1970s Fender Guitars: They All Sound Unique Compared To Any Of The Older Fender Guitars

20140131140444IMG_3946Okay so we all know the stories about CBS Fenders and what went wrong. Most of you may also wonder how much of this is actually true, and does it matter? Not really as a guitar is a guitar, and if it sounds good to you then it is good! Simple eh?

We can all check out instruments for ourselves, play them and see how their sound and feel compares to what you know and what you play at the moment.
!950s and early 1960s Fenders may be harder to find, they tend to be expansive and more rare.
1970s Fenders are more regular to find as their prices are lower on the vintage radar.

Over the years I have had a change to try varous 1970s Fenders, most of them were Stratocasters, but there were also some basses. The one thing that struck me that some of those finish issues could be found on several instruments: Finish coming off easily as it was not applied all that well, sloppy finish issues and mistakes being made all along the line when the instruments were put together.
Playing them, their feel was different, different compared to older instruments and the newer ones (which all tend to go back to the ones of the 1950s) Similar to their sound, they sound is nothing like the newer Fenders.

Coming up with any theories as to why this is, there is the issue of vintage: In the 70s Fender did not ty to make their guitars sound and feel like any of the older Fenders. They just made them as they came out. They had to produce a lot of them, that is why quality issues arrived thinking about finish and some other issues. Most of these issues relate to the eye: The finish and overal instrument may not look that good, they may even look bulky, some being heavy but still, they can be good  and unique instruments.

What about newer Fenders? When I say newer I mean the Fenders which came out from about 1984: Well most of them in sound go back to how the 1950s ones were supposed to sound like, similar to their feel and look. Fender worked very hard at keeping the traditional sound, look and feel  to give younger players the idea that they play a vintage American Fender. Over the years Fender has made some changes to make their guitar appeal more to younger players: Rounder edges on the neck and slighlty hotter output from the pick ups. The vintage look in still there but now with a modern sound and feel!
When you think aobut any of the above you can see how I come up with my theory that the 1970s instruments have their own feel since most of the regular Fenders we find today are based on the ideas of the 1950s in their sound and feel. Yes I am talking about standard instruments not some custom shop knock off which can come in all kind of variations!

Enjoy checking out verious guitar and hope to see you soon again,