For this assessment, I am writing about the early developments of Fender guitars and the ways that musical styles has influenced the design and construction of Fender guitars.
I will also look at the ways that the available materials and manufacturing techniques have influenced the design and construction of Fender guitars and also the that popular trends helped the development of Fender guitars throughout history.
The ways that musical styles have influenced the design and construction of Fender guitars.
During the 1950’s, the popularity of music was rising significantly, with big Rock ‘n’ Roll musicians such as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Little Richard fuelling the scene.
Pop music also having an impact on the 50’s, famous musicians such as Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennet (Rat Pack) and Rosemary Clooney are just a few of the ones in the pop scene.
The genre of Country was popular amongst people, most famous musicians of Country being Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Les Paul and more.
Notably, Les Paul had a guitar named after him.
Rhythm & Blues, known as R&B, emerged from Jazz in the 1940’s as a term for Blues which is slightly more upbeat. R&B also sparked the creation of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Motown, soul and funk music. Popular musicians of the genre Rhythm & Blues are The Penguins, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, James Brown and a whole host more.
The 1960’s music scene grew rapidly, spawning some of the most famous names in music history. Most notably, The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye and The Beach Boys.
Some bands were given the name of British Invasion, given to bands and pop artists who found mainstream success in the US and worldwide.
Leo Fender
To understand the materials and manufacturing techniques used in the design and construction of Fender guitars, we must first understand the man who spawned the first Fender guitar in 1950.
Clarence Leonidas Fender was his full name, born on the 10th of August 1909 in Anaheim, California. Leonidas eventually obtained the nickname ‘Leo’. From 1930 to 1947, Leo had owned a small store for radio repairs, he gained popularity by supplying amplifiers and PA systems to musicians. The majority of his customers were steel-guitarists, who complained about the defects on existing pickups. Leo who had already created improvements for automatic record player changers and had now decided to redesign better pickups and amplifiers. We know that the Telecaster was not Leo’s first ever guitar, he had first experimented in 1944 with an electric, Spanish solid body-guitar. He had used his existing pickup designs and rented out this guitar to country & western musicians. Leo eventually decided to develop the instrument further and start a production of it.
Leo progressed on and formed K&F with Doc Kauffman, creating steel guitars and various amplifiers. Kauffman quit in 1944 and after that, was the birth of Fender Electric
Instruments.
(Above is a Lap Steel guitar produced by Leo Fender in 1945)
The experience and reputation that Leo had gained throughout his time creating steel guitars, amplifiers and redesigning pickups allowed him to shape the history of guitars, with visions of creating a guitar that could be manufactured using mass-production techniques similar to the automobile industry.
Some of these techniques included bolt-on necks, simple paint finishes from vehicle body-shops and machine made hardware.
Today, all parts of guitars are easily machined and produced and are sold for a cheap price, compared to 60 years ago, this wouldn’t have been the situation, parts that were hand machined would’ve cost more, impacting the overall cost of the guitar.
The Fender Esquire
The Telecaster, born in 1950 and originally known as ‘The Esquire’, then ‘The Broadcaster’. The Telecaster had its body made from ash wood and the removable neck was one piece of hardened rosewood. Only 50 of these guitars were ever made, originally with one pickup, but later developed two pickups consisting of a single coil and a humbucker design. None of those guitars had a truss rod fitted which became an issue as the neck was unable to concave or convex. Shortly after, the guitar was redesigned with an adjustable neck and was
re-released as ‘The Broadcaster’ and was renamed a year later due to a conflict with a Gretsch Broadkaster drumkit.
The Esquire has a single cutaway to easily access the higher notes with a black scratch plate.
How did they influence the look and feel of the guitars?
Fender and musicians both played a major role in the change of music over the past 68 years. Leo Fender, who had previously made other guitars, had first introduced the well-known Telecaster in the 1950’s, the first ever solid-body guitar with two pickups and a single cutaway, which was designed to be produced on a mass scale, not to be constructed individually from hand carved wood.
This allowed the overall cost of the guitar to be significantly less, giving less-able people greater chances to create music.
Fender released the solid-body electric guitar, called The Stratocaster in 1954, unknown of the effect it would have on the world of music.
It obtained the name ‘The Strat’, it was born a completely different instrument. It had a contoured back, allowing the player to comfortably play and a tapered front so the player’s arm would rest easier against the guitar. It also had a double-cutaway, meaning guitarists were able to play all the notes the instrument could produce. It also equipped three single-coil pickups, having plastic covers to eliminate feedback. Strings came from the back of the guitar over a ‘floating’ bridge, which could be adjusted up or down using the guitars tremolo arm, known as a whammy bar, creating a vibrato effect.
The Stratocaster was not a one-hit wonder or an overnight success, but it was what the players wanted. After complaining about sharp edges of the bodies of guitars and the overall shape of the guitars. Leo Fender was the first to release a guitar that became the start of a revolution.
What materials were available at the start of Fender and how have new developments in materials changed Fender guitars over history?
In 1951, Leo had focused on building solid body instruments and by the end of 1951, the Precision bass was built, being one of the most popular bass designs to date. Leo had also built the Bassman amp, the perfect pair!
The Stratocaster was introduced in 1954 and is the world’s most popular guitar ever produced. It was the spark of Fender and made millions and Leo an icon in the world of music.
The Stratocaster was most popularly finished with a product called Nitrocellulose lacquer, or nitro for short, and it was most commonly used during Fender’s original 50’s and 60’s guitars. Nitro was the first spray-on paint and was used by furniture and musical instrument industries. Nitro finishes, over time, crack and turn yellow with age.
(The picture to the right shows the wear that occurred when using nitro)
Fender then used polyurethane finishes on their late 1960’s models, giving a glossy and even finish. Having an extremely tough and durable finish as polyurethane was also used for dance floors and bowling alleys.
Finally, Polyester, still used today, is thick and hard setting. It is highly resistant to scratching and the colours, over time, remain pristine.
How this information could help in my pursuit of a career as a guitar technician or luthier?
As a guitar technician, knowing the insides and outs of your guitar is one thing, but knowing the history, birth and reason of each component to a guitar will make you stand out in the industry.
Conclusion
From this information, we know that Leo Fender and Fender guitars has truly impacted the music industry. We can see how massively guitars have become more advanced, in not only the sound of them, but the shape, design and construction has also changed. If it wasn’t for Leo Fender, then music today wouldn’t be the same.