Leo Fender

Leo Fender was an electronics innovator and guitar builder in Fullerton, California. In 1946, he founded a company later known as Fender Musical Instruments, which introduced several designs of electric instrument now standard throughout the world.

Signature Inventions

In the late 1940s, Fender's idea for a solid-body electric guitar had already been explored by several other inventors, to mixed success. But when his Esquire design (later called the Broadcaster and the Telecaster) reached the market in early 1950, country players responded to its practical, no-nonsense design and its distinctively modern sound. It became the first commercial success for the instrument that would become dominant in rock 'n' roll. Fender's 1951 design for a practical electric bass guitar, the Fender Precision Bass, was similarly not unprecedented, but created a usable, modern-sounding instrument that soon became immensely popular and influential.

Other Key Designs

Fender's early line of guitars and basses also included the Stratocaster, a 1954 design that, like the Telecaster, continues to be immensely popular and widely imitated. Fender's line of guitar and bass amplifiers are also ubiquitous and much-imitated, as is the Fender Rhodes electric piano.

Fast Facts

1. Birthplace: Buena Park, California
2. Birthdate: August 10, 1909
3. Died: March 21, 1991
4. Company originated in 1938, with shop called Fender's Radio Service
5. Originally offered electronics including guitar amps
6. Sold the company to CBS in 1965
7. Later started the musical instrument companies, Music Man and G&L;
8. Was not a guitar player

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