The company Fender musical of instrument corporation was created 1948 by Leo Fender and its partner George Fullerton under the name Fender Electric instrument Manufacturing company and is one of the most recognized manufacturers for E-guitars, E-basses and guitar amplifiers.

Firm history

The master enterprise is settled in the American Scottsdale (Arizona) and has production plants in the California Corona, in addition, outside of the USA in Mexico, Korea and Japan. Originally the enterprise originates from Fullerton in California. 1965 sold Leo Fender its enterprise to the American medium company Columbia Broadcasting system (CBS). Later, in the year 1985, the employee William Schultz the company redeemed and gave twenty years her the today's name.

The meaning and the call of Fender creates particularly on the pioneer achievements of this company in the 1950er and 1960er years. Like that the first model was, the Telecaster the first solvent Body E-guitar of the world manufactured in quantity production. Likewise the Precision bass invented by Leo Fender is the first bass with of the world.

The then futuristic Stratocaster is a further icon of music history, and applies together with the Telecaster than usually-copied guitar. Also of amplifiers, the first business field Leo of Fenders, this fame comes. Thus served for example the connection diagram Fender Bassman as collecting main for the development of the first Vox and Mars resounding amplifiers.

Of Fender guitars their clear interpretation for the mass production, the associated simplicity and robustness and the nearly exclusive use of Singlecoils are characteristic.

Today Fender is a manufacturer of guitars and basses of all kinds, is it now acoustically, halfacoustically or electrically strengthened. In addition, the offer pallet covers guitar amplifiers and accessories such as strings. After the assumption of Harold Rhodes' company in the year 1959 manufactures Fender starting from 1965 also the famous Rhodes Piano. To Fender the music instrument manufacturers Guild, Gretsch, Squier and others belong.

Since Fender guitars became with the time the usually copied guitars, Fender decided to buy the author and patent laws and to create its own company, which more inexpensive Fender Imitate manufactures. Since 1982 alone the company Squier is to be copied entitled Fender instruments in the original Design and the trademarks Stratocaster, Telecaster Showmaster, to use Precisions bass and jazz bass. Squier guitars are consciously rather settled in the amateur and beginner range. By production in cheap wage countries, the selection of the construction units and the renouncement of expensive extras Squier guitars are usually substantially more inexpensive thereby than Fender guitars. Nevertheless they can in individual cases quite compete from the quality with Fender instruments, times from quite refrain one the image contained in the price genuine Fender.

Fender has a very finely differentiated price gradation among other things of the materials and used by the production place of the guitar and the priority depends. This leaves however only causes direct conclusions on the quality of the guitars too.

Fender guitars

Leo Fender, applies beside Lester William Polfus as one of the pioneers with the development of Solidbody E guitars (Korpus from solid wood). It participates remarkable that Leo Fender could not play guitar.

Even if Fender produces all possible kinds of guitars, then the Bekanntheitsgrad of the mark is particularly certain by its E-guitars. There is probably hardly a well-known skirt guitarist, who possesses not at least one Fender guitar. Hereunder applies the Fender Stratocaster practically as the prototype of the modern E-guitar and is probably to most copied guitar of the world. Older however still the Fender are Telecaster. This was in principle an advancement of the Lap Steel Guitars (Hawaii guitar), produced by Fender, and was called in its first versions still Esquire and then Broadcaster.

From the competitor Gibson (e.g. Les Paul, SG) differ Fenders guitars usually particularly by some small however crucial constructional details:

Like that the neck is screwed with nearly all Fender models onto the Korpus, while it is normally in-glued with Gibson into the Korpus. Also the Mensur (string length) from 648 mm usually differs from the short Gibson Mensur (628 mm). In addition the being correct mechanisms are with most Fender guitars, appropriate contrary to the acoustic and Gibsongitarre, everything next to each other at a side of the head end plate. There are deviations from these characteristics depending on series with both manufacturers.

Besides Fender uses usually lighter woods such as Erle, ash or maple for the Korpus (Gibson usually Mahagoni). In the original models almost exclusively Singlecoil pick-ups come to the employment universe these details lead to a this very day unmistakable sound on thousands of the disk photographs are perpetuated.

Fender of basses

Also on the range of the E-bass the company Fender belonged to the pioneers. Thus the 1951 brought out Precision bass long time was considered as the first solvent Body bass at all. Actually however the company Audiovox Manufacturing & CO had such a bass already before that 2. World war built. (see E-Bass#Geschichte. The company Fender by their advertisement, into it meant the first E-bass of the world to have built, already several times sued.). However Fender is probably the first company, which produced such a bass in large numbers of items. The name Precision is due thereby to the use of on the Griffbrett, which at the time at that time was actually uncommon. With federationless basses precise seizing of the tones was a complicated venture, but with the it became "more precise".

Even if technically the step from the E-guitar seemed to the E-bass only small, then was the P-bass, as it is often called, but a completely new instrument and for the development of the modern skirt and Pop music a genuine milestone. The classical skirt Trio with E-bass, E-guitar and Schlagzeug would be not conceivable without this invention. Some details, which were developed for this bass, like for example the second Cutaway, were taken over later with the Stratocaster guitar.

Was there the Precision with only one Splitcoil pick-up (a split Singlecoil) equipped, was it sound-moderately naturally something reduced. This deficiency was repaired 1960 with the jazz bass (J-bass), which was equipped with two Singlecoils and also by the Design and handling some innovations brought. The jazz bass is until today one of the far-most common and most popular basses at all.

Even if Fender developed still some other bass models like e.g. the Telecaster bass, these could never become generally accepted in the mass. Until today with Fender Precision and jazz bass models in most different remarks are produced.

Fender amplifier

Since Leo Fender had entered into the music industry quasi by its interest in electro-technology, it does not surprise that the company Fender acquired itself already a call which can be called legendarily also in the area of the amplifier technology. Particularly in the start time of the electrically strengthened instruments, thus also the Hawaiigitarren produced by Fender, it applied, to offer an adequate possibility for the reinforcement of these instruments. Often the guitars as well as the amplifier in the set were sold. Fender built both the instruments, and the fitting amplifiers. In the late 40 ' it and early 50 ' it years acquired itself the devices tweedverkleideten at that time, which were built in at this time the prevailing tube technology, the call, to be particularly durable and strong.

A milestone in the history of the guitar amplifiers was - already mentions as in firm history - 1951 brought out Bassman. This had been developed originally as amplifier for the Precision bass, enjoyed however of increasing popularity with guitarists and became the model for a whole generation of new tube guitar amplifiers. Together with the Stratocaster came then with the twin a further until today popular guitar amplifiers on market-characteristically of these older tube amplifiers of Fender is a very clear sound in the undistorted range, which is considered also today still as yardstick to many other amplifiers. Thus the Fender became Clean sound until today a standing term among guitarists.

In the CBS time also with Fender apart from the tube technology ever more was then set on the inexpensive transistor technology. In addition at the tube models changes were made, which affected the sound or the quality of the devices partly negatively.

Today Fender offers a broad spectrum of transistor and tube amplifiers and uses partially also digital technology (Modeling Amps). Over the quality of the individual models itself the guitarists are not thereby however always united. Particularly the old Fender amplifiers from the time before the assumption by CBS do not partly only have against it a quite high collecting tank value, it also still gladly are used.

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