GEAR | Fender Guitars


Like the Ray-Ban Wayfarer or the Converse Chuck Taylor, Fender guitars are an enduring part of America's pop-culture iconography. They're at once synonymous with America, rock and roll, and the surf sound of Southern California. Fender started in Fullerton, California in 1946 and is still manufacturing in the US in a factory not too far from their original HQ. Because the intersection of women and guitars often scores high on the tomboy scale, I wanted to explore deeper into the storied company and check out the factory. It was incredible to see these guitars being turned out—from their original blocks of wood to the stamped-out pick guards to the wiring of the pick-ups to the hand-painted sunburst paint jobs. The factory tour ($10 for adults) is open to the public, so if you ever find yourself near Corona, California and wanting to know how guitars are made, this is an hour you won't regret.







There are some great mainstream Fender players in the Tomboy archives, like Bonnie Raitt and Tina Weymouth, but my favorite at current is probably Elena Tonra of the band Daughter, who in the video below plays a Telecaster—the original Fender release.


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Comments

Anonymous said…
This is amazing. I had no idea Fender was so local! (Speaking as a Californian.)
Lizzie said…
@elliott Right!? It's super cool, you should check 'em out if you get a chance!
Unknown said…
Fender 4eva! Nothing gets between me and my Tele custom special!
Anonymous said…
Is there a reason you upload your pictures as png? It makes them load much more slowly than if they were jpg
Lizzie said…
@Anon: Thanks for the tip, I thought PNG was faster, but will try JPEG now. Oops!
Anonymous said…
Lizzie did you notice the resemblance of the young model to you? At first I thought it was a childhood photo of yours.
EnBrogue said…
Love this post (and your blog). I have a 1976 Fender Musicmaster bass which is my pride and joy. It's older than me by about 6 months! Was planning a guitars and shoes post soon so keep an eye out!
Dusty said…
Really enjoyed your post. I like how you referred to fender guitars as a pop culture icon. I recently took up playing guitar, and started off with a cd60 acoustic.

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