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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 1:38 pm
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Screamin' Armadillo wrote:
I (for one) am not enamored with stock Telecaster switching (I put a four-way switch on mine, and that's way to go, IMHO).


I'd rather go the other way. Apart from the color, his Shiskov masterbuilt is my dream Tele:
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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 8:20 am
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Regarding Leo's later designs (specifically Music Man and G&L)...
My first three electric guitars were G&Ls (I've owned four in my lifetime, and currently own two, and still own my very first, an F-100). At the time I had an acquaintance who collected Leo-era Music Mans, so I have a good amount of experience and exposure to these creations.

I never bonded with any of the Music Mans--they weren't bad, but just didn't do it for me.

The G&L guitars each had refinements and tweaks that made them quite different from the Fender designs we all know and love...some of those refinements were reflective of 1980's sensibilities, and some were just things that Leo thought were "better".

Were those things better? Well, I love the hard tail bridge on my F100, especially with the Saddle Lock feature--a small set screw on the side of the bridge that pushes the saddles together, increasing sustain and stability.
The longer headstocks and longer bodies (especially any models with Strat-esque bodies) made them feel a bit more "substantial" than the average Fender guitar.
Their MFD pickups are distinctive in sound, very focused and sweet, (but a little too clean for some tastes).

I loved those G&L instruments then, and I love them now.

However, when I got my first "good" Fender electric (I owned a 1964 Fender Mustang that I never bonded with, so my first good Fender electric guitar was a 1992 US-made '62 reissue Strat), a whole new world opened up for me. It wasn't as "hand crafted" and it wasn't as refined, but it was much more comfortable and easy to play. It "felt" as good as or better than any if my three G&L instruments...that wasn't to say that they were bad guitars--it's just that I bonded better with my Strat (and later, my Tele).

I think Leo's later creations (outside the Fender company) were very good--I have kept that 1980 F-100 for more than sentimental reasons (it sounds and feels very unique, and is a nice change of pace from my other guitars) and I sought out and paid handsomely for a rare 1983 Nighthawk. I love each of them...but for jams, recording sessions and just general playing, the Tele is grabbed first, quickly followed by the Strat.

Why? I don't know...they're just "right".

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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 8:33 am
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arth1 wrote:
Apart from the color, his Shiskov masterbuilt is my dream Tele:
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Yummy! I've not seen that particular guitar before. Do you happen to know what the fingerboard timber is, please? Burr walnut, perhaps? And if there's a link to a webpage somewhere I'd be most grateful.

I so often find myself liking Yuriy Shishkov's work in particular.

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 9:19 am
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[A few minutes later] oops - found it already.

Ha. It's simply birdseye maple with a very dark stain and/or lacquer. And an ebony trussrod plug and skunk stripe, and pearloid dots. Tasty!

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Man - that is not an Esquire as Leo intended!

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 11:28 am
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Ceri wrote:
Ha. It's simply birdseye maple with a very dark stain and/or lacquer. And an ebony trussrod plug and skunk stripe, and pearloid dots. Tasty!

Man - that is not an Esquire as Leo intended!


No, but it certainly is one I would love to play, regularly. It's still simplicity, just extremely elegant simplicity. Yuriy Shishkov does know how to make things elegant.
And with that H-- setup, I bet it sounds extremely clean too.


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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 11:47 am
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modwiz wrote:
Funny what geniuses get away with. He had integrity. It used to be important to Americans. There is still a good pool if it amongst 'commoners'. Once we get to corporate boardrooms, integrity is now a bastard child black sheep. Maximum profit is the is the wunderkind now. :evil:
.

You could bet Leo was in it for the money.

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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 4:49 pm
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cvilleira wrote:
modwiz wrote:
Funny what geniuses get away with. He had integrity. It used to be important to Americans. There is still a good pool if it amongst 'commoners'. Once we get to corporate boardrooms, integrity is now a bastard child black sheep. Maximum profit is the is the wunderkind now. :evil:
.

