Only about 50 of these original Esquires were shipped, though Fender It was discontinued by Fender's marketing arm in September 1950.

In June of 1950 as a black (and later blond), one or two pickup model, This, 1966 and later Fender instruments are considered far lessĬollectible than vintage pre-CBS Fender guitars. Time and costs, which generally led to much lower quality. 1966 brought an era of 'large' pegheads, less contoured bodies,Īnd much higher production numbers. Of all these changes had a serious effect on Fender guitars as a Hold of Fender's production facilities and incorporated many changes. Management, and mass-production manufacturing techniques wereīy 1966 (a year after CBS bought Fender), CBS management had really taken When there was a transition from the Leo Fender management to CBS This era is knownĪs a 'transition' because later summer 1964 to December 1965 was the time The 'transistion' era (late summer 1964 to December 1965)Īre the least collectible of the pre-CBS models. Of the rosewoodįingerboard models, the 'slab' fingerboard (1958/mid-1959 to August 1962) variantsĪre more desirable than the 'veener' fingerboard (August 1962 and later) The early 1960's Fenders with 'slab' rosewood fingerboards are also collectible,īut not to the extent of the earlier 1950's maple-neck era. Single layer pickguards, thin 'spaghetti' logos, and tweed cases that seem This decade produced guitars with one-piece maple necks, Many other models suffered the same miserable fate ofīeing over mass-produced and cheapened by corporate zealots.īecause of this, Fender's most innocent era of the 1950's is '3 bolt neck' and one piece die cast bridge on the Strat, ruining it's The original nitrocellulose lacquer that was used from Fender's conception.īy early 1971 the party was truely over. Indian rosewood replaced the beautifully figuredīrazilian rosewood on the fingerboards. The 'custom contoured' bodies Fender was famousįor no longer were as sculped and sleek. In late 1965) as used on the Fender Stratocaster was one example of the Manufacturing processes to the Fender guitars. Their instruments and amps suffered as CBS employed more 'mass production' (officially) on January 3rd 1965, it took some time till the guitarsĬhanged (though by mid 1964, six months before CBS bought Fender,įeel of the Fender guitars had changed significantly.

Reissue and Original Fender Vintage Parts ComparisonĪ 1954 to 1965 Fender Stratocaster video.ĭVD video version of this web page for Stratocasters and Telecasters:įor most collectors, pre-CBS (pre-1966) Fender vintage guitars andĪmps are the desirable ones.

General specifications, serial numbers, Fender vintage guitar cases.

Overview of collecting vintage Fender guitars, basses and amps. Vintage Guitars Info - Fender, collecting vintage guitars fender stratocaster, strat, telecaster, tele Vintage Guitars Info's

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