The Fender Story

When you think of contributions to the history of American music, celebrating the influence of the brand Fender should come to mind. This year marks the 30th anniversary of The Phelps Group, one of America's leading integrated marketing communications company in Los Angeles. The Phelps Group pays homage to one of its first clients and by posting some of its earlier work for Fender. This one was created for Fender in 1993.
To see a list of our current clients, go to
www.thephelpsgroup.com/who-we-...

[@chrisbauman2562]

All the fender guitars each style is all we ever need. They're the most versatile,tone pleasing, comfortable. So grateful to own one

[@davidwantsahug]

When I was young, I bought a Les Paul because it looked pretty.. I knew nothing about guitars tonewise. Then I discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan, this beaten up Fender's tone had pure attitude! Then listening to John Mayer showed me this beautiful clean and emotional sound. I bought a White Mexican Strat, instantly knew that Strats are my favourite guitar, John Frusciante then showed me the sheer power a strat can create. I now have my Black American Strat, it's my pride and joy and will be forever.

[@BassOutcast]

Damn proud to be a member of that legacy :) Long live Fenders !

[@thebipolarbear1]

Absolutely! Me too

[@tonyhoodlass1846]

Yep the best

[@DontCallMeShirleySMD]

Just filled my mullet and Fender quota for the day. Thanks for uploading this!

[@brickbreaker8148]

"Tuner/Tester" What a dream job.

[@brickbreaker8148]

+dKif - H1Z1! Hell no! I'm an old married guy with no life.

[@b.rodclark7349]

I bought my '95 Fender Stratocaster Special (MIM) brand new in '96 and it's my first maple neck. It has endured quality control issues of the day but the upgrades made it much better and it's more special now than it has ever been... i love my Mexicali angel!

[@casetanner]

Love that the soundtrack has satriani on an ibanez

[@Sparky1002]

Heart-breaking to see Stevie Ray at the end and be reminded once again of just how good he was.

[@bubbasouth69]

Sparky Widgets and we SRV fans need to keep his memory alive by always striving to be that good!

[@TheKille22]

I'm a bassist and I played a ton of great instruments such as Warwick, MusicMan, Ibanez, ESP/LTD, some custom made ones but I always go back to Fender... I can play everything and anything ont that Jazz bass, the sound, the feel the everythyng about it is just perfect for me...

[@Lalairu]

I love the Jazz Bass

[@Xcorgi]

***** Actually, it's a matter of choice and the instrument you happen to have a natural talent for. Fender's basses are every bit as good as their guitars. All that matters is that your chosen musical instrument is the best tool for your artistic expression. Fender is so amazingly versatile that everyone tends to find their own unique voice through what is basically (in appearance) the same instrument.

[@johng9123]

Nice! That last clip of Stevie playing ‘so excited’ (that I’ve watched hundreds of times now) was taken from his show in my home town at the Elmocambo in Toronto (Ontario, Canada) I sure miss SRV … and I’m still playing a Fender Tele. 😁👍🏻😎

[@DogCatchersBand]

Jerry Reed IS the Man and Eric Johnson recorded Cliffs of Dover on a Gibson 335!

[@farawayfettler]

What a great video, loved watching the production in the Fender factory

[@davec3487]

I bought a Fender and noticed the paint had a small defect. I called the company and they sent a new body to a local guitar repair shop. The shop transferred the neck and electronics to the new body and I got back a PERFECT guitar. A true work of art.

[@Xcorgi]

Jerry Reed was still thin and David Gilmore still had hair. This is an OLD video but glorious just the same. There will never be anything quite like a Fender. They allow you to express yourself like nothing else. I own a Stratocaster, a Telecaster and a Precision bass and I will play them till the day I die. They are truly American Icons. Even bigger than the Ford, Chevy and Chrysler.

[@sichuancowboy]

Damn... Seeing Bruce Zinky so young makes me feel so old now, and I'm not even 40 yet. I still got a 100w handwired Fender Tone Master head & cab configuration.

[@ron980]

Funny that they start playing Cliffs of Dover at 4:00, when EJ has stated that it was cut on his ES-335!

