I met Mr. Fender once at a NAMM show (1981, I think Music Man or G&L hospitality suite). Never been so star-struck in my life. I mean, forget the rock players...THIS was the guy. Without THIS guy, it would be a very different world. The Tele. Strat. P-Bass. Twin Reverb. Dual Showman. On and on and on. That was a thrill and a real honor!
@@fenderguitarfiles7632 Keep digging and please share any recordings you have of Leo. I've been studying the history of Fender for decades and this is the first time I've actually heard the man speak.
Love the photos. The Fender factory during the 50’s must have been so amazingly vibrant. All of that creativity and invention happening under that roof.
The classic Fender clean tone and Fender cranked up tweed tone are all you need, with all the subtleties in between. There has been no improvement. It's amazing.😊
Possibly related: 20 years or so ago, I was working in a print shop in Phoenix, and had a client that wanted a short run of water decals of Leo Fender's signature in a black lacquer... Later discovered they were to be used on the very limited butterscotch Leo Telecasters... Still have the original screenprint film used and one sample that I printed in White!
Another thing they factored in was keeping the Tele headstock narrow. That left enough material to make 2 necks from a slightly wider piece of stock.....
I got a used Strat in a pawn shop in Chicago in 1971 for $125 and my busted Univox Les Paul copy and it turned out to be a 1954 serial number 0260….. glad I didn’t sell it 😉
I don't think this was supposed to be a treatise on how much Fender knew about guitar history. He is merely saying what came to his mind and that the history of same side tuners is thousands of years old.
Don Randall oversaw the design of catalogs and helped stylise Leo’s signature for the varied logos that appeared before 1959. In 1959 Bob Perine (who had by then taken over advertising design) decided that it would be a good idea to standardise the Fender logo- he completed the design (based on Leo’s signature) with some input and approval from Leo
I have been spared hearing any racial slurs about Mexico-made Fenders, thank goodness. But as to craftmanship, Bill Carson addresses this head-on in his book "My Life and Times with Fender" (something like that) when he says: I don't know why everyone is concerned about Fenders made in Mexico, because some of our earliest employees in Fullerton CA were Hispanic. And don't forget, Freddie Traveras (sp!) designed the body shape for the Stratocaster, the most copied guitar in history!
@@andybedford7889 Leo said that the Stratocaster was basically finished when Freddy Tavaras came to work for the company. I will post this sometime in the future.
They may have answered job advertisements or recruited by family/friends of those already working for Leo. Hispanic folks certainly were part of the local demographics. The quality of any product has a lot to do with the corporate culture. MIM may have been intentionally a lower quality, lower cost product and folks got what they paid for.
the fact that mr. fender gave respect to african origins for his contribution to music history is quite remarkable for an elderly white american. cudos to his family and community. ☮️❤️🌏🌎🌍
Believe it or not, not all white Americans of this era were bigots? A lot of them were Christians that lived by Christ’s example and weren’t hateful to others.
Love you Clarence Leo Fender, your inventions (guitars, amps, Rhodes, etc.) have withstood the effects of time & always will! In my book you are a bonified genius of the 20th century! Folks if you ever get a chance, there is Fender Museum in Fullerton, CALI & highly advise you to check it out!
I met Mr. Fender once at a NAMM show (1981, I think Music Man or G&L hospitality suite). Never been so star-struck in my life. I mean, forget the rock players...THIS was the guy. Without THIS guy, it would be a very different world. The Tele. Strat. P-Bass. Twin Reverb. Dual Showman. On and on and on. That was a thrill and a real honor!
Nice to hear Leo's voice. thanks!
Sure good to hear Leo speak of their developments...really gives you a sense of their personality...thank you!
Thanks Rick - I am digging!
@@fenderguitarfiles7632 Keep digging and please share any recordings you have of Leo. I've been studying the history of Fender for decades and this is the first time I've actually heard the man speak.
Leo Fender and Les Paul changed music forever. Bless them both.
Love the photos. The Fender factory during the 50’s must have been so amazingly vibrant. All of that creativity and invention happening under that roof.
got my 66 tele new it is still going strong iam 72 now the tele will be around after iam gone thanks mr. leo fender
and in tune
Nice… hopefully, you kept it original without any modifications.
Leo Fender and Eugene Stoner are just two of my American genius heroes.
So cool. Thank you for posting this interview about the Fender headstock.
The strat head came from the Merle Travis guitars made by Paul Bigsby😊
The Stratocaster is perfect, the most aesthetically pleasing electric instrument ever created!
Fantastic video! Never heard Leo speak before. He sounds a little like Johnathan WInters doing one of his bits
The classic Fender clean tone and Fender cranked up tweed tone are all you need, with all the subtleties in between. There has been no improvement. It's amazing.😊
Leo knew Paul Bigsby and his guitars very well. To not mention him ( who did it before Leo) says a lot about the man.
facts. the merle travis solid body has the EXACT strat headstock. This whole explanation is straight bull
I love Mr Léo !
First time I ever heard Leo's voice. Sounds like I thought it would.
Exactly as I imagined. 😊
Possibly related:
20 years or so ago, I was working in a print shop in Phoenix, and had a client that wanted a short run of water decals of Leo Fender's signature in a black lacquer... Later discovered they were to be used on the very limited butterscotch Leo Telecasters...
Still have the original screenprint film used and one sample that I printed in White!
Another thing they factored in was keeping the Tele headstock narrow. That left enough material to make 2 necks from a slightly wider piece of stock.....
I got a used Strat in a pawn shop in Chicago in 1971 for $125 and my busted Univox Les Paul copy and it turned out to be a 1954 serial number 0260….. glad I didn’t sell it 😉
As a croatian this is really cool
and bullshit. he just ripped the design from Paul Bigsbys. Merle Travis guitar.
Perfect logic
Thanks Leo. Perfect.
I notice he didnt mention Paul Bigsby's guitar!
I don't think this was supposed to be a treatise on how much Fender knew about guitar history. He is merely saying what came to his mind and that the history of same side tuners is thousands of years old.
@@TheOsfania Leo Fender knew Paul Bigsby and the guitars he made....
@@TheOsfania The Bixby headstock was very similar
What I've been wondering lately is...who designed the Fender logo...is that the way Leo signed his name ?
anyone have any idea about that ?
Don Randall oversaw the design of catalogs and helped stylise Leo’s signature for the varied logos that appeared before 1959. In 1959 Bob Perine (who had by then taken over advertising design) decided that it would be a good idea to standardise the Fender logo- he completed the design (based on Leo’s signature) with some input and approval from Leo
I love how many visible Hispanic workers are visible in the background. Makes you kind of wonder about all those made in Mexico slurs.
What slurs?
I have been spared hearing any racial slurs about Mexico-made Fenders, thank goodness. But as to craftmanship, Bill Carson addresses this head-on in his book "My Life and Times with Fender" (something like that) when he says: I don't know why everyone is concerned about Fenders made in Mexico, because some of our earliest employees in Fullerton CA were Hispanic. And don't forget, Freddie Traveras (sp!) designed the body shape for the Stratocaster, the most copied guitar in history!
@@andybedford7889 Leo said that the Stratocaster was basically finished when Freddy Tavaras came to work for the company. I will post this sometime in the future.
They may have answered job advertisements or recruited by family/friends of those already working for Leo. Hispanic folks certainly were part of the local demographics. The quality of any product has a lot to do with the corporate culture. MIM may have been intentionally a lower quality, lower cost product and folks got what they paid for.
Freddy was not Hispanic. I believe that he was of Filipino origin ( via Hawaii ? )…
Lucky he wasn't in charge of inventing charisma.
Still made a huge contribution to 20th c culture and design, of course ...
lol - He was an electronics engineer and amp builder before getting into guitars, so...
Sounds like a far more coherent William S. Burroughs.
😂
This is the first time I’ve ever heard Leo speak.
the fact that mr. fender gave respect to african origins for his contribution to music history is quite remarkable for an elderly white american. cudos to his family and community. ☮️❤️🌏🌎🌍
Believe it or not, not all white Americans of this era were bigots? A lot of them were Christians that lived by Christ’s example and weren’t hateful to others.
Not remarkable at all, unless you have bought into the preposterous notion that men of Leo's age all ran around in sheets and hoods.
Love you Clarence Leo Fender, your inventions (guitars, amps, Rhodes, etc.) have withstood the effects of time & always will! In my book you are a bonified genius of the 20th century! Folks if you ever get a chance, there is Fender Museum in Fullerton, CALI & highly advise you to check it out!
Harold Rhodes invented the Rhodes piano, hence the name.