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The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation ( FMIC, or simply Fender) is an American manufacturer and marketer of musical instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces , bass amplifiers and public address equipment; however, it is best known for its solid-body and , particularly the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Fender Jaguar, Jazzmaster, Precision Bass, and the Jazz Bass. Fender also develops digital audio workstation and scorewriter via its subsidiary PreSonus which was acquired in 2021. The company was founded in Fullerton, California, by Leo Fender in 1946. Andy Mooney has served as the chief executive officer (CEO) since June 2015; he will retire and be succeeded by Edward 'Bud' Cole in February 2026.
In January 2020, Servco Pacific became the majority owner after acquiring the shares of TPG Growth.
By the early 1940s, Leo Fender had entered into a partnership with Doc Kauffman, and they formed the K & F Manufacturing Corp to design, manufacture, and market electric instruments and amplifiers. Doc Kauffman's experience in the industry had great value for Leo. During the 1930's Doc Kauffman had assisted George Beauchamp & Rickenbacker in developing the Lap Steel A-22 Frying Pan, as well the Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts the first full-scale electric guitar. A scale length, which Fender would continue forth. Production began in 1945 with Fender's first stringed instrument design, a Hawaiian lap steel guitar encompassed with a patented pickup and accompanying amplifier. By the end of the year, Fender became convinced that manufacturing was more profitable than repair and decided to concentrate on that business instead. Kauffman remained unconvinced, and he and Fender amicably parted ways in 1946. Fender then renamed the company the "Fender Electric Instrument Company".
The brand's first official guitar design came in spring of 1950 with the release of the Fender Esquire, which came with both single- and double-pickup options. However, as the Esquire's one-piece maple neck proved susceptible to bowing in high humidity, a truss rod was added and the model was renamed the "Broadcaster", and later the "Telecaster" after a trademark dispute with Gretsch. The Telecaster's bolted-on neck allowed for the instrument's body and neck to be milled and finished separately, and for the final assembling to be done quickly and cheaply by unskilled workers. The "Tele" was the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar. Following the success of the Telecaster, Fender debuted the world's first bass guitar, the Precision Bass, in 1951, alongside the first-ever bass amp, the Fender Bassman.
In August 1954, Fender unveiled the Stratocaster electric guitar. The "now-iconic" Strat differed significantly from the Telecaster's design in several ways, such as using three pickups, a spring-tension vibrato bridge, and a contoured body shape. Following the Stratocaster's release, the Precision Bass received a major makeover, aligning its design more with the Stratocaster, as opposed to the Telecaster. In 1959, Fender released the Jazzmaster guitar. Like the Stratocaster before it, the Jazzmaster was a radical departure from previous guitar designs, with an offset body, new vibrato system, and innovative electronics that were designed to (unsuccessfully) capture the Jazz guitar market. The Jazz Bass followed in 1960, with the Fender Jaguar released in 1962 and Fender Mustang in 1964, completing Fender's "classic" instrument lineup. Fender began producing acoustic guitars in 1964, as well.
The company introduced new instrument and amplifier designs during this time, as well. The Starcaster, for one, was unusual because of its shallow semi-hollow body design that still retained the traditional Fender bolt-on neck with a new headstock design. The Starcaster also incorporated a new Humbucker pickup by P.A.F. designer Seth Lover, the Wide Range pickup. This pickup was installed in three new incarnations of the Telecaster: the Telecaster Custom, the Telecaster Deluxe, and the Telecaster Thinline.
In 1966, Fender opened a much a larger facility at 1300 S. Valencia Drive adjacent to the existing factory at 500 South Raymond Avenue. Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster: The Story of the World's Most Iconic Guitars by Dave Hunter. Voyageur Press 2020. pg 26 Guitar and amplifier production, which had increased 30% in CBS's first year, soon increased another 45%.
Despite the new models and technology, Fender's popularity waned among players due to a perceived decline in quality with CBS' takeover, while so-called "pre-CBS" vintage instruments became highly collectible. To try and restore the brand's reputation, CBS brought in three new executives in 1981: John McLaren, Bill Schultz, and Dan Smith, who had previously worked for Yamaha Musical Instruments. To address quality control issues, the Fender Fullerton plant was shut down for a short time in order to revamp the manufacturing process. Fender was also struggling to fight against lower cost copycat guitars on the market. Production was moved to Japan. On March 11, 1982, Fender Japan Ltd. was founded.
After selling his namesake company, Leo Fender founded Music Man in 1975, and G&L Musical Instruments in 1979, both of which manufacture electric guitars and basses based on his earlier designs.
In 1987, Fender established a manufacturing facility in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, and by 1990 Fender and their Japanese partners FujiGen had started manufacturing in the city. In 1991, FMIC moved its corporate headquarters from its Corona location to Scottsdale, Arizona, and the Ensenada plant took over as Fender's primary export line. The plant was rebuilt in 1994 after a fire. Ownership changed in December 2001, when private equity firm Weston Presidio bought a controlling stake in Fender for $57.8 million. Weston Presidio sought an initial public offering in 2012, but the IPO was withdrawn to poor market conditions. Longtime investor Servco instead bought out Weston Presidio, with TPG Growth as an equal partner. Fender began new measures to attract customers, including implementing direct-to-consumer sales in 2015; the introduction of a digital learning platform, Fender Play, and a practice app, Fender Songs; and creating an eCommerce store in China to capitalize on the country's growing music scene. These initiatives resulted in a 300% increase in revenue. In 2020, Servco bought out TPG Growth's stake, making them Fender's majority owner.