[@howardsix9708]

Never mind the brand.The bottom line is "A GUITAR THAT PLAYS IN TUNE AND STAYS IN TUNE", EVERYTHING ELSE IS SUPERFLUOUS.H6UK

[@MichaelCasanovaMusic]

The Jaguar will forever be my favourite guitar. Right up there with the Mosrite Ventures model :) Thanks, Fender

[@jonathanedwards6366]

Oh, the mullets!!!!! Great video, and a great snapshot of the era of what Fender was doing then.....

[@martinulstein9087]

I love all my Fender Stratocasters. It is the best shape for your body. The tones sound natural to me.

[@perrymerrill1917]

Martin Ulstein

[@Pasillas916]

Hey it's the coach from water boy!! "You're fired!!" Lmao!

[@kbbluesgreens74]

Thanks for uploading - this was a very cool video!

[@frankyfurbo1]

Nigel Tufnel is really great in this video.

[@chriscampbell9191]

LOL

[@ColinStuart]

the way it really is, when you get hooked, you're hooked. I've been using Fender guitars for over 50 years, the Telecaster hooked me in the early '60's, and I've been hooked on it all along!

[@Teachering]

A man after my own heart! As a player I can recall it took me a long while before I knew what I wanted in a guitar. I can't remember why I fell in love with the tele, but I did. The strat took me longer to catch on to. The tele has this very simple design that is beautiful in its simplicity. The strat is a whole other thing. It's a lot different than the tele but is also a joy to play. And I love Fender amps. I own several but the Vibrolux and the Twin Reverb top my list.

[@izzysantiago978]

Same here! My wife bought me a Gibson Les Paul Traditional plus in chicago blue and now I love both! My strat is a American ash Deluxe with Fender SCN Samarium Cobalt Noiseless Pickups with 7 way position. And I am A happy strummer! Be Blessed.

[@krisruston]

The hair styles in this video are awesome. So buy a Fender, and grow a mullet.

[@cliffhanger8170]

Mullets are back!

[@Slugg-O]

I've got 2 Fender Strats and to me they are like my pets. They are loaded pretty much the same but each one has a unique personality but in a great way, and when I pick up one of them I feel a bond or connection. Maybe it's weird but that's how it is. There are tons of great guitars out there but nothing gives me the feeling I get from a Fender.

[@Xcorgi]

Lets not forget that Leo also founded the Music Man guitar company. That's why so much of their stuff sounds so amazing!

[@JohnBarrylizard]

When David Gilmour says, "You can instantly recognize A. What model of guitar it is and B. who's playing" I wouldn't have believed that 4 years ago. Now that I've put pickups in so many guitars, changed pots, changed necks... yes, I'm absolutely certain he's correct on all counts. I love other guitars but keep going back to my Fenders and frankenstrats.

[@totallye5150]

words cant explain how much i fucking love eric johnson, david gilmour, jeff beck, and srv

[@thebipolarbear1]

Cliffs of Dover is the sample song for what a Stratocaster can really do. It can do it all

[@stoeltzingblues]

Glad to be part of this club 97' American Standard!

[@bubbasouth69]

And we must thank Bill Schultz for saving the company. CBS nearly destroyed it and once Mr. Schultz took over, Fender literally rose from the ashes!

[@yobhsiFehT]

lol All those swimming pool cut-outs give me the willies:P 'Course, so did "Cliffs of Dover" when it came on, but in a very different way;) Thanks for posting!

[@CrownRoyalSociety]

As a Gibson fanatic I agree with everything in this video

[@geetar82]

Attaboy!!

[@stonehartfloydfan]

four Fenders latter and I still want MORE!!!

[@badaxxe]

A bunch of the strats have the swimming pool route. This vid was done in the early 90s. Almost all American made Strats have the swimming pool cut from 1986 to late 90s maybe later. The guitar Beck is playing has the swimming pool route,

[@TheSteveSteele]

I think the Tele is the most stable and easy to play electric guitar ever made, and I love playing mine, but the Strat really pays off like no other guitar once you make peace with her. She demands loyalty to get her best!

[@herbyverstink]

Jerry Reed..love that guy

[@davidbrucemusicvideo]

13:32 nice Richie Sambora tune insert! Great video. Very informative. Holy crap! You got SRV ending the video with his off the hook playing!

