New Icon Coming?

[frogger]

After 60 years of producing truly remarkable instruments with the stable of Strats, Tele's, P-Bass, Jazz Bass, Jaguars and Jazzmasters is it time for a new icon? An instrument just as revolutionary as they where in 1951. There have been attempts in the past with new models that lived short lives. An instrument that embodies the Fender spirit, look, and mass appeal. Would love to hear what everyone thinks. Is it time? I have felt it is a bit overdue but know guitarist are diehards in their beliefs and could prove costly for Fender if many factors don't conjoin together to produce a truly astounding instrument..for the player and a place in Fender history.

[WisconsinStrings]

Not time. We have what we need. :)

I think the EVH/MusicMan/Wolfgang or whatever they are called probably come the closest.

[Nick JD]

Guitar-based music is old-school. The instruments follow their music. You don't see many violinists in an orchestra playing lime green electric violins. They play instruments relative to their musical period.

Go to a Ministry of Sound Club. A Chemical Brothers concert ... there are new instruments that go with new music, and they ain't guitars. They're computers.

The Rolling Stones started when the Telecaster was in diapers. They're still going.

[WickedGTR]

The last important innovation in electric guitars came in....

1954.

[ajgus]

Well...I've been working on my dream guitar since I was 12. Will it be released by Fender anytime soon? Probably not.. But I agree that eventually (given the patterns of history), that there will inevitably be a new guitar shape, sound, brand, etc. Will they follow the trend of the Gibson Robot? Maybe. Will the Parker Fly play a hand in the new direction of guitar ergonomics? Perhaps. The fact is this...There will be a new Leo Fender. There is bound to be another Orville Gibson. Right now, somewhere, there is a kid who dreams of becoming a luthier ( he/she at this point is probably prone to eating paste while teacher is talking, but they're out there somewhere). The fun part is to imagine what guitars will be 50 years from now. Or...even more amazing...is to think what instruments haven't been invented yet, that will some day shape the landscape of future music. However, I would like to think (given the current & ever-growing market for "vintage" guitars), that there is now & hopefully will always be, a 12 year old kid out there somewhere, picking up a Tele, Strat, Les Paul, or what have you...for the first time. There lies the next Jimi, SRV, Clapton or Page...The future is the most exciting concept we can possibly fathom, my friends...very exciting indeed.

[mrbdxmpl]

The last important innovation in electric guitars came in....

1954.

[jwells393]

................is it time for a new icon? ........... I have felt it is a bit overdue

It may be your dream but trust me man ........... it ain't gonna happen.

[reddogbass]

Well Frogger...

I have felt it is a bit overdue but know guitarist are diehards in their beliefs and could prove costly for Fender if many factors don't conjoin together to produce a truly astounding instrument..for the player and a place in Fender history.

Times change as do wants of the new generation. However, the guitar is an old time instrument (as is guitar music) with very few parts, and the current guitars have been refined to do the job very well.

What the hell would we change? It ain't like the conversion from petrol to hybrid/electric cars, or some other advancement. Yes the Gibson Robot is interesting, but does it make better music?

Look- guitars will continue to get better, and they really have been for a long time (I'm ducking for cover now- LOL!). The early years of Fender produced some really neat stuff. Must have because we try to duplicate this every day.

But we are capable of producing equal or better, and at a lesser cost, due to modern manufacturing techniques. Doesn't mean we have, but it's possible.

Are there innovations out there that will change the guitar world? I don't know. I'd bet though that if there is, and it ever hits the market, it won't do much to improver players, or the music.

The latest innovation I've seen, that improves the guitars status a an instrument, at least among young people, is GUITAR HERO. This has to bode well (in some sense at least) for bringing the wee ones into the fold. Now if they made the controller in a Tele shape...!

[MulliganChebichev]

Originally Posted by frogger

I have felt it is a bit overdue but know guitarist are diehards in their beliefs and could prove costly for Fender if many factors don't conjoin together to produce a truly astounding instrument..for the player and a place in Fender history.

CBS anyone?


Anyway, it already happened, ESP, Schecter, and Ibanez revolutionized the "heavier side" of music, while Fender is more focused on the "lighter side" of music, and then theres Gibson stuck somewhere in the middle. (For those who can't tell, I generalized music as black and white, and Gibson )

What I'm trying to say is that music has changed since the 50's, and there won't be another guitar that appeals to everyone.

[Guitar_Ninja]

Yeah, there's really only so many things you can do with the body of a guitar. It's a limitation of the function of the instrument. I think any future innovations will be internal ones related to the pickups or circuit in some way.

If you look at the auto world there have been a lot of innovations over the last 100 years but stylistically in a lot of ways we're still all driving Model T's. At the end of the day it still has to have four tires and a steering wheel.

[Stuco]

For Fender? No...not gonna happen. Casio maybe:

[VWAmTele]

Quality and consistancy will always continue to improve - but as far as innovations and shapes - we already have thousands of variations. The best ones have stood the test of time. And IMHO - the first were among the very best. Sometimes you get it right (or at least 95% of the way there) the first time.

[woodman]

interesting idea, but what specific innovations would you incorporate that haven't been tried? would it stand the test of time?