You could bet Leo was in it for the money.

That's the truth--Leo was notoriously thrifty, and an inveterate tinkerer...if he saw a path that would allow his company to move forward financially, he'd certainly explore it.

However, aesthetics were somewhat of a mystery to him; he favored function over form every time, so he may have been baffled at the expense of building such an instrument just for the "extra" beauty. I have read that most of the visual "improvements" (I use that word loosely) of the Strat (over the Tele) were coincidental to the design or suggested by others.

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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 6:16 pm
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Ceri wrote:
[A few minutes later] oops - found it already.

Ha. It's simply birdseye maple with a very dark stain and/or lacquer. And an ebony trussrod plug and skunk stripe, and pearloid dots. Tasty!

Image

Man - that is not an Esquire as Leo intended!

Cheers - C




To me, this thing looks like a nice peace of furniture, but not like an instrument.

No offense intended, but .. no thanks. :mrgreen:


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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 7:54 pm
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Screamin' Armadillo wrote:
Leo was notoriously thrifty, and an inveterate tinkerer...if he saw a path that would allow his company to move forward financially, he'd certainly explore it.

However, aesthetics were somewhat of a mystery to him; he favored function over form every time, so he may have been baffled at the expense of building such an instrument just for the "extra" beauty. I have read that most of the visual "improvements" (I use that word loosely) of the Strat (over the Tele) were coincidental to the design or suggested by others.


+1

I believe it was Leo who once said that of every dollar spent developing a new Fender product, 90¢ of that cost was on behalf of reliability and durability while only a dime was designated for making it "pretty".

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 6:33 am
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Nikola Tesla wrote:
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To me, this thing looks like a nice peace of furniture, but not like an instrument.

No offense intended, but .. no thanks. :mrgreen:

Hi Nikola: I entirely agree that it is definitely what they call a "furniture guitar" and undoubtedly not to some folks' taste. I sometimes feel that way about furniture guitars too, but in this case I just love that neck timber! :)

To me, that's one of the great things about Fenders. There's room for the true-to-vintage-spec reissue models, the modern Standards and Deluxes with their various updatings, and the way out fantasy interpretations, like this Shishkov Esquire. Something is fundamentally right about the underlying design when it can sustain such a variety of interpretation.

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 7:00 am
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Ceri wrote:
Hi Nikola: I entirely agree that it is definitely what they call a "furniture guitar" and undoubtedly not to some folks' taste. I sometimes feel that way about furniture guitars too, but in this case I just love that neck timber! :)

To me, that's one of the great things about Fenders. There's room for the true-to-vintage-spec reissue models, the modern Standards and Deluxes with their various updatings, and the way out fantasy interpretations, like this Shishkov Esquire. Something is fundamentally right about the underlying design when it can sustain such a variety of interpretation.


I think it's a good example of the emphasis being on playability - there are no gimmicks, but a bare to the bones H-- setup with superior workmanship and parts. I don't personally care for the quilt carved black finish, and wish it was just plain black stained wood, but the neck and the minimalist hardware is just gorgeous, and what it shouts to me is "play me!".
In this house, at least, it would not be a wall hanger.

As for furniture - violins and pianos do pretty well despite being furniture instruments.


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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 1:06 pm
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I wonder what would have happened if he never sold Fender and ran the company until the day he died? How much would have changed or been further developed? If any of his later designs would have been incorporated into Fender. I wonder if there would have been a Rumble bass amp, or even a BXR for that matter. Both, I have and had and found to be good amps, but who knows if those or anything else would have came out or not. Of course, it's all speculation. Anyone could say that even about themselves in their lives.

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Post subject: Re: Clarence Leonidas Fender
Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 4:26 pm
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I've had 6 Strats and have ended up hating 5 of them.

The only one that was ever good enough was my Olympic white 1992 with a red buckethead killswitch. Never have I heard such a ballsy set of Strat single coils in my life.

Out of all of the guitars I've sold, I miss that one and only that one.

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