One person who did more to create a musical revolution in the early days of electrical musical instruments was Clarence Leonidas Fender, or rather, Leo Fender. He and C. O. (Doc) Kauffman worked together to make and market a guitar and amplification system that had a clean, clear sound without feedback at higher volume. Before their successful solid body guitar, the electronic pick-ups would get vibrations from the guitar's sound box as well as from the strings. By eliminating the sound box found on classical, Spanish-style guitars, they were able to control the feedback caused by secondary signals to the pick-ups. Amplifiers were then able to just get the vibrations from the strings which were clean and defined. That pure sound was then able to be amplified by the vintage guitar amplifiers.
Leo found another electronics enthusiast in C. O. (Doc) Kauffman and formed a company to design, manufacture and sell Hawaiian lap steel guitars and their amplifiers in the early 1940's, named the K & F Manufacturing Company. K & F began making lap steel guitars in 1945 using their innovation of wound electronic pick-ups to gather the sound from the strings to feed it to the amplifier. The next generation of the company evolved to be the Fender Electric Instrument Company after Doc Kauffman left Leo Fender in 1946.
Leo Fender's first "standard" style guitar, as opposed to a lap steel guitar, was the Esquire. It was styled after the Rickenbacker Bakelite and, like the Rickenbacker, had a detachable neck making it easier to manufacture and service. Soon after the Esquire, the Broadcaster made a debut in 1951. The Esquire was a new Spanish-style guitar design, but of solid-body construction, to avoid problems of unwanted feedback. The Broadcaster name was shortly dropped after Gretsch sent a cease and desist letter because the name was too close to the trademarked "Broadkaster" drum kit name. Also in 1951, Fender came out with the Precision Bass, the first electric bass guitar. Bass musicians now had freedom to move, control over their volume and tone and flexibility to achieve the sound they desired.
The famous Stratocaster came about a few years later and became the hallmark of vintage electric guitars. Unfortunately, Leo Fender's health was declining during his highlight years of making electric guitars and he sold the company to CBS in 1965. The years CBS owned the Fender guitar company were "less than stellar" because musicians soon found the parent company had little interest in them or making excellent musical instruments. In 1985, employees, loyal distributors and guitar aficionados bought back the company to return to the original goal set by Leo Fender, that is to make a superior musical instrument demanded by the best musicians in the world.
Once again, Fender Musical Instrument Company makes exceptional quality musical instruments, yet, the most prized are those made by the original master, Leo Fender. Fender vintage electric guitars dating 1964 and before and having Fender serial numbers which correspond to years 1951 to 1964 have the highest value. Fender made good guitars during the era CBS owned the company, after January 5, 1965 to mid-1985, but serious musicians began to feel as if the parent company was bleeding the good name of the maker by making cheaper and less quality instruments. Clearly, profits were more important than making quality guitars and in 1985, company employees, management, loyal business partners and interested investors bought the company back and renamed it the Fender Musical Instruments Company.
The sale to CBS put Leo Fender in a very short retirement before he founded more music instrument companies, MusicMan Instruments and G & L Corporation. Equipment from these companies are fairly rare and, although neither company were financially successful, each have a huge following of professional musicians who use their vintage electric guitars. Fender died March of 1991 at age 81, partially from the stresses of the two companies as well as due to Parkinson's disease. Leo Fender's legacy is that of master of the electric guitar revolution. Thank you, Leo!
Leo found another electronics enthusiast in C. O. (Doc) Kauffman and formed a company to design, manufacture and sell Hawaiian lap steel guitars and their amplifiers in the early 1940's, named the K & F Manufacturing Company. K & F began making lap steel guitars in 1945 using their innovation of wound electronic pick-ups to gather the sound from the strings to feed it to the amplifier. The next generation of the company evolved to be the Fender Electric Instrument Company after Doc Kauffman left Leo Fender in 1946.
Leo Fender's first "standard" style guitar, as opposed to a lap steel guitar, was the Esquire. It was styled after the Rickenbacker Bakelite and, like the Rickenbacker, had a detachable neck making it easier to manufacture and service. Soon after the Esquire, the Broadcaster made a debut in 1951. The Esquire was a new Spanish-style guitar design, but of solid-body construction, to avoid problems of unwanted feedback. The Broadcaster name was shortly dropped after Gretsch sent a cease and desist letter because the name was too close to the trademarked "Broadkaster" drum kit name. Also in 1951, Fender came out with the Precision Bass, the first electric bass guitar. Bass musicians now had freedom to move, control over their volume and tone and flexibility to achieve the sound they desired.
The famous Stratocaster came about a few years later and became the hallmark of vintage electric guitars. Unfortunately, Leo Fender's health was declining during his highlight years of making electric guitars and he sold the company to CBS in 1965. The years CBS owned the Fender guitar company were "less than stellar" because musicians soon found the parent company had little interest in them or making excellent musical instruments. In 1985, employees, loyal distributors and guitar aficionados bought back the company to return to the original goal set by Leo Fender, that is to make a superior musical instrument demanded by the best musicians in the world.
Once again, Fender Musical Instrument Company makes exceptional quality musical instruments, yet, the most prized are those made by the original master, Leo Fender. Fender vintage electric guitars dating 1964 and before and having Fender serial numbers which correspond to years 1951 to 1964 have the highest value. Fender made good guitars during the era CBS owned the company, after January 5, 1965 to mid-1985, but serious musicians began to feel as if the parent company was bleeding the good name of the maker by making cheaper and less quality instruments. Clearly, profits were more important than making quality guitars and in 1985, company employees, management, loyal business partners and interested investors bought the company back and renamed it the Fender Musical Instruments Company.
The sale to CBS put Leo Fender in a very short retirement before he founded more music instrument companies, MusicMan Instruments and G & L Corporation. Equipment from these companies are fairly rare and, although neither company were financially successful, each have a huge following of professional musicians who use their vintage electric guitars. Fender died March of 1991 at age 81, partially from the stresses of the two companies as well as due to Parkinson's disease. Leo Fender's legacy is that of master of the electric guitar revolution. Thank you, Leo!
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