[@simonkormendy849]

I recently bought myself a brand new 2014 Fender USA Standard Stratocaster, with Custom Shop Fat 50's pickups installed in it, two-point floating trem, all maple neck, Metallic Burgundy body finish and white scratchplate, and it is easily way better than my old Mexican Strat was, definitely well worth the money I paid for it, I'm very satisfied with it.

[@chrisnorman9712]

I wish Fender was still the company it was back when they recorded this video. Leo was the golden age, but these guys were the silver age of Fender.

[@MilesTippett]

jeff beck IS Nigel Tufnel....

[@mga8915]

11?

[@ghosteh6503]

Miles Tippett Nigel Tufnel was 100% modeled after Jeff Beck

[@juliusandersson2278]

Haha, exactly what I thought!

[@tomace194]

He's known for his solos . And the armadillo in his trousers

[@tonyp1313]

"The wheel was a good idea..." funny without knowing it.

[@drummercrazycaps]

Some people may disagree as in my humble opinion, Fender have and still produce the best all valve reliable amplifiers ever created with that unique clean sparkle sound, mega efficient power and a never equaled tremolo and reverb...and god knows there are many very good amps or effects out there. As for the guitars: price may have been originally a contributing factor to their success (back in the fifties a Gretsch 6120 or a Gibson Les Paul or any semi hollow where sooo expensive compared to a Stratocaster or a Tele). So suddenly for an affordable price you could buy a real professional reliable well finished guitar with such a unique recognizable sound, superb neck with so many additional possibilities from a playing (accessibility) and sound point of view. And dare I say comfortable and light...if compared to others Thank you Fender team for such a contribution to the history of music. I personally play Gretsch pro guitars (made under Fender) because I prefer the look and sound but not because they are better. I also use Fender Twin amp and would never trade it for any other amp than an equivalent Fender all valves (Super Six reverb? Dual showman reverb?).

[@kiranchamling20]

drummercrazycaps Couldn't agree more..

[@tonyhoodlass1846]

Spot on

[@rustyshackleford4743]

You can really tell how much Ibanez learned from Fender. I'm not really talking about the particular process or design, but the attitude and the pride in their craftsmanship. Nowadays it's hard to beat Japanese craftsmanship. That's why I have both a Stratocaster and a made-in-Japan Ibanez!

[@adamparker8137]

Rusty Shackleford Agreed. I play a Jaguar and a Precision, but my Strat is an 84 Ibanez Roadstar II.

[@Xcorgi]

Rusty Shackleford You make a very good point. Back in the 80's when Fender was moving production from their Fulllerton plant to the plant in California, the only way they made any Fender's was at the Fuji-Gen plant in Japan. This is where some of the highest quality Fenders in history have been produced. They are now incredibly collectable and are even approaching the same price point as their American made counterparts.

[@BlackLocustMusic]

Rusty Shackleford ah bullshit, its a CNC router. Builds a guitar better than any human ever. Live with it. ; )

[@rustyshackleford4743]

BlackLocustMusic that might be the dumbest comment i've ever read. it doesnt build the entire guitar dumbass. it doesnt refine it either. AND IT DOESN'T DESIGN IT. that's really what craftsmanship is about. otherwise we wouldn't need experienced luthiers. so you're an idiot. live with that ;)

[@BlackLocustMusic]

Rusty Shackleford Uh, mr. dumbass, it actually does build the whole neck, the body and routs everything. And that is fine. Also it doesn't take a ''luthier'' to design or build an electric guitar. There is no OLD Magician working behind the curtain using a drawknife given to him by Zeus. NO, the Japanese Fenders are not fetching high prices, they were traced around the headstock by Randall at Fender and sub contracted out in Japan. Notice the fugly headstocks on mid 80s strats. HORRIBLE. It almost killed Fender, and its the ONLY thing that makes vintage Fenders so sought after. There are NO vintage angel fart tones. Its all about a piece of wire and a magnet. That is all. Best wishes.

[@MrGTO-ze7vb]

Stevie Ray at the end

[@tns4421]

The actual slaughter of the fender guitar!! Nobody has never pressed this instrument so hard as SRV!!

