Great Gear: A Piece of the Rock
April 1, 2004
If the electric guitar industry had its own Henry Ford, it would be Leo
Fender. Always searching to improve an existing design, getting his hands dirty
in the process, and dedicated to creating the best product for the “working”
people, Fender first started inventing and building electric instruments and
amplifiers in 1945.
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The elaborately detailed Troy Lee “Strat” sells for $12,000. (Click image to enlarge)Although he began his professional career as an
accountant, Fender soon discovered that his love for tinkering with
sound-producing machinery was too strong to be merely a hobby. He opened a radio
repair shop, and soon developed ideas to better the common turntable. He built
amplifiers and electric Hawaiian guitars (often referred to as lap steels),
which are held horizontally and played by moving a metal bar across the strings,
as opposed to the player fingering the frets of a Spanish guitar.
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The
classic ’55 P Bass Relic is on offer for just over
$3,600. (Click image to enlarge)With his
eye on the horizon, Fender began to address the amplification problems
encountered by Spanish guitar players, whose acoustic instruments were easily
drowned out by the volume of other band instruments. Fender envisioned an
instrument with a sound similar to that of his lap steel guitars—sustaining and
bright, with no uncontrollable feedback problems—and subsequently bolted a neck
directly onto the solid wood body of the guitar (as opposed to the traditional
glued-on neck). The recipe worked, and, with the help of an aggressive sales
force that sought out professional musicians as beta testers, the Fender team
brought its wares directly to the bandstand. The Esquire (later named the
Broadcaster and the Telecaster) became the first production solid-bodied
electric guitar. Fender also developed a line of rugged amplifiers to give his
guitars a proper voice. Musicians and collectors covet these rare, original amps
and guitars today, especially instruments with interesting provenance and
recording-session history.
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The ’64 J Bass Relic sells for $3,515. (Click image to enlarge)Other Fender models soon rose to prominence. The Precision, the first production electric bass, was introduced in 1951, followed in 1954 by the Stratocaster, the most recognized electric guitar in history and rock and roll’s prototypical instrument.
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