The First Fender Guitar
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.This instrument is the first solid-body electric Spanish guitar prototype built by Leo Fender. It was inspired by the work of Paul A. Bigsby and Les Paul, with whom Fender frequently met in Southern California to discuss their work in guitar and amplification technologies. Fender’s chief innovation was the bolt-on neck, which made his instruments easy and cheap to mass produce, repair, and customize. This prototype has a neck built without a truss rod, a feature that later became standard to avoid warping due to string tension. It was the prototype for Fender’s first two 1950s production models, the Esquire and the Broadcaster (later renamed the Telecaster).
Technical Description:
Laminated pine body with single cutaway, one-piece maple neck; 25½ in. scale; white finish; bolt-on neck with painted black dot markers; unmarked symmetrical headstock; one single-coil pickup with tone and volume controls; chrome covered bridge, rectangular control surface with knobs on lower bout, tuners with Bakelite buttons, black Bakelite pickguard
Technical Description:
Laminated pine body with single cutaway, one-piece maple neck; 25½ in. scale; white finish; bolt-on neck with painted black dot markers; unmarked symmetrical headstock; one single-coil pickup with tone and volume controls; chrome covered bridge, rectangular control surface with knobs on lower bout, tuners with Bakelite buttons, black Bakelite pickguard
Artwork Details
- Title: The First Fender Guitar
- Artist: Fender
- Date: 1949
- Geography: Fullerton, California, United States
- Medium: Pine, maple, chrome, nickel, metal, Bakelite
- Dimensions: Length: 38 1/2 in. (97.8 cm)
Width: 13 in. (33 cm)
Depth: 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm)
Weight: approx. 7-8 lbs. (3.2 - 3.6 kg) - Classification: Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted
- Credit Line: Collection of Perry A. Margouleff
- Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments