This was almost two million more than they had paid for The New York Yankees a year before.

In 1965 Leo Fender sold his companies to the Columbia Broadcasting System ( CBS) for $13 million. Despite being shunned by the Jazz community, the guitar found a home in the growing surf rock music scene, one that would go on to influence the Jazzmaster's successor, the Jaguar in 1962. Fender even promoted the Jazzmaster as a premium successor to the Stratocaster, an accolade it never fully achieved.

The offset body, vibrato system and innovative electronics were designed to capture the Jazz guitar market which until then was dominated by acoustic guitars. Like the Stratocaster before it, the Jazzmaster was a radical departure from previous guitar designs. In 1959, Fender released the Jazzmaster guitar. With the Telecaster and Precision Bass having been on the market for some time, Leo Fender was able to incorporate input from working musicians into the Stratocaster's design. In August, 1954, Fender unveiled the Stratocaster ('Strat') guitar. Following its success, Fender created the first mass-produced electric bass, the Precision Bass (P-Bass). In 1950, Fender introduced the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar, the Telecaster ('Tele') (originally named the Broadcaster for two-pickup models and Esquire for single-pickup). 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. With the design of the Telecaster finalized, mass production began in 1950.

Fender's reluctant addition of a metal truss rod into the necks of his guitars allowed for the much needed ability to fine-tune the instrument to the musician's specific needs. Early Broadcasters were plagued with issues while Fender boasted the strength of the instrument's one-piece maple neck, early adopters lamented its tendency to bow in humid weather. In the late 1940s, Fender began to experiment with more conventional guitar designs. Leo Fender's lap steel guitar made in 1946 for Noel Boggs was probably the very first product of the new company, bearing an early presentation of the cursive 'big F' Fender logo. The service shop remained open until 1951, although Leo Fender did not personally supervise it after 1947. At that point, Fender renamed the company the 'Fender Electric Instrument Company'. Kauffman remained unconvinced, and he and Fender amicably parted ways by early 1946. By the end of the year, Fender became convinced that manufacturing was more profitable than repair, and decided to concentrate on that business instead. Production began in 1945 with Hawaiian lap steel guitars like the 'Champion' (incorporating a patented pickup) and amplifiers, sold as sets. ĭiagram of Leo Fender's lap steel guitar from 1944 patent applicationīy the early 1940s, Leo Fender had entered into a partnership with Clayton Orr 'Doc' Kauffman, and they formed the K & F Manufacturing Corp to design, manufacture, and market electric instruments and amplifiers. In January 2020, Servco Pacific became the majority owner after acquiring the shares of TPG Growth. In December 2012, TPG Growth (the middle market and growth equity investment platform of TPG Capital) and Servco Pacific took control of the company after acquiring the shares held by Weston Presidio. Īs of July 10, 2012, the majority shareholders of Fender were the private equity firm of Weston Presidio (43%), Japanese music distributors Yamano Music (14%) and Kanda Shokai (13%), and Servco Pacific (5%). In addition to its Los Angeles headquarters, Fender has manufacturing facilities in Corona, California (US) and Ensenada, Baja California (Mexico). The company filed for an initial public offering in March 2012, but this was withdrawn five months later. The FMIC is a privately held corporation, with Andy Mooney serving as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in Fullerton, California by Clarence Leonidas 'Leo' Fender in 1946. Fender produces acoustic guitars, bass amplifiers and public address equipment, but is best known for its solid-body electric guitars and bass guitars, particularly the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster, Precision Bass, and the Jazz Bass. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation ( FMIC, or simply Fender) is an American manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers.

Fender champion lap steel brass slide