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Clarence Leonidas Fender is born. Anaheim, California.
Clarence Leonidas Fender is born. Anaheim, California. -
Period: to
Fender Timeline - The History Of Fender Guitars
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Leo started running a radio station
Leo had graduated high school and was running an amateur radio station while building amplifiers and public address systems. -
Leo opens Fender's Repair Service
Leo opens his first shop named Fender’s Repair Service,offering home made PA systems and musical instruments. -
Leo renamed his business to the Fender Electric Instruments Company.
Leo renamed his business to the Fender Electric Instruments Company. He turned his radio shop over to Dale Hyatt so he could concentrate on building instruments. -
Fender guitars and amps were firmly established in the music industry.
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Fender Telecaster introduced
During the spring of this year, the Fender Electric Instruments Company introduced a single and dual pickup solid body electric guitar. It was named the Esquire, about 50 were made, and were not fitted with a truss rod. Orders were being placed, though before production started, the instrument had been modified with an adjustable neck and renamed the Broadcaster. It was renamed again a year later to the Telecaster. The Telecaster sold for $189.50! -
Fender's Repair Service shop closed, Precision Bass and Bassman amp introduced
Leo closed his repair shop to focus entirely on building solid body instruments, which by late 1951 included the first electric bass. The Precision bass is one of the most popular bass designs to this day. Leo needed an amp to run it through though, so he built the Bassman amp. -
Stratocaster introduced
This was the year the Stratocaster was introduced. The most popular guitar ever made and copied. It made the Fender company worth millions and made Leo an icon in the music world. -
Patent poster released for Stratocaster to boast its new features
From it’s release in 1954, the strat had many changes made from year to year, including varying amounts of contouring on the body, materials used for the control knobs, pickguard, headstock shape, serial number placement, etc. -
Fender had over 100 employees and it was growing.
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Fender Jazz Bass introduced
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Fender Mustang introduced
Kurt Cobain from the famous and everlasting band Nirvana, used a 1969 Fender Mustang to record multiple songs and even play live. -
Fender begin production of their acoustic guitars.
Fender begin production of their acoustic guitars. Fender at this point now had over 600 employees, 500 of them in manufacturing. -
Leo suffered from health problems and offered to sell Fender Electric Instruments
At age 55, Leo suffered health problems and offered to sell Fender Electric Instruments to his parter in Fender Sales, Donald Randall,for $1.5 million. Randoll not having the resources to purchase the company himself, agreed to find another buyer. -
Fender sold to CBS
On January 5th 1965, Fender was sold to a subsidiary of CBS (Columbia Broadcasting Systems) called Columbia Records Distribution Corp. for $13 million. CBS began making changes almost immediately. -
Forest White, vice president, quits
Forest White was demoted from vice-president to plantmanager after the takeover. He quit less than two years later over a dispute regarding the quality of an amplifier CBS planned on producing. -
Donald Randall, now vice-president and general manager under CBS also left the company.
Donald Randall, now vice-president and general manager under CBS also left the company. His departure was due to corporate politics and concerns over quality. Many other long term employees felt quality was taking a back seat since CBS took over. -
The larger headstock design introduced by CBS is abandoned,and the original smaller shape returns.
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Leo Fender and George Fullerton form G&L Guitars
Leo Fender and George Fullerton (a long term employee at Fender) form G&L guitars (George and Leo). -
Top 3 executives recruited
During the early 80’s CBS also recruited three top executives from Yamaha Musical Instruments. John McLaren, William Schultz and Dan Smith. -
Fender U.S production shut down by William Schultz
William Schultz practically shut down U.S production of Fender guitars. Focussing on reissuing limited edition high end “classic” pre CBS Fenders. -
Japanese Squiers hit the U.S market
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CBS sells up to the management group run by William Schultz for $12.5 million.
On the 5th of March, CBS sells up to the management group run by William Schultz for $12.5 million. The company name was changed to Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. However, the sale did not include many Fender patents, machinery and nor the Fullerton facility, which was sold separately. As a result, no U.S production was taking place. Only Japanese models appeared in the 1985 catalogue. -
Fender Musical Instruments Corp. $11 million in debt.
no U.S production was taking place. Only Japanese models appeared in the 1985 catalogue. At this point after the sale. Fender Musical Instruments Corp. were roughly $11 million in debt. -
Fender bought from CBS by Schultz and some others
Schultz and a small group of investors comprising employees and external entities like Servco Pacific Capital bought Fender from CBS for $12.5 million and renamed the company into its present-day name, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. -
Fender Custom Shop opened in California
Two years after U.S production was shut down, Fender open their custom shop in Corona California. -
American Standard Stratocaster released
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Eric Clapton and Yngwie Malmsteen artist series strats are released.
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Fender moves headquarters to Arizona
Fender moves their headquarters in Corona to Arizona, overseeing all its facilities, now on a global scale Including, the U.S, Mexico, Japan, France, Korea, China, the UK and Germany. -
Leo Fender passes away.
Leo Fender passed away on a rainy day in March 1991. His private workshop at G&L remains largely untouched to this day. -
Fender buys the Guild Guitar Company
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Fender worth $250 million!
Production of Fender guitars is estimated at 50,000 guitars a year. The company at this point is worth approximately $250 million. -
New state of the art facility built in California
A new state-of-the-art 177,000 square foot facility is built in Corona, California and built on a nineteen-acre site, which at this time can manufacture 350 guitars per day. -
50th Anniversary Stratocaster released, replicating original 1954 design
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William Schultz retires
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Fender Hall of Fame Induction
Leo Fender, Donald Randall, William Schultz and other key staff are inducted into the Fender Hall Of Fame. -
Fender sells Guild Guitar
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Fender focuses on digital innovation
The company launched Fender Digital, connecting players with a vast digital ecosystem of products designed to elevate their musical experience. Fender Digital has introduced Fender Tune™ and Fender Tone™ for iOS and Android and debuted the groundbreaking app-based learning platform, Fender Play®. Combining expert instruction with the latest technology and research, the platform has single-handedly revolutionized the experience of learning to play guitar, bass and ukulele. -
Fender released an advanced line of guitar pedals
Fender released an advanced line of guitar pedals, offering players a range of dynamic tools designed to expand their sound and capture some of Fender’s most iconic tones.