Fender Guitar Blog

I believe that only the truest icons one arrives upon must be done so via personal exploration, not through the influences of one’s peers. At twenty,for me that icon was Phil Manzanera, and that remarkably devised FENDER work of his. Curiously enough, though I aimed to create the same sort of lush sonic effects as he had during the first phase of Roxy Music and his various side gigs.

I had no idea that one of the MOST FAMOUS FENDER GUITAR PLAYERS,actually played a FENDER STRATOCASTER. I fabulated, as a lot of kids are want to daydream, that Phil’s guitar had to be some kind of uniquely designed piece of experimental machinery, and thus quite unattainable for the likes of me. Such projections, whether they be directed upon a really, if not MOST FAMOUS OF FENDER GUITAR PLAYER’S instrument, or merely some girl or boy one has a crush on at school, are at once born of the rawly experential and a kind of mysteriously postive charge that goes off at the back of the head when confronted with the object of one’s ultra-focus and/or desire — at once fixation and incalcuble as a choice or aesthetic path.

I am hardly any of the MOST FAMOUS FENDER GUITAR PLAYERS, nor did I aspire to become one. For me to have played a FENDER for the life of my rather ill-starred musical career was (again) quite choiceless. In that my FENDER STRAT was found. Maybe, this abandoned, but still very functional model had indeed been owned by one of those MOST FAMOUS FENDER GUITAR PLAYERS, though this previous owner was likely not Phil Manzanera (sic!). He would never just abandoned his Fender, as it were a table lamp left on the dusty floor in a hastly vacated apartment. Of course, just as I had incorrectly calculated my ability to reach some measure of post-punk stardom, I had also in some ways misdetermined that one of the MOST FAMOUS FENDER GUITAR PLAYERS had not just employed a FENDER STRATOCASTER on all those great early Roxy Music recordings and tours, but that he (Phil Manzanera) had indeed once abandoned a GUITAR, just not his FENDER STRAT. Rather, as legend has it - and there must always be a legend to go along with the icon, that’s a given - when Phil first auditioned for Roxy, he was given a choice in order to join, that being to abandon his Gibson for a FENDER STRATOCASTER. Obviously, both he and the band knew what they were doing. That is why Phil is one of the MOST FAMOUS FENDER GUITAR PLAYERS, and I am - instead - composing this blog post.

Eric Clapton’s favorite mid-career modified Strat “Blackie” was sold on 24 June 2004 at Christie’s Auction House, New York for $959,500 by Guitar Center.

The goal of this auction was to raise funds for Crossroads Centre Antigua, an alcohol and drug treatment center founded by Clapton.

Clapton’s original Blackie was the most expensive guitar in the world for over a year until November 16th 2005.

What is the Most Expensive Guitar in the World?

On November 16th, 2005, an auction took place in Doha, Qatar. The goal was to raise money for the Tsunami Disaster Charity called “Reach Out to Asia“.

A Fender Standard Stratocaster signed by several famous rock musicians was sold for $2.7 million US dollars.

This Strat was bought one year ago by Qatar’s royal family for a million dollars and donated back to the Asia Program.

With the previous value, this Standard Strat brought in a total of $3.7 million USD value, making it the most expensive guitar in the world to date.

The most expensive guitar ever sold in the world was signed by famous musicians including; Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page, Mark Knopfler, Ray Davis, Liam Gallagher, Ronnie Wood, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Pete Townsend, Angus & Malcolm Young, Paul McCartney, Sting, Ritchie Blackmore, Def Leppard, and Bryan Adams, the coordinator of the project.

It is great to know that such a high value for a standard strat guitar is paid for charity reason. I wonder how much would this guitar cost without those autographs?

Yngwie Malmsteen’s new album coincides with upcoming launch of Fender Custom Shop Yngwie Malmsteen Tribute Series Stratocaster “Play Loud” guitar

The long-awaited new album from Swedish Stratocaster guitar master and perpetual neoclassical metal enfant terrible Yngwie Malmsteen, Perpetual Flame, will be released on Oct. 14, 2008, on Malmsteen’s own Rising Force Records.

Malmsteen self-produced the 12-song album, which features vocals by former Judas Priest/Iced Earth frontman Tim “Ripper” Owens in his first recorded appearance with Malmsteen, who also played bass and keyboards on the album and contributed some vocals. Keyboardist Derek Sherinian and drummer Patrick Johansson also appear on the album; Malmsteen’s touring band will include keyboardist Michael Troy and bassist Bjorn Englen.

Malmsteen will tour behind the album throughout October 2008 in the United States and Canada.

Equally significant to Fender fans, the release of Perpetual Flame coincides with the November 2008 release of the Fender Custom Shop 100-instrument Yngwie Malmsteen Tribute Series Stratocaster, a.k.a. “Play Loud,” guitar replica. The instrument is a meticulous recreation of the infamous and battle-hardened 1971 Stratocaster guitar that fueled Malmsteen’s meteoric rise to metal stardom, complete with heavily worn Olympic white finish, scalloped fingerboard and distinctive body graphics.

Malmsteen rose to fame in the early 1980s as the phenomenally talented and flamboyantly theatrical sole progenitor of “neoclassic” metal. Live and on record, his classically inflected guitar chops dazzled all who heard him. His phenomenal playing proved highly influential and served as the foundation for an entire new metal sub-genre. Several of his many albums are considered metal classics, including Rising Force (1984), Marching Out (1985), Fire and Ice (1992) and Unleash the Fury (2005).

Visit Yngwie Malmsteen’s Tribute Series Stratocaster website here and visit Guitar Hood Fender Store to buy Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster Guitars.

Fender Musical Instruments Company is offering internship opportunities at FMIC?

If guitar is your hobby or passion, this might be a great chance for you. Have fun, do what you love and also get paid.

You can decide if this is the right job for you after this 12 weeks summer internship program.

In order to be considered you must:

• Be currently enrolled as a full-time student at an accredited university
• Have a GPA of 3.0 or above
• Be a junior or senior

You can apply for this internship position at Fender here online.

P.S. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, gender, age, color, religion, disability, veterans’ status, sexual orientation, or any other protected factor.

Fender Strats are the legend of the musical instrument industry. Inventor of Fender Guitars, Leo Fender was working as an accountant and radio repairman before becoming a luthier during the World War 2. Leo Fender started working on Fender Stratocaster during 1953.

Leo Fender was successful with Tele before Strat previously known as Broadcaster. Novel design with the combination of perfect timing due to postwar prosperity and the popularity of the guitars, Stratocaster became a legendary guitar in the history of guitars.

The first Fender Stratocasters shipped in 1954, a guitar purely for rebellious teens. While the guitar sold well at first, it didn’t dominate the market until later. One of the first to put it to use was Dick Dale, who pioneered surf music on Strats in the early 60s.

Couple of Brits with bad hair, Lennon and Harrison, otherwise known as John & George made the Strats mainstream. They became worldwide popular after Jimi Hendrix played it. There are many other famous guitar players who have played Strats besides Hendrix, such as; Eric Clapton, Buddy Holly, Richie Blackmore, Dick Dale, Kurt Cobain, Jeff Beck, etc.

The biggest threat that Fender has ever faced came from Fender itself. Leo Fender and original partner Don Randall sold the company to CBS in the mid-60s, and the conglomerate eventually did what no one else could: make the Strat less powerful. As time went buy, new players bought Fender while experienced players turned to vintage Strats for the eternal brilliance of its design, combined with the understated remarkable versatility.

After all, if the Strat is easy and fun to play, and creates a wonderful clean tone, why not use it for everything and just work out effects later?

Fender Strat had been copied by many guitar companies until 1985. It needed rebirth, and the sale of the company away from CBS provided it. Fender improved production at its foreign plants first thing, giving a much-needed improvement to the lower end of its line. After that, Fender’s own factory was built in Corona, CA, and another in Ensenada, Mexico for the lower-priced models.

With these changes, Fender decided to give the player more choices in new guitars. Rather than making the pursuit of the perfect tone entirely dependent on the player. The company manufactured dozens of new and different Stratocasters within five years. Another exciting news for Strat Fans was the ability to order their custom Strats. Before this, Fender Custom Shop was offering custom guitars for only celebrity players. Everything had changed at the company but the clean and perfect tone of Strats has stayed the same.

After its rebirth, Fender has invested in acquiring guitar companies such as Sunn, Trace Eliot, and Guild as well as house brands Squier and DeArmond. Each company brought more expertise to Fender’s team. By creating quality guitars, offering great service, and understanding their customers’ needs, Fender became a worldwide known brand in guitar industry.