[@pabloperez4063]

1'30''...one of the best moments in Rock guitar ever

[@runingblackbear]

thank you for my fenders cause i love to play them ( 1987 , 2013 ,

[@GEEKMADE]

epic video. It so strange that nothing changed! single-coil pickups still are single-coil pickups that every loves

[@momsaguy]

There are some IMMACULATE mullets in this video. And some nice spectacles. But ive always wondered did fender borrow some of their early amp designs from Gibson? everybody always has a shitfest between the two companys but I love them both, Fenders inspire me to play gibsons, and gibsons inspire me to play fenders. Sometimes you gotta paint with more than one color if you get what I mean!!

[@bubbasouth69]

Best tube amp ever is the Twin Reverb and the best solid state amp ever is the Princeton Chorus.

[@lazn9863]

u got jerry reed!!!!!!!!! kudos for including him

[@johng9123]

A truly monster guitar player that sadly not too many these days even know about, and quite a character as well. 😎👍🏻

[@tomthefunky]

I remember when Buddy Guy's polka-dot signature Strat first went to market. It jumped out at you visually on the wall and drew your eyes to it automatically because it was so unusual and kitchy looking. Very smart move by Buddy and Fender to distinguish their model from every other Strat hanging on a wall in a store.

[@KeithMoonbeat]

Fender rules ! Man , i love my guitars even more after watching this .

[@tonyhoodlass1846]

Me too man

[@EricBlackmonGuitar]

I have always played a Strat. Always will.

[@tom27j]

Ironic that from 4:07 to 5:00 they have Eric Johnson's "Cliffs of dover" which is well known to be recorded on a Gibson 335......

[@basspepper]

He used both...

[@mattl1811]

basspepper the strat is only on a short run of about 10 seconds during the song

[@youthmanrecords965]

The original fender amp circuit is based on a RCA radio amplifier circuit

[@soundofseeds]

Its true,, Fender makes music more interesting and awesome,, i love fender guitars

[@MrSouthieChris]

I have played so many makes & models of guitars,i cant even remember, i have almost always played Les Pauls,or other Gibsons, but recently becoming interested in Fenders,I have played quite a few, in my day,but after playing Gibsons for so long,I now find my self wanting to explore the Fender thing, in more depth, looking for a Tele these days,!

[@davidpeavy8544]

Great video & having a '53 tele my dad bought new, it has mojo I have never found in other teles...esp the '52 reissue which I also have, not even close in feel & sound~! Strange thing the real '53 is 1.75mm narrower at the nut than the reissue. May not sound like much but it truly is.

[@renehernandez9803]

I love my Fender Stratocaster!

[@jasonbowman8698]

Rene Hernandez in my opinion the greatest guitar ever designed, built and made. Thank goodness for leo fender an absolute genius IMHO and also not forgetting his crew who helped start it all.

[@Sparta2310]

I love my Fenders 3 Teles, 2 Strats and a P bass but I have a Gibson L.P., Epiphone B. Beauty, Flying V and 61 SG reissue, Dean ML, Tokia P bass and some other cheapo axes but I love them all. I can get a good sound out of all of them after a good set up and a few necessary tweaks. Fender do have a fine heritage though, "royalty" in guitar terms I'd say!

[@george25199]

Would of like to hear how Leo fender started the company ?

[@anchovy321]

Fender for life

[@KeatonTait]

great

[@usefulvidiots7869]

I think Beck was playing a bit of tongue in cheek Nigel in this. You can see a slight wry grin each time.

[@davidpggarrett]

Back when alternative rock was still a dirty word. Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth were all Fender bands back you'd never have guessed it (Anthrax is the best they can come up with!).

[@1guitar12]

Bonnie is part of the company culture that makes Fender uniquely great.

[@NoNameNo.5]

Jerry Reed look like he coachin the braves and look cool as shit doin it

[@khalaziafaqih367]

Even i only have squier, i still love fender

[@reidsmith9875]

Nice to see a nod to the alt side of music with the band Sugar and Bob Mould.

[@FlukeSDS]

Just thought I'd say that I love my Fenders =).

[@xDooksx]

waaaaaaaaaaay back

[@SlipknoTXXIV]

8:32 That chair had no chance

[@stratrovarius]

I play bass for almost 20 years...For thelast 10 years I`ve playing a Yamaha 6 string and i can say all the best about the instrument..Over 500 shows/gigs...counless rehersals..and it s still as new sounding great.The only reason i didn`t okay Fender was because they didn`t make 6 string basses with 24 frets which a really need considering my style of playing. However, recently i spotted the Steve Baileysignature 6 string jazz bass and fell in love with it immedia. letssee what ive been missing.

