If you have been thinking about investing in a Fender Vintage Guitar, you want to start your search before 1966. Fender sold to CBS in 1966 and many guitar enthusiasts feel that only the Fenders produced before 1966 are true Fender Vintage Guitars. In my opinion any Fender is a great guitar so it really is only necessary to purchase a model before 1966 if you are becoming a collector. Many people think that the guitar went through a major change when CBS bought the company.
People that like the Fender vintage guitars felt that they were custom-contoured and the quality was above and beyond well made. When CBS bought the company the body of the Fender guitar looked really different and lost that custom, sculpted look. That was the look that set the Fender Vintage Guitars apart from all the other Vintage guitars. Even the Fender Stratocaster, the most wanted Fender Vintage Guitar to collectors was changed to a large peg head style.
Some other manufacturing differences that made the Fender not as desirable was the switch from Brazilian Rosewood to Indian Rosewood, the pearl inlays, the polyurethane and the plastics even looked cheap. After 1965 when CBS bought Fender mass production was utilized to maximize profits which really ruined the Fender classic custom look and feel. So collectors now concentrate on those guitars produced before 1965 and place great emphasis on the Fender’s that were produced in the 1950’s. This was when most collectors feel the emphasis was on making a quality instrument, not just mass production for money.
The Fenders manufactured guitars in the 60’s prior to CBS’s purchase are also collectible, but the models made in the 50’s are the most preferred. The 60’s guitars were made with Rosewood fingerboards but the 50’s models were made with slab style fingerboards, which were more desirable. The least desirable of the Fender Vintage Guitars were those that were produced during the year the sale to CBS took place, from about mid-1964 to late 1965.
The 1st vintage guitar was the Esquire which was introduced in the summer of 1950 and was D/C’d by September 1950. Then they released the Broadcaster and the Telecaster in October of 1950, the broadcaster having 2 pickups and the truss rod that was missing in the Esquire which caused the neck to warp.
The Esquire was re-released in 1951 had 2 pickups, they only shipped about 50 of these so they are extremely rare and collectible.
In Feb. of 1951 the Broadcaster was renamed the Telecaster. These guitars lack a decal because there was a naming conflict, but they decals did start to appear in the summer of the same year. In 1954 the Stratocaster was created and this model was to make the Fender brand the popular guitar it became. The Stratocaster is among one of the most popular and collectible Fender Vintage Guitars. With it’s three pickups, unique contour the perfect tremolo bar they have been continually manufactured since they were first introduced and the guitar that all other guitars are judged against. If you can find a Fender Vintage Guitar with a custom color or finish, you will have one of the most highly collectible guitars you can find.
The first fretted electric bass is another one of the most valuable Fender Vintage Guitars, it is called the Precision Bass Model. This guitar set the standard for all other bass guitars