Fender Timeline
Apr 15, 2026
The Early Years: Leo Fender and the Birth of an Empire (1909–1949)
1909 – August 10th, Clarence Leonidas Fender is born. Anaheim, California.
The 1950s: The Golden Age — Telecaster, Stratocaster and Precision Bass
1950 – During the spring of this year, the Fender Electric Instruments Company introduced a single and dual pickup solid body electric guitar. It was named the Esquire — about 50 were made, and were not fitted with a truss rod. Orders were being placed, though before production started, the instrument had been modified with an adjustable neck and renamed the Broadcaster. It was renamed again a year later to the Telecaster. The rename was done due to a conflict with Gretsch Broadkaster drums.
The Telecaster sold for $189.50! But as these are now very collectible and rare, they are now fetching resale values of around £50,000.
1954 – This was the year the Stratocaster was introduced. The most popular guitar ever made and copied. It made the Fender company worth millions and made Leo an icon in the music world. It featured an Ash body, finished in a Nitrocellulose 2 tone Sunburst finish. The neck and fingerboard were only available in maple during this time, although as we will see later, Leo started using different woods for the fingerboards that provided slightly different tonal characteristics. The original Stratocaster had a 7.25” radius with 21 frets, and 3 Alnico 3 single coil pickups. The original Fender logo was nicknamed the ‘Spaghetti Logo’, and has got to be one of the most famous logos to this day.
Although this is now probably the most famous electric guitar ever built, it actually did not sell very well in 1954, with initial orders being very slow in comparison to the well established Telecaster at this point. Estimated totals for Stratocasters made during this year are only rough estimates, as Leo Fender did not release any figures and preferred to keep production numbers private. However, some people estimate that only around 200 were produced, making it also a very rare and collectible instrument today, fetching between £60,000–£70,000 in the second hand market.
1956 – Below is a patent poster for the Stratocaster used to advertise the new features.
From its release in 1954, the Strat had many changes made from year to year, including varying amounts of contouring on the body, materials used for the control knobs, pickguard, headstock shape, serial number placement, etc. Fender also switched to more inexpensive woods such as alder for the body, instead of ash. The neck shape also changed to a ‘V’ shape from what was originally a ‘C’ shape in 1954. Also in 1956 Fender changed the pickup magnets from Alnico 3 to Alnico 5, which certainly gave them a slightly different sound. One of the other notable changes was that the string tree was changed to the ‘butterfly’ design from the previous round string tree. The butterfly design has been used on Fender instruments ever since!
1958 – More changes came in 1958 to the Stratocaster, with Fender moving to the more popular at the time three tone sunburst finish. This included a black outline, with a middle red hue, and then a yellow finish in the centre of the body. It was certainly a more breathtaking finish than the duller 2 tone sunburst.
Also, 1958 was the year that the first ‘offset’ guitar was introduced — the Jazzmaster! This was another electric guitar, sold alongside the Telecaster and Stratocaster, and it was a jazz guitar with new features and a very different body shape to the other guitars Fender made at the time. It featured its own P90-esque pickups, and a different tremolo design compared to the Stratocaster. It also possessed a dual circuit design, with individual volume and tone controls, and these circuits were controlled through switches on the guitar. These circuits included a more traditional lead circuit, and a darker circuit, offering great rhythm sounds with more bass and less treble.
1959 – At this point, Fender had more than 100 employees, and the company was ever expanding. This year in particular saw a pivotal change for their electric guitars: the move from Maple to Rosewood for their fretboards. Although there were minor changes to the Stratocaster and Telecasters alike, 1959 is often deemed the ‘second incarnation’ of Fender guitars. Stratocasters were given 3-ply celluloid pick guards, opposed to the previous single-ply guard. As previously mentioned, both the Telecaster and Stratocasters were given rosewood slab fretboards, which gave these guitars a different aesthetic and tone to the previous maple fretboards.
The 1960s: Growth, Innovation and the CBS Takeover
1960 – Another pivotal year for Fender, featuring new products, and different options for their customers.
The Fender Jazz Bass – This new bass design was introduced, which added a second single coil pickup, making it arguably more versatile than its older brother, the Precision Bass. The ‘P’ Bass was still adored for its thicker, mid-focused sound, but the Jazz Bass offered a more versatile, brighter sound, that also sported a thinner neck and an offset body, making it easier to play certain styles.
Introduction of the official Custom Colour Chart – Although unofficial custom colours were done on Fender instruments prior to 1960, this year saw the official introduction of the custom colour chart, which enabled players to further personalise their instrument. 14 official colours were introduced alongside the ‘standard’ 3 tone sunburst, and these included Olympic White, Black, Daphne Blue, Sonic Blue, Sherwood Green, Surf Green, Fiesta Red, Dakota Red, Lake Placid Blue, Shell Pink, and others. As time progressed, certain colours were taken out and others were added, broadening the colour palette. A custom colour Fender Stratocaster would set you back just over $300 in 1960, which was about $10 more than the standard Sunburst finish. The increased price reflects the second hand market of these vintage instruments today, due to the fact that the custom colours were not ordered as often as the standard Sunburst offering, making them rarer and more collectible. An original sunburst Stratocaster from this era would set you back around £20,000–£30,000 today, whilst a custom colour (depending on the colour) would likely be more than £40,000 in all original condition.
