Once upon a time, Leo Fender built an object that looked like a guitar neck with a slightly wider chunk of wood stuck on the end opposite the tuning pegs -- and music hasn't been the same since. No, he wasn't the inventor of the electric guitar, but he certainly stirred up public interest in them. Many people think the revolution he kicked into gear in the 1940s reached its zenith during the 1960s, when his own company and its competitors, including Gibson,® Gretsch,® Rickenbacker,® and others, were selling electric guitars to anyone and everyone who wanted to be a rock star. That group would have included me, but I never had enough money. I kept spending it on records. If I'd spent it on guitars instead, maybe people would be buying my music now.
One of the most recognized -- and most copied -- shapes in all of guitardom, the Strat® is played by countless musicians, professional and amateur alike. Leo invented the Strat® in order to incorporate some new ideas, and the company issued it in 1954. A different body shape and three pickups instead of two were the most notable changes from Fender's® already-successful Telecaster.®
Just about any guitarist even half serious about guitar playing wants to own a Strat.® Guitar heroes from Eric Clapton to Bonnie Raitt to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Robert Cray to just-about-anyone-else-you-can-name plays or has played a Strat® at one time or another. The Stratocaster's® popularity has led many other companies to copy the look of the Strat,® and some companies even have tried to go beyond the Stratocaster.® Still, genuine Stratocasters® are the guitar for untold numbers of guitarists.
One of Fender's® slightly less popular models -- which means it is only enormously popular -- is the Telecaster.® Originally known as the Broadcaster, Fender ®had to drop that name because Gretsch® already had trademarked the name "Broadkaster"® for a set of drums. In between, some of these soon-to-be-Telecasters® went out as so-called "Nocasters": The name "Fender"® remained on the headstock, but the rest of the decal was cut off; hence, the decal had no "caster" on it at all.
Through the years, the Telecaster® has been a big seller for Fender,® and it is probably the company's best-known and most recognized six-string guitar after the Stratocaster.® Despite the popularity of Strats,® however, I have always preferred the look and sound of Telecasters.® Country musicians especially seem to take full advantage of the twangy possibilities of the Telecaster.® The Telecaster® is one of those guitars that I really wish I owned. When I was a teenager, one of my friends bought one and I got to play it a bit, but I think he sold it some years later. He probably wishes he still had it. Most guitarists, when they look back, regret having sold certain instruments. I regret not ever buying one in the first place.
The Fender® Mustang® always has been more of a beginner's guitar than one intended for professional use. It is interesting to note, therefore, that the Mustang's® renewed popularity in recent years has been due to its status as a favorite of a 90s rock guitar star: Kurt Cobain. Cobain didn't necessarily use stock versions of the guitar -- he frequently had them modified -- but Mustangs® were some of his favorites.
The Mustang® shown here is approximately 30 years old (the neck is dated 1968). My ownership of it began in 1979, when I bought it at a pawn shop in Wichita, Kansas. A friend of mine, who knew (and still knows) a tremendous amount about guitars, looked it over and suggested I buy it. He said it was a good deal. I paid $200 for the guitar and a Fender® Princeton® amplifier that was made about the same time. I have not modified the guitar in any way, and I never even have had to replace a tube in the amplifier. All I've done is change the guitar strings occasionally. I've been happy with it.
Where do you want to go now?
Please take me back to the beginning of this Web site.
I'd really rather look at your comments on Gibson® guitars.
What's this about Terada guitars?
Read some tips for guitar buyers.
Read some comments on how to grade guitars.
Visit the Web site of Fender Musical Instruments.
Visit the Web site of Gibson Musical Instruments.
