The Fender Jazzmaster
Written by drbob on February 12, 2011 – 10:26 pm -The first Jazzmaster prototypes existed in pre-production form as early as 1957. There were a small number of guitars that carry one off features. Many had one-piece maple necks that feature a hybrid headstock shape, a combination of the first Stratocaster and Jazzmaster shapes. Other early individual features are black pickup covers, black aluminum pickguards, Telecaster type knobs, and maple necks with rosewood fretboards. By mid 1959, Fender had dropped the aluminum pickguard in favor for a celluloid one in a fake tortoiseshell pattern. Custom color guitars often had white pickguards. Later an plate of aluminum was added to the back of the pickguard for electrical shielding. The "offset-waist" contoured body was designed to be comfortable... more
Tags: vintage fender jazzmaster
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An Introduction to Vintage Fender Guitars
Written by drbob on August 21, 2010 – 11:57 am -For most collectors, pre-CBS (pre-1966) Fender vintage guitars and amps are the desirable ones. Although CBS purchased Fender (officially) on January 3rd 1965, it took some time till the guitars changed (though by mid 1964, six months before CBS bought Fender, things were already "on the way down"). By the end of 1965, the general look and feel of the Fender guitars had changed significantly. All collectors feel the quality of their instruments and amps suffered as CBS employed more "mass production" manufacturing processes to the Fender guitars. The "large peghead" (starting in late 1965) as used on the Fender Stratocaster was one example of the (bad) changes to come. The "custom contoured" bodies Fender was famous for no longer were as sculped... more
Tags: fender jazz bass, fender precision bass, fender stratocaster, fender telecaster, vintage fender stratocaster
Posted in Fender Bass, Fender Electric, Jaguar, Jazz Bass, Jazzmaster, Mustang, Precision Bass, Stratocaster, Telecaster | No Comments »
Timeline of Fender Electric Guitars, Basses, Amps.
Written by drbob on August 21, 2010 – 11:49 am -Timeline of Fender Electric Guitars, Basses, Amps. Year, Model Description • 1946 Hardwood Amplifiers • 1948 Tweed Amplifiers • 1950 June, Esquire (1 or 2 pickups) • 1950 October, Broadcaster (replaced the 1 or 2 pickup Esquire) • 1950 December, "NoCaster" as it is called since Fender clipped-off the name "Broadcaster" from its decals as the name was already in use by Gretsch. • 1951 January, Esquire (one pickup "NoCaster"). • 1951 summer, Telecaster. • 1951 fall, Precision Bass, the first solidbody electric bass. • 1954 spring, Stratocaster. • 1956 spring, Electric Mandolin (four string). • 1956 summer, Duosonic (two pickups) and MusicMaster (one pickup). • 1958 summer, Jazzmaster. • 1959 summer, Telecaster Custom... more
Tags: fender amplifiers, fender jazz bass, fender precision bass, fender stratocaster, fender telecaster, vintage fender stratocaster
Posted in Fender Bass, Fender Electric, Jaguar, Jazz Bass, Jazzmaster, Mustang, Precision Bass, Stratocaster, Telecaster | No Comments »
How to Identify Fender Year of Manufacture by Serial Numbers, 1950 to Present
Written by drbob on August 21, 2010 – 11:41 am -Fender Serial Numbers, 1950 to Present (Identifying the Year). Serial numbers compiled from several sources including the vintage guitar info guy, Gruhn, and Duchossoir. Pre-1977 Fender guitars have a serial number on the bridgeplate or neckplate. Serial numbers are basically chronological, but there is some overlap amoung years. Fender serial numbers were assigned like this: bin with serialized plates/bridges. Assembler reached in and grabbed one (or many). Put them on the instrument(s). As you can see from this over-simplified example, serial number assignment was fairly random. Just keep this in mind. The only truely definitive way to date a pre-CBS fender is to look at all the dates on the instrument (body date, neck date, pot dates). The... more
Tags: fender jazz bass, fender precision bass, fender stratocaster, fender telecaster, vintage fender stratocaster
Posted in Fender Acoustic, Fender Bass, Fender Electric, Jaguar, Jazz Bass, Jazzmaster, Mustang, Precision Bass, Stratocaster, Telecaster | No Comments »
Fender Guitars and Amplifiers: A Brief History
Written by drbob on July 23, 2010 – 11:17 am -Fender Guitars and Amplifiers Redrum Fender Guitars and amplifiers revolutionized the music industry. Many guitar players dream of playing a Fender Stratocaster (or Strat) and many musicians, famous and not famous, do play them. Some well-known guitar players who play or have played Fenders include John Lennon and George Harrison of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Mike Einziger of Incubus, Tom De Longe of Blink 182, Rivers Cuomo and Brian Bell of Weezer, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers[i]. Fender guitars made a serious impact on music, defining many styles of music like jazz, rock, and metal. It all started in the early 1940's. Clarence Leo Fender, a Californian inventor, looked... more
Tags: fender amplifiers, fender jazz bass, fender precision bass, fender stratocaster, fender telecaster
Posted in Fender Acoustic, Fender Bass, Fender Electric, Jaguar, Jazz Bass, Jazzmaster, Mustang, Precision Bass, Stratocaster, Telecaster | No Comments »