1964 – Fender begin production of their acoustic guitars. Fender at this point now had over 600 employees, 500 of them in manufacturing. At age 55, Leo suffered health problems and offered to sell Fender Electric Instruments to his partner in Fender Sales, Donald Randall, for $1.5 million. Randall not having the resources to purchase the company himself, agreed to find another buyer. In August the Fender Mustang was introduced, which was a much more affordable guitar in comparison to the other guitars Fender were making at the time.
Many changes were happening at Fender during this transition period, as can be seen in the headstock picture below, they started using different logos compared to the ‘Spaghetti’ logo. This is now referred to as the ‘transition’ logo. The headstock stayed the same size until 1966 when it became much larger, further signifying CBS’ complete takeover of Fender. Other changes included the switch from clay dots to Pearloid dots, and slight differences in the contouring of the bodies, particularly on the Stratocaster. The changes initially started as minor and then became more drastic in 1966.
1965 – On January 5th 1965, Fender was sold to a subsidiary of CBS (Columbia Broadcasting Systems) called Columbia Records Distribution Corp. for $13 million. CBS began making changes almost immediately.
1969 – Donald Randall, now vice-president and general manager under CBS, also left the company. His departure was due to corporate politics and concerns over quality. Many other long term employees felt quality was taking a back seat since CBS took over. The CBS guitars are certainly less desirable than the pre-CBS instruments, and their second hand prices now reflect that. However, although these guitars might not have been made quite as well as in the early ‘60s, there were still some fantastic guitars being made. Jimi Hendrix made the ‘big’ headstock Stratocaster famous due to his extensive use of it throughout his short career.
The 1970s: The CBS Years and the Quality Crisis
The 1980s: Fender Reborn — the Custom Shop and Signature Artists
1980 – The larger headstock design introduced by CBS is abandoned, and the original smaller shape returns. The same year, Leo Fender and George Fullerton (a long term employee at Fender) form G&L guitars (George and Leo).
During the early ‘80s CBS also recruited three top executives from Yamaha Musical Instruments: John McLaren, William Schultz and Dan Smith. In The Fender Book, Tony Bacon and Paul Day quote Smith:
1982 – William Schultz practically shut down U.S. production of Fender guitars, focusing on reissuing limited edition high-end “classic” pre-CBS Fenders.
1983 – Japanese Squiers hit the U.S. market.
1985 – On the 5th of March, CBS sells to the management group run by William Schultz for $12.5 million. The company name was changed to Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. However, the sale did not include many Fender patents, machinery, nor the Fullerton facility, which was sold separately. As a result, no U.S. production was taking place — only Japanese models appeared in the 1985 catalogue. At this point, Fender Musical Instruments Corp. were roughly $11 million in debt.
1987 – Two years after U.S. production was shut down, Fender open their Custom Shop in Corona, California. This same year the American Standard Strat is released. The Custom Shop is where Fender’s highest-end instruments are made to this day — they do accurate recreations of their ‘50s and ‘60s instruments, and also allow you to custom build your own guitar from scratch. They do special runs of famous guitars, collaborating with the artist and getting their hands on the actual guitar for recreations. They also do the very popular relicing, where they intend to recreate the wear and feel of a well-played instrument.
1988 – Eric Clapton and Yngwie Malmsteen artist series Strats are released. This was seen as a turning point for Fender and marked the beginning of their return to the top. These were the first official signature guitars that Fender released, and many claim that Eric Clapton ‘saved’ Fender.
The Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster was and still is very unique, featuring Lace Sensor active pickups — essentially stacked humbuckers, which made them noise-cancelling. The guitar also features a mid boost circuit and TBX tone control. The mid boost is controlled by the second tone pot, and provides up to 25dB of boost. The TBX tone control adds further high end and mid range frequencies. It was designed with Clapton as he wanted one guitar capable of achieving the Gibson sounds from his early career with John Mayall and Cream. This guitar is still being made today, over 35 years later.
The 1990s to Today: Fender in the Modern Era
1995 – Fender buys the Guild Guitar Company.
1996 – Production of Fender guitars is estimated at 50,000 guitars a year. The company at this point is worth approximately $250 million.
1998 – A new state-of-the-art 177,000 square foot facility is built in Corona, California, built on a nineteen-acre site. At this time it can manufacture 350 guitars per day.
2004 – The 50th Anniversary Strat is released, replicating the original 1954 design.
2005 – William Schultz retires.
2007 – Leo Fender, Donald Randall, William Schultz and other key staff are inducted into the Fender Hall of Fame.
2014 – Fender sells Guild.
2025 – Fender are now the most successful and largest guitar company in the world, producing an estimated 500,000 guitars per year, covering all price ranges, and their most extensive range yet.
