It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:07 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 14 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 9:54 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:03 am
Posts: 9449
Location: NL Canada
I just got an email from Vintage Guitar Magazine with this sad news:After winding pickups at Fender since 1956 Abby Yberra is finally taking her well deserved and well earned retirement. Aside from Leo himself she was probably the best known and certainly the most loved and respected of Fender employees.Abby has wound pickups for rock royality and also some of us mere mortals are lucky enough to have pickups that were wound by her skilled hands in their guitars.It has been a long time since I looked but I'm pretty sure that the pups in my '65 Strat were wound by Abby.Although it has been a long time since I looked I do remember clearly that my pickups were signed by a woman with a Latina surname.Anyway dear Abby have an enjoyable retirement because you have earned it by making such a huge contribution to the guitar world.

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 2:00 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14050
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
I have a chance to meet Abby and talk to her few minutes when visiting Fender plant on March 2013. Abby showed great kindness to the stranger I am

Abby work in a small opened office and there is a young lady at his right winding pickup by hand too. Abby's heiress ?

Before I see her I was sure Abby was not working anymore for Fender since many years and Fender use her name just for marketing .

Sorry Fender , I was wrong .

Picture by myself March 2013;

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 2:50 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue May 15, 2012 2:49 am
Posts: 560
Location: Perth, Australia
Thanks for sharing, stratele52.

_________________
GUITAR: Fender USA JazzMaster.
BASS: Fender USA 58'AVRI
AMP: Fender USA SuperSonicTwin - Blonde.
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 4:38 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 6:51 pm
Posts: 25353
Location: Witness Protection Program
Congrats to Abby..

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=85900

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 4:42 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 7:13 pm
Posts: 19026
Location: Illinois, USA
Thanks Derek
AaronK wrote:
Thanks for sharing, stratele52.

+1

_________________
you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 4:44 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2012 7:16 pm
Posts: 18677
Location: In this country town, where the laughter sounds...
A great run since 1956. The best of times to you Abby.

_________________
"Electric Lady"
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 5:45 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:34 pm
Posts: 10760
Location: Athens, Greece
We have Josefina now.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 6:08 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2012 10:16 pm
Posts: 209
Isn't it amazing how one person can manage to touch so many others in a positive, meaningful way? And without any fanfare.

_________________
Most profound blues lyric, from Robert Johnson's Hell Hound On My Trail:

"If today was Christmas Eve, if today was Christmas Eve,
Tomorrow would be Christmas Day..."


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 7:00 am
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 9:31 am
Posts: 176
What a legacy! Can you imagine.......


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 12:22 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: Albemarle, NC
Living Fender legend and brand Ambassador "The Queen of Tone" takes well deserved retirement and I send my thanks to her for a job more than well done! She's no doubt schooled legions of pickup winders in her hand scatter patterns over over half a century at Fender. What was always amazing to me was how perfectly even the finished winding looks while if you watched her actually winding it looked far more random and you'd expect a quite different outcome.

Let's look at her at different stages of her Fender career. First, here's a 7 minute long 1959 Fender Fullerton factory tour silent home movie shot in 8mm with Abigail Ybarra at about 5 minutes 55 seconds in! Lots of lap steels were running that day. Good video as you get to put faces with some of of the names long associated with making Fenders if you watch for the occasional annotations that appear. The vast majority of the workers are unnamed though. Apparently shirts for men were "optional." It is believed this was possibly in January. Interesting to see the longstanding team of George and Leo too in the first few moments. This was back when everything was done by hand with amazing results that today the Custom Shop strives to duplicate. Very, very cool film. Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nswcAPvH0P8


Here's a link to my favorite modern video of Abigail Ybarra made about 2 years ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M2a1yUmvEQ

Thanks Ms. Ybarra, I think of you just about about every time I pick up an instrument with your pickups in it! One of them is actually named in your honor.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 12:28 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2008 4:52 pm
Posts: 1129
Location: UK
There are many pics like this one...but this is my own!
I am so pleased that I got to meet Abby on a few occasions...and I wish her a long and happy retirement! :)

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 5:11 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:14 pm
Posts: 2561
I'm sorry to have come along so late to meet Abby, but I did know who she was from many of the things I've read about Fender.

Imagine, 57 years at one job, which she obviously loved. If only we could be so blessed !

Best Wishes for a wonderful next phase, and a long, happy and healthy life Abby !!

I only hope that she reads this thread to know how far and wide her impact has been on the world's guitar players!

cheers!

_________________
Image

'11 FSR Am. Vtg. Ltd. Ed. CAR '57 Stratocaster (SN# LE02639)
'14 American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster
'12 Telebration Empress Telecaster
'99 Deluxe Nashville Telecaster
'12 FSR Telecaster HH
'10 Heritage H-535
'99 Martin DC-1E
'13 Lanikai Tenor Ukulele


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 7:49 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:56 pm
Posts: 108
Location: Texas
Hall of Fame candidate?
I think so.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Our beloved Abby has finally retired
Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 8:39 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:59 pm
Posts: 1152
Location: Surf City, USA
What an amazing legacy she has created!

All the best, Abby.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 14 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: