musical Instruments experienced tremendous growth over the next 20 years, but a lack of commitment and real understanding of music and musicians by CBS gradually became apparent. Leo Fender himself remained an immensely creative force over the next decade, introducing many classic instrument and amplifier designs, including the Jazz Bass® guitar, the Jaguar® and Jazzmaster® guitars and the Twin Reverb® amplifier.īecause of poor health, Leo Fender sold the company to CBS in 1965. Essentially unchanged since its 1954 debut, it is the most popular and influential electric guitar ever, and players at all levels and in all genres continue to rely on its sound, playability and versatility to this day. Nobody could have foreseen then how the Stratocaster would go on to revolutionize popular music. Guitarists bend strings, thus achieving the pedal steel-like sound so popular among country music artists of the day. Most important, however, was the addition of the new Fender vibrato (or “tremolo”) bridge, an innovation originally intended to let Its third single-coil pickup offered more tonal possibilities, its sleekly contoured body made it moreĬomfortable, and its double cutaway design made access to upper registers much easier. The Stratocaster first appeared in 1954, incorporating many design innovations based on feedback from professional musicians, Fender As opposed to the “big bands” of the era, electric Fender instruments made it possible for smaller groups of musicians These two historic instruments laid the foundation for a new kind of group and a revolution in popular music-what we know today as the That it could be played with “precision,” and it could be amplified, thus liberating bassists from unwieldy and increasingly difficult-to-hear It was played like a guitar and had frets so Hat same year, Fender introduced a revolutionary new invention-the Precision Bass guitar. The Tele®, as it was oftenĬalled then and still is today, was the first solid-body Spanish-style electric guitar to be commercially mass-produced. In 1951 he introduced a prototype solid-body instrument that would eventually be called the Telecaster® guitar. Further, he realized that he could streamline the process of In the 1940s, southern California inventor Leo Fender realized that he could improve on the amplified hollow-body instruments of the dayīy using an innovative and rather simple solid-body electric guitar design. The instruments that started the rock revolution, and they continue to be highly prized by today’s musicians and collectors. Iconic Fender® instruments such as the Telecaster®, Stratocaster®, Precision Bass® and Jazz Bass® guitars are known worldwide as Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) is the world's leading guitar manufacturer, and its name has become synonymous with all
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |