Fender (musical instruments)

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Fender Musical Instruments Corporation Inc. (FMIC)

logo
legal form privately run by an entrepreneur
founding 1946 by Leo Fender
Seat Scottsdale , Arizona USA
8860 East Road Chaparral Suite 100 Scottsdale, AZ 85250
management CEO Andy Mooney
CFO James S. Broenen
CMO Evan Jones
Number of employees approx. 3200
sales unpublished, estimates about $ 700 million
Branch Musical instrument manufacturer
Website www.fender.com

The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation Inc. (FMIC) is an international, American company in the musical instrument industry based in Scottsdale ( Arizona ). The company is synonymous with its core brand, often abbreviated to "Fender". FMIC was founded in 1946 by the broadcast electrician and inventor Leo Fender under the name Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company in Fullerton ( California founded). Thanks to Leo Fender's original innovations, the company has grown to become one of the most recognized manufacturers of electric guitars , electric basses , guitar amplifiers and PA systems . Since the 1990s, through targeted acquisitions of well-known brands in the musical instrument industry, FMIC has developed into one of the world's largest corporations in the industry through the products of the core brand “Fender”.

The company is privately owned; the majority of the company's shares are in the hands of the company's shareholders and senior executives. Matt Janopaul is the president and CEO Andy Mooney has been responsible for the operational business since June 2015 .

history

The importance and reputation of FMIC, and especially its core brand Fender, is based mainly on its pioneering work in the 1950s and 1960s. The Telecaster was the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar in the world. The Precision Bass , also invented by Leo Fender, was the first electric bass with frets .

The then futuristic Stratocaster is another style icon in music history and, together with the Telecaster, is considered to be the most copied guitar type. The company's reputation was also established with the amplifier models from Fender. For example, the Fender Bassman's circuit diagram served as a template for the development of the first Vox and Marshall amplifiers. After taking over Harold Rhodes ' company in 1959, Fender began manufacturing the famous Rhodes piano in 1965 . Last but not least, the connection of the products with well-known artists from various genres of popular music is still a significant marketing tool for FMIC.

Leo Fender era

Patent drawing by Leo Fenders for a lapsteel guitar from 1948
Fender Telecaster

Leo Fender studied business administration and worked as an accountant in various companies in the early 1930s. He lost this job as a result of the depression. As early as the 1920s, Fender had pursued his hobby as a radio electrician and built, among other things, sound systems and amplifiers for various events. In 1939 he founded his own business, "Fender Radio Service", in Fullerton, promoting it with the services and sale of "electrical equipment, records, musical instruments and repairs, sheet music".

With the popularization of Hawaiian and country music in the 1920s and 1930s, Fender's first service customers included local semi and fully professional musicians who played the lapsteel guitars (also known as Hawaiian guitars) in these styles . In addition to Fender, companies such as Gibson and Rickenbacker equipped them with pickups and experimented on possible concepts for other products, in particular the electrical amplification of guitars of conventional design, at the time full resonance guitars (jazz guitars). One of Fender's early customers was Cayton Orr Kauffman, a professional lapsteel guitarist who, like Fender, was interested in the technical details of instrument making. Kauffman had already worked with Rickenbacker on the development of electric guitars. Fender and Kauffman founded the company "Kauffman & Fender" and started producing their own lapsteel guitars and amplifiers with just a few employees in a barrack behind Fender's shop, which initially continued to operate alongside production. The instruments were successful with local and regional musicians, but the workload was so intense that Kauffman retired from the company in 1946.

After Kauffman's withdrawal, Leo Fender founded the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company (also Fender Electric Instruments Company ) for his prosperous business , moved to larger production facilities within Fullerton in 1948 and intensified production. Fender also experimented with the development of a solid-body electric guitar with the aim of mass-producing it and offering it at lower prices than the competition. At that time, other companies such as Gibson and Epiphone, as well as individuals such as Les Paul and Paul Bigsby, had been working on the same concepts for such an innovative type of guitar. Bigsby, from the local California area in Orange County, and Fender knew each other personally, so it is controversial whether Fender borrowed directly from Bigsby's designs for the musician Merle Travis .

After numerous prototypes, Fender finally brought the electric guitar model onto the market in 1950, which is now known as the Telecaster . The success of this model, which sold for $ 169.95, resulted in Fender ceasing to operate its radio and record business in 1951. In 1953, Fender founded the sales company "Fender Sales Inc." in Santa Anna, California with Don Randall and others. Randall was the manager and sales director of an electronics wholesaler that originally supplied materials and parts to Leo Fender's business. Fender, in turn, had its products distributed through Randall's company in the 1940s. The success also consisted in the fact that Fender was able to offer guitars and amplifiers and was thus able to sustainably shape a certain idea of ​​the sound of an electric guitar.

