Ubiquitous and essential, the Stratocaster has transcended its original intended purpose as a tool a stylish one, at that to become such an archetype. It has risen above its everyday function to become a cultural symbol for creativity, individuality, artistry and more than a little exuberant rebelliousness. Been that way for quite a while now. The Stratocaster had to earn its place, and it happened neither easily nor overnight. Indeed, for about its first 10 years or so, the Stratocaster patiently bided its time while the world caught up with it.
Fender had made promising inroads into the stodgy old U. A scrappy little post-war West Coast upstart that was only seven years old and led by a taciturn self-taught electronics tinkerer, Fender had already introduced two revolutionary instruments—the Telecaster and Precision Bass guitars—plus a full line of well-regarded steel guitars and a small handful of loud, rugged and stylish amps that were the best available.
Work on elements such as new pickups and a new bridge was certainly well under way by late Long-held conventions of design and method meant little if anything to Leo, which likely goes a long way in explaining the genesis of an instrument as extraordinary as the Stratocaster. Perhaps author Tom Wheeler put it best when, in his indispensable history The Stratocaster Chronicles , he asked:. A practical person, he just wanted to build a better guitar. He and his closest staff spent long hours developing and perfecting the new model, which quickly shaped up to be its own instrument rather than an improved version of the Telecaster.
The new guitar certainly owed several design elements to its predecessor, though, and as late as early its body shape closely resembled that of the Telecaster. It had not one or two but three pickups, with switching and controls that created great tonal versatility although, curiously, the switching configuration allowed only three of several possible pickup combinations. This consisted of two then-common paint colors—a brownish-black outer hue called dark Salem, which graduated to a golden inner hue called canary yellow.
Sunburst finishes also conveyed the extra advantage of lessening the apparentness of mismatched wood grain in the ash bodies, which typically but not always consisted of two or more pieces glued together. In , following the success of the Telecaster, Fender unveiled a guitar that would set the standard for generations to come: the Stratocaster.
Named by Fender sales and marketing guru Don Randall, the sleek, Space Age-inspired model incorporated a host of innovations designed to make life easier for modern musicians. Essentially unchanged since its debut, the Stratocaster remains the most popular and influential electric guitar ever made, and players across all genres continue to prize its sound, style and versatility.
In , Fender opened its flagship U. That same year, the renowned Fender Custom Shop debuted at the Corona facility. Leo Fender had always recognized the importance of an open-door policy for professional musicians, accommodating their requests for specific features on an individual basis.
Forging into the 21st century with an increased focus on digital innovation and artist relations, Fender returned to its Southern California roots in with its 24,square-foot headquarters in the heart of Hollywood. There, just moments from L. In addition to its flagship headquarters, Fender continues to coordinate administration, product, sales and export operations from its office in Scottsdale, Arizona and international satellite offices in England, France, Australia, Germany, Mexico, Sweden and Japan.
The most popular guitar ever made and copied. It made the Fender company worth millions and made Leo an icon in the music world.
Fender at this point now had over employees, of them in manufacturing. Randoll not having the resources to purchase the company himself, agreed to find another buyer. In August the Fender Mustang was introduced. CBS began making changes almost immediately. He quit less than two years later over a dispute regarding the quality of an amplifier CBS planned on producing.
His departure was due to corporate politics and concerns over quality. Many other long term employees felt quality was taking a back seat since CBS took over. It was strange. Plenty were decent enough instruments, but few were great instruments. Get the best cultural and educational resources on the web curated for you in a daily email.
We never spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Open Culture scours the web for the best educational media. Comments 4 You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Jay says:. April 6, at am. Lee says:. Bobby Goodwin says:. November 7, at am. Stephen Pate says:. February 10, at am. Leave a Reply Name required Email required Message.
Wordpress Hashcash needs javascript to work, but your browser has javascript disabled. Your comment will be queued in Akismet!
0コメント