Fender

The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, initially named the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, was started by Leo Fender in the 1940s, and is one of the most widely recognised manufacturers of electric guitars, bass guitars and amplifiers.

Current

In 1985, initiated by a company employee named William Schultz, the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company was bought from CBS by its own employees, and renamed Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

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Behind the Fender name, the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continued to grow, and to add a wider range of products to its catalogs, while still keeping with traditional designs from the company's early years.

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Fender manufactures its highest quality models in the United States and Japan, but also has extensive manufacturing facilities in China and Mexico for downmarket models, such that a new guitar with the name, 'Fender Stratocaster,' can be purchased for roughly the same dollar amount today as in 1954. The older and American-built Strats are by far the most favoured, but Japanese Fenders are now highly regarded as well: Fenders built in Ensenada, Mexico took over for the early Japanese guitars as the downmarket counterparts to the American models, while more recent Japanese Fenders are now mainly for the Japanese market, as counterparts to the American-made Fenders, and with only a small number marked for export.

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The brand name, 'Squier', (previously a string manufacturer bought up by Fender) has been used since the early 1980s for student-grade Fender instruments, of various manufacture. The name adorns many inexpensive, decently-made guitars with genuine Fender designs but cheaper construction. These inexpensive models are now manufactured in China and Indonesia, but were originally made in Japan and Korea.

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Early Japanese Fender and Squier Stratocasters are well-regarded, and are now traded on the used-guitar market as JV, or 'Japanese Vintage.'

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The core of its instrument line, the Tele, Strat, P-Bass, and J-Bass, remains largely unchanged from the 1950s and 1960s originals. On nearly every stage in the country, small or large, featuring blues, country and western or rock and roll, it is common to see a Fender guitar or bass in the hands of one or more of the musicians, amplified through a Fender amplifier. Fender guitars have been the instrument of choice for hundreds of noted artists including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Ritchie Blackmore, and Keith Richards.

Related Topics:
Blues - Country and western - Rock and roll - Jimi Hendrix - Eric Clapton - Ritchie Blackmore - Keith Richards

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In recent years, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has branched out into making and selling acoustic guitars, and has purchased a number of other instrument firms, including the Guild Guitar Company, the Sunn Amplifier Company, and other brands such as SWR bass amplifiers.

Related Topics:
Acoustic guitar - Guild Guitar Company - Sunn Amplifier Company

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