About Fender Guitars
The most popular Fender guitars are Fender Stratocaster guitars and Fender Telecaster guitars. They're two of Fender's first designs, and two of the first popular electric guitars. There are many more designs in the Fender lineup. The offset Fender Jaguar guitars and Fender Jazzmaster guitars have futuristic designs and a cult-classic appeal. You'll also find a vast selection of Fender Mustang guitars, which were originally designed as easy-to-play guitars for students. For NAMM 2019, Fender has released exclusive finishes for the Fender American Performer Series and American Elite Series. We'll also see something akin to the Parallel Universe Meteora coming soon in 2019.
The current lineup of Fender guitar series includes the Fender Player Series, which in 2018 replaced the most popular guitar series of all time, the Fender Standard Series. In addition to the Fender Player Series is the Fender American Professional Series, Fender American Elite Series and Fender American Original Series. In 2018, the American Original Series replaced the discontinued American Vintage Series. Each Fender guitar series has its own Strat, Tele, Jaguar and Jazzmaster models with a unique set of features and finishes.
The most popular Fender Strats are the Fender Player Stratocaster guitars, which are made in Mexico. The most popular Strats made in the USA are Fender American Professional Stratocaster guitars, and the advanced Fender American Elite Stratocaster guitars. Both the Professional and Elite Strats deliver Fender's finest production quality, and the Elite models offer upgraded materials and components. You'll find both right and left handed versions of each Strat model.
Like the Strats, there are three Teles that dominate the market today. Made in Mexico, Fender Player Telecaster guitars give guitarists the most affordable option. Made in the USA, Fender American Professional Telecaster Guitars give players dependable, tour-worthy construction. Also American-made, Fender American Elite Telecaster guitars offer the same high-quality craftsmanship, plus some upgraded features over American Professional Teles. Musician's Friend offers both right and left handed versions of each Tele model.
When talking about Fender guitars we are really discussing the vision of one man, Leo Fender. Today he is considered to be one of the finest industrial designers of the 20th century. The guitars Leo Fender's company created and their methods of instrument manufacturing forever changed the landscape of popular music. Probably the most famous and widely copied of his designs is the Fender Stratocaster. These days we take the look and sound of the Fender Strat guitar for granted. But, when it was introduced in 1954, its contoured body, 3 pickup design and tremolo were considered wildly futuristic. The Stratocaster was not Fender’s first successful guitar design. That accolade goes to the Fender Telecaster guitar. Initially named the “Broadcaster” the Fender Telecaster guitar’s design was deceptively simple. It featured two single-coil pickups on a single contoured body, a detachable neck and an innovative headstock. The popular Fender guitar’s minimalist looks are deceiving however, as a wide variety of tones can be produced using the guitar’s volume, tone and pickup controls.
Later additions to the Fender guitar family include the Jazzmaster, which was first introduced in 1958 and the Jaguar, which was launched in 1962. Fender also introduced a hollowbody design called the Coronado. These models provided great sounding and playable alternatives to the classic Strat and Tele. They're a worthy testament to the design skills of fender that all of these models are still in production today. In addition to electric guitars, the Fender Company has produced an enormously popular series of acoustic and electric acoustic models, such as the Kingman and Newporter models. The selection of Fender guitars now offered is huge, ranging from period specific reissues of classic Stratocasters and Telecasters, to modern variants with humbucker pickups, exotic woods, and models based on the instruments modified by such guitarists as Johnny Marr and Jeff Beck. You'll also find signature and Fender Custom Shop guitar models for legendary artists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson and more.
The list of notable Fender guitar players is a long one. Muddy Waters, Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore, Roy Buchanan, Albert Collins, Bob Dylan, Rory Gallagher, David Gilmour, Buddy Guy, George Harrison, John Lennon, Buddy Holly, Eric Johnson, Mark Knopfler, Yngwie Malmsteen, Keith Richards, Johnny Marr, Hank Marvin, John Mayer and Brad Paisley are all known for playing Fender guitars. The list of players also includes Dave Murray, Jimmy Page, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Chris Shiflett, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend, Brian Wilson, Billy Corgan, and many others. The list of notable left handed Fender guitar players includes Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and many others.
In 2018, the Parallel Universe Fender guitars were released, offering never-before-seen combinations of features from different Fender guitar models. The Parallel Universe models include the Meteora, Toublemaker Telecaster, Jazz Telecaster, Jaguar Stratocaster, Whiteguard Stratocaster and more. In December 2018, the American Performer Series was added to the lineup. The American Performer Series offers the most affordable models. This puts the series between the Mexican-made Fender Deluxe, and the popular American Professional. If you'd like to learn more about Fender guitars, check out the following pages with helpful info about each series. In June 2019, Fender released the Vintera series. Made in Mexico, Vintera offers guitars with a range of vintage era specs. The series includes Strats, Teles, Jaguars, Jazzmasters and Mustangs.
Other Fender Guitar Series
Player Series | American Professional Series | American Elite Series | American Original Series | American Vintage Series
