Fender guitars rock out!

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Fender guitars, in my eyes, forms the second pillar (along with Gibson and Rickenbacker) for excellence in electric guitars.

I remember getting a Fender catalog in the mail back in the 1960's. I marveled at the sleek and sexy designs of the Telecasters and Stratocasters!

The colors! Lake Placid Blue, Firemist Gold, Fiesta Red and Sunburst! Wow! The three pickup Strat was my favorite.

So many well known players haved strapped on either a Tele or Strat. Buddy Holly and Brian Wilson through James Marshall Hendrix and Robin Trower.

Leo Fender started the company in 1946. He designed the first successful electric bass, the Fender Precision Bass. The first six-string guitar from Fender was the Broadcaster followed by her sister electric in 1954, the Stratocaster.

Fender guitars were produced through the fifties and into the sixties under Leo Fenders tutelage. And then the fateful decision to sell the company to CBS in 1965. You'll hear a lot about pre-CBS and post-CBS in collector circles.

Like their competitor, Gibson, Fender suffered quality problems under the new owners. The company was bought out by Fender employees in 1985 and restored the quality of their instruments.

Fender also produced the Squire brand to market inexpensive types of solid bodies. The core of its production- the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Jazz Bass and Precision Bass remains virtually unchanged since the company started.

My association with Fender guitars started in 1982. I always wanted to play and imitate Hendrix's sound.

I found a 1976 puke yellow Strat in a music store for 250 bucks. When I sighted down the neck, all I saw were waves! It didn't matter, the neck was gonna be history anyways.

I had a huge poster of Hendrix in my room. It showed him playing at the '69 Newport Festival. He's playing a white Strat with a maple Tele neck. That's the Fender guitar I wanted!

Here's what I did:

• Stripped the guitar down to the bare body
• Tossed the neck and found a maple Tele neck somewhere
• I had to carefully trim the neck cavity on the body to accommodate the square heel of the Tele neck
• I stripped the body and painted it "GMC White" lacquer paint with a clear coat
• I replaced all of the hardware with new parts
• Replaced the pick-ups with a Dimarzio double-stacked humbucker in the bridge position and Seymour Duncans in the neck and middle positions
• Added a five way selector switch
• Put on a new three-ply white pick guard
• I put a Floyd Rose tremolo system on the guitar. It took about six months to install because at the time, Floyd Rose was mired in a lawsuit with Kramer.

The three pictures above are my finished Strat.

The only original parts I kept and used were the tuners and the neck plate with the serial number.

Now I have Jimi's Stratocaster. If I could only play as good as him...

I love my Strat as much as my Les Paul. It has a brighter tone and looks so cool! It's also a lot easier on my back. Some day I want to acquire a Telecaster that will complete my Fender guitar collection.

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