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Post subject: stratocaster more popular than telecaster
Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:27 pm
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why do you think Fender made the Stratocaster the flagship guitar compared to the Telecaster? didn't the Telecaster get developed first?


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Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:44 pm
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Hello Marbles71,

More people like 'em.

Cheers.


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Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:44 pm
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Tele was 1st, but I think that the versitility of the strat sets it apart. It is also more comfortable in my opinion.

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Post subject: Re: stratocaster more popular than telecaster
Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:55 pm
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marbles71 wrote:
why do you think Fender made the Stratocaster the flagship guitar compared to the Telecaster? didn't the Telecaster get developed first?


First, a quick history lesson from Wikipedia...

Guitar
Fender recognized the potential for an electric guitar that was easy to hold, easy to tune, and easy to play. He also recognized that players needed guitars that would not feed back at dance hall volumes as the typical archtop would. In addition, Fender sought a tone that would command attention on the bandstand and cut through the noise in a bar. By 1949, he had begun working in earnest on what would become the first Telecaster (which was called the Broadcaster in its earlier years) at the Fender factory in Fullerton, California.

Although he never admitted it, Fender seemed to base his practical design on the Rickenbacker Bakelite. (Smith, Richard (May). History of the Fender Telecaster. ) One of the Rickenbacker's strong points -- a detachable neck that made it easy to make and service -- was not lost on Fender, who was a master at improving already established designs. Not surprisingly, his first prototype was a single-pickup guitar with a detachable hard rock maple neck and a pine body painted white. (Smith, Richard (May). History of the Fender Telecaster. )


Esquire
Don Randall, who managed Fender's distributor, the Radio & Television Equipment Company, recognized the commercial possibilities of the new design and made plans to introduce the instrument as "The Esquire Model". Fender supported the Esquire name, saying that it "sounded regal and implied a certain distinction above other guitars."

In April 1950, Radio-Tel started promoting the Esquire -- the first Fender 6-string officially introduced to the public. The company prepared its Catalog No. 2, picturing a black single-pickup Esquire with a tweed form-fit case. Another picture showed Jimmy Wyble of Spade Cooley's band holding a blond Esquire. These debut models, with a planned retail price of $154.95, exhibited the shape of thousands of Fender guitars to come.

Randall's primary marketing ploy was to establish the Esquire in music instruction studios, reasoning that the affordable, practical guitar would be a hot commodity in those circles. In addition, a healthy response for the one-pickup version would prime the market for the more expensive two-pickup model that Fender already had in mind.


Broadcaster
The factory went into full production in late 1950, initially producing only dual-pickup Esquires. Fender's decision compromised Radio-Tel's earlier marketing strategy, forcing Randall to hold orders for the single-pickup Esquire and come up with a new name for the two-pickup model, eventually naming it the Broadcaster. Dealers who insisted on Esquires had to wait until the single-pickup guitars went into full production in January 1951 and were delivered the following month.

Musical Merchandise magazine carried the first announcement for the Broadcaster in February 1951 with a full-page insert that described it in detail. The guitar was described as having a "modern cut-away body", a "modern styled head", and an "adjustable solo-lead pickup" that was "completely adjustable for tone-balance by means of three elevating screws".


Legal problems - "Broadcaster" becomes "Telecaster"
Fender sold 87 Broadcasters on the guitar's initial release in January 1951. Many people took note -- including Gretsch, who claimed the Broadcaster name infringed on the company's trademark "Broadkaster". Reacting to this, Randall informed his salespeople on February 21 that Radio-Tel was abandoning the Broadcaster name and requesting suggestions for a new name. On February 24 he announced that the Broadcaster had been renamed the "Telecaster".

The Broadcaster-to-Telecaster name change cost Radio-Tel hundreds of dollars, and derailed the initial marketing effort. Brochures and envelope inserts were destroyed, and the word "Broadcaster" was clipped from hundreds of headstock decals. For several months, the new twin-pickup guitars were marked only with the word "Fender." These early-to-mid-'51 guitars would eventually be referred to as "No-casters" by guitar collectors.