[superbadj]

There's not much to do with the guitar body. Hollow body, semi-solid, and solid have all been done, obviously. So it would have to be a change of electronics. Anything more, and it's not a guitar anymore (if you change the fact that it has strings, or the neck setup, etc.

We've done single-coil and HM pups, and piezo is out there. I think the Variax idea is the biggest "new" idea to come along--giving you total control of the sound via modeling. But, my guess is that these guitars will never "feel" as authentic to most people. They're a tool to replicate a range of authentic sounds. But they don't originate any new sounds. They're followers of sound, not fashioners of new sound.

The guitar is in the never-ending "tweaking" phase. I just don't see much new mind-blowing innovation coming along that keeps it a guitar.

But then again, they ALWAYS say that before some mind-blowing innovation comes along.

[odiemann]

is what some people other places might say. They do get the spotlight on AI and a number of other shows. Please do not flame me. I don't own one or really like them, but they are becoming a standard.

[Durtdog]

New icon? I doubt it.

Guitar players buy largely for looks or image. Most guitar manufacturers build variations on copies of Fender or Gibson guitars. The vintage market is big, and so is the relic market. Many people want old guitars (or at least guitars that appear old). I don't see that changing any time soon.

Innovations will continue to be made, and we will continue to disparage them as getting away from traditional guitar values (e.g. the Gibson robo guitar) and reject them in the marketplace.

Guitar technology is not standing still, but I see little acceptance in the market.

[Tele Fan]

Uhm, that Jazzmaster is pretty neat for a new kid and all ...

[HowardChandler]

[frogger]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I think where Fender could venture and be successful is bringing back a new and improved versions of the Starcaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, and Lead series. After all how many variations of the Strat and Tele have graced our hands over the years so why not the others? Perhaps set necks, perhaps improved bridge design, neck profiles and fret selection, Pups that are very musical with a wider tonal range? I am old school and the new Robot Les Paul is a total turn-off to me and may appeal to some but I believe it will be short lived and I'm not talking radical approaches to these models but small changes that would all add up to a very superior version from the original. Example: Bring back the Starcaster with the same body shape with a set-neck. Lose the funky headstock design in favor of a Large Strat headstock, retain the humbuckers but provide coil splitting and add a piezo for acoustic tones. Just some things to throw around in your head but hey who knows with the right fixes perhaps the next icon could be a Mustang or a Duo-Sonic.

[surfoverb]

Originally Posted by frogger

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I think where Fender could venture and be successful is bringing back a new and improved versions of the Starcaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, and Lead series. After all how many variations of the Strat and Tele have graced our hands over the years so why not the others? Perhaps set necks, perhaps improved bridge design, neck profiles and fret selection, Pups that are very musical with a wider tonal range? I am old school and the new Robot Les Paul is a total turn-off to me and may appeal to some but I believe it will be short lived and I'm not talking radical approaches to these models but small changes that would all add up to a very superior version from the original. Example: Bring back the Starcaster with the same body shape with a set-neck. Lose the funky headstock design in favor of a Large Strat headstock, retain the humbuckers but provide coil splitting and add a pieso for acoustic tones. Just some things to throw around in your head but hey who knows with the right fixes perhaps the next icon could be a Mustang or a Duo-Sonic.

Mustangs, Jags, and Jazzmasters aren't broken.

[frogger]

And neither are the Strat and Tele and look how many changes they have had over the years. Can you compare the changes between the Strat and Tele compared to the changes on a Jaguar or Jazzmaster? The answer is obvious. What might the Jag and Jazzmaster be today if they had undergone the same? None of the models were ever "broken" it's just that Fender chose to keep evolving their two best sellers to meet the demands of the player.

[surfoverb]

Originally Posted by frogger

And neither are the Strat and Tele and look how many changes they have had over the years. Can you compare the changes between the Strat and Tele compared to the changes on a Jaguar or Jazzmaster? The answer is obvious. What might the Jag and Jazzmaster be today if they had undergone the same? None of the models were ever "broken" it's just that Fender chose to keep evolving their two best sellers to meet the demands of the player.

I guess...I have a 52RI Tele and a 62RI Jag though so all those changes are irrelevant to me....So you're left with the same old argument of how to 'improve' on a Tele: 6 saddle bridge, body contour etc; and then some people say the changes are better and then the others say they're not...Of course some of these people were Leo Fender himself...

[milkshape]

Find a artist that is doing something new, has staying power, throw in loads mass appeal, give them your design for nothing. There's the new icon right there in their hands, 'cause in every decade after them for the next 50 years from now everyone still wants to sound like them and look like them. But play the lottery first as your chances will be vastly greater. This is not my original thought, but I see the point.

[eryque]

Here's why it's not going to happen:

Back in the 1940s there were very few companies making electric guitars, and only a very few managed to break into markets across the country. Supply chains were limited, manufacturing was limited, and it was a lot harder to get the word out. Only the really strong survived.

Today it's much easier and cheaper to design, produce, and market an instrument. Everyone's doing it. There are so many models that it's impossible to establish enough of a foothold to become a new icon.

The closest any company has come in the last 20 years is PRS. Look at the musical stars out there today. Outside of the metal world almost every one of them is playing Gibson, Fender, or PRS.

50 years ago, there were basically 3 choices for a professional quality solidbody: A Tele, a Strat, or a Les Paul. There are a few outliers, of course, but they were never popular enough to really compete.