In addition to the development and production of amplifiers, which are still in the FMIC portfolio today, the company's greatest success followed in 1955 with the market launch of the Stratocaster electric guitar model . In this model, Leo Fender had consistently developed the basic Telecaster concept and, in particular, accepted and implemented suggestions from musicians with regard to comfort, sound variants and other aspects. In the early 1960s, Leo Fender felt physically and mentally drained after an intense decade of work. He implemented the idea of ​​selling the company in the event of a lucrative offer in 1964 and sold Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company to CBS at a price of 13 million US dollars at the time, which was enormous.

The CBS time

In February 1965, the American media group Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) took over the full shares of FMIC from Leo Fender, who only remained active as a consultant in the field of research and development for the company and left FMIC entirely in 1970.

The time of ownership by CBS is viewed ambiguously today. On the one hand, despite the resounding market success under the leadership of Leo Fender, FMIC always had major problems with the necessary financial resources and liquidity. As a large merger , CBS had the necessary capital, but ultimately it lacked the deep interest, knowledge and experience to fully meet the essential requirements of the development, manufacture and sale of musical instruments. The result was that after Leo Fender's departure from management, the quality standard of the products was initially maintained in the 1960s, but savings measures in the products as well as in production and subsequent personnel fluctuations in management positions resulted in significant losses in both economic revenue and also in product quality.

Above all, CBS tried to restore the profitability of FMIC through numerous product developments and market launches, particularly in the guitar products business. Sales could be increased significantly (1970 $ 20 million; 1980 $ 60 million), but CBS failed to make any necessary reinvestments due to cost pressure from a workforce of around 750 employees and the maintenance of five production facilities in Fullerton in all relevant areas Areas at FMIC. In the late 1970s, the situation at FMIC was so bad that CBS thought of liquidating FMIC rather than investing more money. In 1980, CBS decided to fill the lead at FMIC and recruited experienced management staff from competitors such as Yamaha and others.

Headstock on a "Fender Stratocaster" manufactured in Mexico after 1991

The new CEO was William ("Bill") C. Schultz. Due to the ailing situation, he was given a free hand by the CBS group management. Schultz discovered that, among other things, important prototypes and model models were sometimes given away by CBS managers unknown or sold to collectors during the CBS era. Schultz responded immediately by having all changes to the base model of the Stratocaster of the 1970s restored to the original shape and brought into production and market to generate immediate profits. He also counteracted the pressure from the low-price market - with Far Eastern copies of the successful Fender models - with the start of production of "Fender-Japan" by local license manufacturers and the launch of the Fender-Squier (" Squier " for short ) product line. FMIC also enforced the protection of trademark rights and utility models more consistently against competitors, in particular the use or copy of the distinctive headstock designs of the "Stratocaster" and "Telecaster" models. Despite the return to the original brand values ​​and qualities and the economic recovery of FMIC, CBS decided in the mid-1980s to part with FMIC and sell the company.

According to CBS, William C. Schultz to date

Twenty years after CBS acquired FMIC from Leo Fender, CBS sold the company in 1985 to a group of investors led by William C. Schultz (1926-2006). He became the President and CEO of FMIC and introduced the current name, with the aim of developing FMIC into today's corporate structure with the group and sales holding company at the top.

In 2005, at the age of 79, Schultz stepped down as CEO of FMIC but remained president of the company. The previous shareholder William Mendello succeeded him as CEO. Schultz died on September 21, 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Schultz consistently led FMIC back to the brand values ​​and picked up the trend towards the old types in the electric guitar product range - the so-called "vintage models" from the time before the CBS takeover - with the introduction of the "American Vintage Series", which immediately became a sustainable market success. At the same time, Schultz had the contemporary, modern revision of the types carried out while maintaining the conservative external appearance, which resulted in the market launch of the “American Standard Series”. FMIC pursued the same strategy in the field of guitar amplifiers, in the re-edition of old popular and sought-after models ("Fender Bassman") and equally modern interpretations of classic models.

In 1987 the "Fender Custom Shop" was founded to meet special customer requirements and to promote the support and marketing strategy of well-known artists. The “Mythos Fender” and the company's own performance as a mass producer was and is deliberately advertised through the Custom Shop. In 1990 FMIC opened its Mexican manufacturing facility in Ensenada, Baja California. There the company manufactures the electric guitars and electric bass models of the “Fender Mexico” series according to the US portfolio. In Ensenada, FMIC also has a lot of preproduction work done for the central production in Corona at low cost.

In 1991 the administrative and corporate headquarters were relocated from Corona to Scottsdale.

In 2008 FMIC took over the "Kaman Music Corporation" (KMC) from the Kaman Corporation , the largest independent musical instrument and accessory distributor in the USA. Kaman has also become known as a manufacturer of innovative designs for Ovation acoustic guitars since the 1960s .

FMIC and Volkswagen AG agreed to work together in 2010 to jointly develop a new premium audio system for Volkswagen, which is expected to be delivered in selected models from 2012. FMIC and Volkswagen had already worked together in the past on the level of marketing campaigns, for example through the production of the "VW Stratocaster" from the Fender Custom Shop.

Group structure

In its current form, FMIC is a group holding company that controls all administrative and distributive operations of the group brands at its headquarters. Marketing of the brands is coordinated and developed centrally. The distribution and export for the North American area is taken care of directly. In addition to Germany, FMIC has set up branches in England, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden for the traditionally high-demand European markets. There are also sales offices at the production sites in Japan and Mexico. Fender Musical Instruments GmbH, based in Düsseldorf, is responsible for Germany and the German-speaking countries .

The organizational chart of the company management is approximately as follows:

  • The Supervisory Board of the Shareholders, represented by the Chairman (President) Matt Janopaul.
  • The operational management under the overall responsibility of CEO Andy Mooney
    • CFO James S. Broenen, Chief Financial Officer and Human Resources Officer
    • CMO Evan Jones, Chief Marketing Officer
    • CLO (Chief Legal Officer), CBDO Mark van Vleet, Board Member for Personnel and Company Development
    • CSO Don Randall Jr., Chief Sales Officer

KMC is responsible for coordinating the operational business of its own brands in relation to FMIC.

FMIC maintains production facilities for the core brand Fender in Corona, California, the traditional factory next to Fullerton, and in Ensenada ( Baja California , Mexico). The Jackson, Charvel and Genz Benz brands are manufacturing at the FMIC headquarters after relocating to Scottsdale. The internationally known and sought-after legally separate “Fender Custom Shop” is also located at the central production site of Fender in Corona.

Sub-areas of the group

  • fender

Core brand "Fender"

In addition to the Fender Rhodes piano, the company is better known for its guitars and electric bass models. FMIC has a very finely differentiated price scale, which among other things depends on the production location of the guitar and the value of the materials and accessories used. However, this only allows direct conclusions to be drawn about the quality of the guitars to a limited extent.

Selection of electric guitar models

Selection of electric bass models

Amplifiers and PA systems

Fender Blues amplifier

  • Blues Junior
  • Blues DeVille
  • Blues Deluxe

Fender Tweed amplifier

  • Twin amp
  • Bassman
  • Princeton
  • Harvard
  • Deluxe
  • Champ

Fender brownface amplifier

  • Bassman
  • Band master
  • Showmaster
  • Super Sonic

Fender blackface amplifier

  • Twin reverb
  • Princeton Reverb
  • Deluxe Reverb
  • Champ
  • Harvard
  • Tremolux
  • Vibrolux Reverb
  • Great reverb
  • Vibrosonic Reverb

Modern Fender tube amplifiers

  • HotRod Deluxe
  • HotRod DeVille

Fender modeling amplifier

  • Mustang + Mustang V2 I, III, IV, V
  • Cyber ​​Twin

Other fender amplifiers

  • Roc Pro 700/1000

Other electric guitars and electric bass guitars

Acoustic guitars

  • Fender, steel string acoustic guitars, classical guitars, and resonator guitars
  • Gretsch , Electric semi and full resonance guitars
  • Tacoma Guitars , Acoustic Steel String Guitars (Western)

Other string instruments

Subsidiaries

Electronics, accessories

  • De Armond, pickup
  • Fender pickups, strings, instrument cases and cables, individual and spare parts, care products

Group subsidiary KMC Music Inc.

The group subsidiary KMC Music Inc. has the following own brands as a producer in its portfolio:

Electric guitars, acoustic guitars

amplifier

literature

  • Tony Bacon, Paul Day: The Fender Book - A complete history of Fender electric guitars. Balafon Books, London 1992, ISBN 1-871547-54-7 . (German edition 1993)
  • Tony Bacon, Paul Day: The Ultimate Guitar Book. Edited by Nigel Osborne, Dorling Kindersley, London / New York / Stuttgart 1991; Reprint 1993, ISBN 0-86318-640-8 , pp. 62-79.
  • guitar -special. The magazine for guitarists and bassists - 60 years of the Fender Stratocaster. Issue 09/2014, PPV Medien, GTIN: 4058862001068.
  • Carlo May: Vintage guitars and their stories. MM-Musik-Media-Verlag, Augsburg 1994. ISBN 3-927954-10-1 , pp. 2-6 ( From champion to bestseller. The Fender Broadcaster ).
  • PPVMedien (Ed.): Fender Telecaster Myth and Technology - a deep insight into the technology of the famous Fender Telecaster guitars. ISBN 978-3-941531-58-1 . ( Online )
  • PPVMedien (Ed.): Fender Stratocaster Myth and Technology - Everything You Need to Know About the Strat. ISBN 978-3-941531-57-4 .
  • PPVMedien (Ed.): Fender Bass myth and technology - everything you need to know about the Fender Bass. ISBN 978-3-95512-132-7 .
  • PPVMedien (Ed.): Fender Vintage Guitars & Amps DVD - Experience legendary guitars and amps

Web links

Commons : Fender  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fender Musical Instruments Corporation Appoints Andy Mooney to CEO . June 2, 2015. Accessed June 3, 2015. 
  2. ↑ http://spotlight.fender.com/newsroom/news/490/