Stratocaster
Leo Fender regularly sought feedback from his customers, and, in preparation for redesigning the Telecaster he asked his customers what new features they would want on the Telecaster. The large number of replies, along with the continued popularity of the Telecaster, caused him to leave the Telecaster as it was and to design a new, upscale solid body guitar to be sold alongside the basic Telecaster instead. Western swing guitarist Bill Carson was one of the chief critics of the Telecaster, stating that the new design should have individually adjustable bridge saddles, four or five pickups, a vibrato unit that could be used in either direction and return to proper tuning, and a contoured body for enhanced comfort over the slab-body Telecaster's harsh edges. Fender and draughtsman Freddy Tavares began designing the new guitar in late 1953, which would address most of Carson's ideas and would also include a rounder, less "club-like" neck (at least for the first year of issue) and a double cutaway for easier reach to the upper registers.[1]

Released in 1954, Fender named his new creation the Stratocaster to invoke images of the high flying, supersonic jets filling America's skies in the 1950's. The Stratocaster (or "Strat") has been in continuous production ever since.


l.....

Now as far as popularity goes?

The Stratocaster has typically moved more units in the Tele. Although I'd be interested to see what sales have been like in recent years as the tele has made some serious headway in terms of consumers beyond the typical country and gospel crowds (where you were more likely to see them out in force.)

I'm almost wondering if they're even...but in any case, the Strat has been the flagship guitar for a while. I think the Tele is another instantly recognizable symbol.

But in terms of stating "this is what we've got folks....the best we've got along with the best technology" I think the strats will typically get the upgrades before the teles....

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but the telecasters, more times often than not are preferred stock by a lot of their users. You don't see as much of an aftermarket scenario with the teles vs. the strats in terms of parts and hardware...that is for certain.


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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:14 am
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The strat was originally going to be the redesigned model of the Telecaster, but Leo Fender, having seen the popularity and potential of the tele, decided to leave well enough alone and design the new guitar as a stand alone model, dubbing it the stratocaster after a few inventions of the age, such as the jets that were becoming ever more popular.

Tonally, if you own both you have ALOT of bases covered

As for the flagship status, i think its the artists who have done that not really fender....Hendrix, Clapton, SRV, Buddy Holly, Buddy Guy, Yngwie, Jeff Beck all contributed to having the strat immortalized as a social as well as musical icon, sort of how the Les Paul is Gibson's socialally iconic instrument, Les Paul himself being a legend.

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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:21 am
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Bahu wrote:
The strat was originally going to be the redesigned model of the Telecaster, but Leo Fender, having seen the popularity and potential of the tele, decided to leave well enough alone and design the new guitar as a stand alone model, dubbing it the stratocaster after a few inventions of the age, such as the jets that were becoming ever more popular.
.....



Sandwich's slightly relevant fun fact for today.

Leo Fender got the idea for the name "Stratocaster" from the B-52 Stratofortress (a strategic bomber aircraft designed by Boeing) and Television broadcasting, both of which were a popular conversation topic at the time.


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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:01 am
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I think its because the most off the greatest guitar players used/use them.


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Post subject: Re: stratocaster more popular than telecaster
Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:39 am
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marbles71 wrote:
why do you think Fender made the Stratocaster the flagship guitar compared to the Telecaster? didn't the Telecaster get developed first?

Maybe because compared to the strat some think the Tele looks likes...Nevermind. :wink:


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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:29 am
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I think a lot of it has to do with the innovation of the guitar. All the years that I played Gibson I loved the tone but in some way always bothered by the playability of the guitar. It never sat exactly right, I was always changing my thumb position on the back because of the different contours and access to the highest register was never comfortable. Plus now that I look back a lot of other guitars in that time period looked a lot like shrunken acoustic guitars compared to the radical design of the Stratocaster. I guess it just makes sense that it is the flagship

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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:39 am
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stephenr66 wrote:
I think a lot of it has to do with the innovation of the guitar.


That's it. The Strat had quite a few design advances over the Tele: 3 pups, contours, new output jack, and floating tremolo system.

I believe that both the Jazzmaster and the Jaguar were considered the "flagship" Fender guitar upon their introductions. It may have worked for a while in the '60s as the Strat almost disappeared in 1967, but then we all know what happened and the Strat became "King" again, once and for alll.

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