Leo Fender: gone 32 years today

[trandy9850]

I met Leo at a NAMM Show back in the day….I wasn’t sure what to say so I just thanked him for all the great stuff he had made.

He didn’t say a word back to me…he just sort of snorted and walked away.

 

[telemnemonics]

I read in an interview he was shown a 54 Strat and looked at it like he wondered why the interviewer was showing him his own creation.

Leo said: "still works".

Love love love Leo!

 

[ficelles]

In spite of the everything mentioned so far, Leo's most innovative product, by far, has to be the Precision Bass.

My first bass was a fretless Fender Precision, still love that contradiction

 

[stxrus]

In spite of the everything mentioned so far, Leo's most innovative product, by far, has to be the Precision Bass.

Truth

 

[Mjark]

Iconic guitars and amps. He made them for country musicians but they went everywhere.

 

[ping-ping-clicka]

Only signature of a celebrity I’ve ever had.
View attachment 1099337

oh, this is a beautiful instrument, lucky, lucky you.
Thanks for sharing the image. Such understated elegance.

 

[ping-ping-clicka]

Truth

Tomato, Tomato, all fare well on the silk sheets of time.
and yes the bass shows it's head everywhere across decades. from recording studios to entertainment venues, student practice rooms, to currently touring artists.

 

[ETMusic777]

Clarence Leonidas Fender passed away on this date in 1991.

Rest in peace, you nerd genius. You helped change music forever!

I've recently been reading more about Leo's life, and how Fender was run when he was there, and then after he left in the early CBS days when he was a consultant to them.

I've had a Scribd membership for years. Its $12.99 a month and is a tremendous value with tons of books, audio books, sheet music etc. available to read or download. I was pleased to see this book on Fender Amps, "The Soul of Tone" posted there. Its a very expensive book, so it was great to see it in digital form. There is also a book there on Leo written by his 2nd wife Phyllis. Here are the links:

The Soul of Tone by Tom Wheeler - Ebook | Scribd

Scribd is the world's largest social reading and publishing site.

www.scribd.com

Leo Fender by Phyllis Fender, Randall Bell, PhD - Ebook | Scribd

Occasionally, the world produces one of those rare thinkers that alter the course of history. Disney reinvented entertainment, Einstein revolutionized science, Edison lit up our lives with the light bulb, Bell got the world talking with the telephone … and Fender revolutionized music. If you...

www.scribd.com

Reverb.com also has some great articles and interviews with people who worked for Leo in the early days. These are free

'leo fender' | Reverb News

Visit Reverb News to learn about your favorite artists and instruments, read up on gear history, and find helpful music-making tips.

reverb.com

Hats off to the creator of the greatest guitar, amp and musical instrument company that there will ever be!

 

[ETMusic777]

This is a really unique video posted by a friend of Leos who was traveling with him in an airport. There is not much content of Leo on Youtube, but this is kind of "behind the scenes".



Fender Factory tours in the 50s

 

[Chester P Squier]

"Fender bass" almost became a common noun ("fender bass"), like kleenex and xerox. Just shows you what an achiever Mr. Fender was.

I consider Leo Fender to have been the Henry Ford of electric guitars. Maybe it was the bolt-on neck that enabled good quality to sell for an affordable price.

 

[Ricky D.]

May he be saved.

 

[String Tree]

In spite of everything mentioned so far, Leo's most innovative product, by far, has to be the Precision Bass.

I have said that many times myself.
It simplified so many things for working Musicians.
Easier to travel with, easier to keep in tune, easier to control.
Brilliant.

 

[stephent2]

I'm a fan. The brilliance of the tele. I'm kidding when I say the only thing he got right on the Strat design was the switch tip. The Strat, the tele and the P-Bass, played by at least 2/3rds of all R&R and Country and Blues acts since the 50's.

Envied and copied world wide. Farkin' Amazing.

 

[ficelles]

I have said that many times myself.
It simplified so many things for working Musicians.
Easier to travel with, easier to keep in tune, easier to control.
Brilliant.

The interesting thing about the Precision bass is why Leo Fender's bass guitar was a success where Paul Tutmarc's 1930s attempt wasn't. What made a huge difference was the Fender amplification that went with it, not just that it was a much better instrument.

 

[burntfrijoles]

Maybe it was the bolt-on neck that enabled good quality to sell for an affordable price.

Although many, many years later. The original Telecaster was not particularly cheap. It would be about the cost of an American Vintage II in today’s money.

 

[String Tree]

The interesting thing about the Precision bass is why Leo Fender's bass guitar was a success where Paul Tutmarc's 1930s attempt wasn't. What made a huge difference was the Fender amplification that went with it, not just that it was a much better instrument.

Back in the 1930's, Les Paul pretty close to being the only guy sporting a Solid Body Electric Guitar.
I have never seen any of Tutmarc's Basses.
I hope I get to some day.

 

[sloppychops]

Excerpted from Guitar.com article:

“It was a cold rainy day in March. Leo wasn’t doing well, so George [Fullerton] took him home early that day, which was unusual, because he would usually stay until three or four in the afternoon. That day he went home after lunch sometime,” says Eddy Sebest of the last time Leo Fender came into work at the company that bore both his and Fullerton’s names, G&L.

“George drove him home and when they got to Leo’s house, he went around to the passenger side to help Leo get out of the car, as he would often do, and according to George, he just refused to get out of the car. Leo held on to the dashboard,” he explains.

“So George went and got [Leo’s] wife Phyllis to help get him out of the car and they brought him into the house. They helped him into the house and made him comfortable on his couch and then George left. Later that evening, Leo died on that couch. George said, ‘It was like he knew he was going to pass away, and he just wanted to go back to his factory and die in his office.’”