In 2025, Fender's headquarters will move to Phoenix, Arizona.
David Gilmour of Pink Floyd extensively used a black Stratocaster during the 1970s and 1980s, as did Eric Clapton with his Strat Blackie. A former Gibson player, Clapton had bought his first Fender in 1970. That same year, he gifted a butterscotch Telecaster to his friend Keith Richards just as The Rolling Stones were about to record Exile on Main St. Dubbed "Micawber", Richards replaced the neck pickup with a P.A.F. humbucker and it became his primary guitar for much of his career. Heartland rock like Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen played Telecasters on many of their hits, with Springsteen using his hollowed-out 1952 Tele, "The Mutt", continuously since 1973. In the world of heavy metal, Steve Harris played a single "P-Bass" across all of Iron Maiden's albums beginning in 1975 with the band's debut.
Although Fender's popularity waned somewhat in the 1980s with the rise of heavier music styles and the "superstrat" era, many noted players continued using the brand's guitars and basses. Andy Summers and Sting scored a string of hits with The Police during this time, with Summers using a heavily-modified Telecaster and Sting playing Precision Basses. Shred guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen notably stayed loyal to the Stratocaster throughout this era. Stevie Ray Vaughan prominently played Strats throughout his short career, including his favorite, the battered, sunburst Number One.
On October 28, 2007, Fender acquired Kaman Music Corporation, which owned the Ovation Guitar Company, Latin Percussion and Toca hand percussion products, Gibraltar Hardware, Genz Benz Amplification, Charvel, Hamer Guitars, and is the exclusive U.S. sales representative for Sabian Cymbals Cymbals and exclusive worldwide distributor of Takamine Guitars and Gretsch Drums.
In 2011, Volkswagen partnered with Fender to manufacture premium sound systems for its vehicles in North America. Volkswagen vehicles in North America that offer optional Fender Premium Sound are the Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Beetle, Volkswagen Jetta Sedan, Volkswagen Passat, and Volkswagen Tiguan.
In 2014, Fender sold Guild Guitars to Cordoba Music Group.
In February 2015, KMC was sold to Jam Industries by FMIC.
In January 2019, Fender purchased the Bigsby Electric Guitar Company from its partner Gretsch.The subsidiary operates independently, and produces the popular Bigsby vibrato tailpiece as well as several Paul Bigsby-designed electric guitars.
In November 2021, Fender purchased the Louisiana-based PreSonus, a manufacturer of professional audio equipment and software.
In June 2023, Fender opened its first flagship store in Tokyo, Japan.
In 2024, Fender and Teufel Audio jointly launched a speaker line.
Fender published 27 issues of the magazine from 1990 through 2000. Notable interviewees included Kurt Cobain in Fall 1994, in what was his last interview. Fender had designed a hybrid guitar for Cobain, known as a Jag Stang. Other notable interviews featured Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, Glenn Hughes from Deep Purple, and King Crimson's Adrian Belew.
In 2001, Fender eliminated the interviews and features section, and Frontline became an annual illustrated price list until 2006, when it was replaced with a product guide.
According to American guitar expert George Gruhn, the Fender Telecaster, Precision Bass, and Stratocaster are "three of the most important models in the history of the electric guitar", and were all introduced between 1950 and 1957. In 1953, Fender also introduced the Stringmaster, a double-pickup model which was popular with western swing steel-guitar players.
Fender manufactures and distributes all musical instruments sold under the EVH brand, including Custom Shop models and replicas of the Frankenstrat.
Products
Fender's core product are electric guitars, namely the Fender Jaguar, Jazzmaster, Fender Mustang, Telecaster, Stratocaster, Fender Duo-Sonic, Meteora, and Fender Jag-Stang. This is alongside bass guitars in the Mustang, Jaguar, Jazz, Precision and Meteora models. Fender also manufactures acoustic guitars, lap steel guitars, , , guitar/bass amplifiers and the Rhodes piano electric piano (until 1983). In addition, Fender produces effects pedals and Plectrum.
Squier
Squier was a string manufacturer that Fender acquired. Fender has used the Squier brand since 1982 to market inexpensive variants of Fender guitars to compete with Stratocaster copies, as the Stratocaster became more popular. Squier guitars have been manufactured in the United States, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and China.
Impact and legacy
Fender products have become known for their versatility and "clean" sound, and the design of some of the company's guitar models have become iconic, and a part of popular culture. Daryl Robertson of Guitar World wrote in 2023, "Fender is arguably the most well-known guitar manufacturer of all time. Without Leo Fender's influence on the wonderful world of guitars, amplifiers and basses, the landscape of music would look very different – it certainly wouldn't be as colorful." Luke Mitchell of SlashGear wrote in 2023, "Fender amplifiers have defined the sound of blues, rock, and country music, making them a staple for musicians worldwide."
See also
External links
Categories: Official Website, 1946 Establishments In California, American Companies Established In 1946, Bass Guitar Manufacturing Companies, Economy Of Corona, California, Guitar Amplifier Manufacturers, Guitar Manufacturing Companies Of The United States, Manufacturing Companies Based In Riverside County, California, Manufacturing Companies Established In 1946, Private Equity Portfolio Companies, Tpg Capital Companies, Harmonica Manufacturers, 2020 Mergers And Acquisitions, 1965 Mergers And Acquisitions
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