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Question for BP about Leo Fender.

JayDawg

JayDawg

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
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Location
Sterling, Colorado
Tonight I was scrolling through iFunny and I came to one that had a bunch of interesting facts. One of the interesting facts was that Leo Fender never knew how to play guitar his entire life. To me, that sounded almost impossible. So I was wondering if you could confirm or deny that interesting fact.
Thanks.
 
Fender® News

"Ironically, the shy, somewhat introverted inventor wasn’t a guitar player. But Leo Fender was hard working, driven, creative, tenacious, methodical and meticulous, with a talent for electronics, research and development, problem solving, product design and manufacturing. He was a perfectionist. He was destined to make something; it happened to turn out to be electric guitars, basses and amps. After tinkering with all manner of sound products for years, his first steel guitars and amplifiers started appearing in 1945, and his first solid-body electric guitars appeared in 1950."
 
JayDawg said:
To me, that sounded almost impossible.
Click to expand...

Same here. I mean, even if he couldn't strum a G chord to start with, how could he design and make guitars for XX years without picking up at least some skills? Sounds like myth to me.

I guess we'll wait for BP to reply... if he feels like doing some mythbusting, that is.

Btw, BP I just saw the video "How To Build Ernie Ball Music Man Guitars & Basses" by Premier Guitar on youtube. Very interesting "secrets" about the production, especially the binding technique. And that's some great "noodling" you were doing on that Stingray towards the end of the video. At least it proves that making instruments doesn't automatically mean zero playing skills. :)
 
From what I've read, BP was one of the test players during the development of the original Stingray, so it would follow that he's got some skills.
 
that's very interesting.
can you imagine Henry Ford not being a driving enthusiast?
or Jobs and Wozniak not being computer geeks?
amazing he worked so hard on something he loved but never was a user.
 
I didn't know that too, ...so, ...Big Poppa is "guilty" that old F basses sound so good and that Stingray is built at the first place?
 
It's amazing to me how many people are unaware of the history of electric guitars! I've always found it extremely interesting, especially being a native of Orange County, CA., and being in the music business.

So much of early electric guitar history has its roots in and around this area, and it's amazing how so many of the early pioneers worked together or with each other at one time or another. There was a lot of very genius cross-pollination that occurred from the late 1920's up through the late 1940's.

...and most of them had no musical ability!
 
That's just interesting that he didn't play. You would have thought he'd at least try to learn a little bit. Kinda like how Michael J Fox learned how to play Johnny B Goode AFTER being in Back to the Future
 
Soulkeeper said:
Same here. I mean, even if he couldn't strum a G chord to start with, how could he design and make guitars for XX years without picking up at least some skills? Sounds like myth to me.
Click to expand...

My understanding is that George Fullerton was the guitar player in the partnership.
 
Big Poppa said:
Leo didnt play. Not a single chord. He was a big fan of country music and listened to those guys the most when soliciting input.
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks BP! That is amazing. Sometimes I really wish I had a time machine and could go back in time and meet some of the people back in the day that started everything, like your Father, Leo Fender and others. What an awesome time that must have been.
 
But Leo was an electronic genius and did things with amps that were simply incredible. He definitely know what he was doing on that side of the house.
 
OK, ...now I really wanna know who's "guilty" for a Music Man Stingray S/N B001000, Leo Fender, or Sterling Ball? ...guys who understand will answer, I hope?
 
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