[@KoolKatDave]

@morrisonreed1 , LOL! I thought the same thing when Beck mentioned what a great invention the wheel was. "It's great, innit it?" Total Nigel Tufnel!

[@chriscampbell9191]

"The wheel... you know... it was round..."

[@cry8265]

There's no story in that movie, just self-admiration! :/

[@iwillnevergetone5]

indeed he does mainly use a strat. but cliffs of dover was recorded with a Gibson es-335

[@Xcorgi]

Actually, you can make ANY guitar with humbuckers sound just like a Telecaster by taking the humbuckers out and putting them back in reversed. So if you have a "bucker" in the neck position, just take it out and turn it 360 degrees to have the coil that faces the neck to now face the middle. Get it? It's just amazing to hear a Tele voice coming out of a Les Paul, SG etc. Also, there are some Tele's out there equipped P-90's so more Gibson players will feel more at home as well.

[@Xcorgi]

I think what he meant is that he doesn't just play ONE Tele or Strat because those instruments come in so many different models with so many different pickup configurations. Right now, I have a Modern Players Telecaster Plus that has one Tele pickup,1 Strat pickup and 1 humbucker. It also has 5-way switching like a Strat and a coil tap switch for the bucker. This is NOT your averageTele. Like I said. No matter what style of music you play, there's a Tele or Strat configed just for you!

[@Nigelxman]

There are many great amps out there. What rock have you been living under?

[@StratsRgreat]

Hooray for Leo..!!

[@elipop777]

1:33 "or you can just use it for rock and roll" plays the worst sound ever to come out of a strat.

[@Nigelxman]

Haha yep. Christopher Guest absolutely modeled The Nigel Tufnel character after Jeff Beck. :-)

[@tehlolercaust]

sount-wise, sure, but it's those wizard necks for guitars that i fell in love with, I'm largely a bassist, and i just have my preferences, lol

[@sighsigh566]

God said let there be fender. And there was

[@thebipolarbear1]

Mike ditka runs the metal shop? Lol I love fender. Stratocaster man for life. Eric Johnson's Cliff's of Dover is a perfect example of why. Good choice adding that to this video production

[@johnleduc5276]

If a quality guitar is played, and a quality musician is playing it, names don't matter.

[@gweeds334]

God said let there be fender. And there was!

[@Sn4pDr4gon]

That's the thing. Not taking anything away from Gibson...great guitars...but....damn...Fender is really impressive. I have a Jazz Deluxe Bass from 2010...and holy crap...that sound is THE sound. This 2009 Strat sings and just makes me want to dig in. Hard. Fender has done something since 2009...I don't know what...but they have found their compass. Fender: You are on the right track. Amazed guy here.

[@BossNotes]

Parnell says claptons guitar stand out , how can you not hear Dwayne and his slide work on Layla crying whilst Clapton is in awe

[@chriscampbell9191]

And Duane, of course, was on a Gibson. The starting riff was Clapton on his Strat though, so maybe that's what he was referring to. When I first heard Layla, what stuck out (aside from the riff itself) was all of the slide playing.

[@bluesman4270]

Has anyone noticed the Clapton Black fender he plays has Birds Eye Maple fret board, but the Reissue has plain old maple

[@TerrilynndeGuitar]

"This one goes to eleven--- that would be one more".

[@phader075]

nice guitar. but the Les Paul is still my personal favorite

[@stevenusa9937]

.....that was an Info-mercial.

[@MrLosfuegos]

04:10 was recorded on a gibson ES-335...

[@hunternichols9463]

Idk about that Cliffs of Dover usually gets played on a Strat lol

[@merseybeat1963]

The Fender custom shop guitars were for a long long time really good guitars but recently I have lifted a few that weight a ton and there was no vibration at all in them..whats going on?

[@Xcorgi]

My bad. Yeah, I get what your saying and Satriani and Vai are some of my all time favorite virtuosos. However, if you get yourself a top of the line Showmaster Stratocaster with the with the HSH config, you can easily get that Vai and Satriani sound. Fenders are incredibly versatile. Just get one with the right pickup configuration and you're ready to rock. No disrespect to Ibanez.

[@InTheLifeOfAnArtist]

I want one