It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 2:29 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 19 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2
Go to page Previous  1, 2
Author Message
Post subject: Re: What happened to the 50s Hot Rod Telecasters?
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 5:57 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2008 6:45 pm
Posts: 2770
Location: Kansas
I play guitar n stuff wrote:
John C wrote:
I play guitar n stuff wrote:
yeah, I remember, :roll: but I still have the same complaint/question.

buying guitars online is crapshoot. the weight and tone varies from guitar to guitar. I like to play them 1st so I know I'm getting a good one, which means brick and mortar stores have to have them in stock, which will never happen now. :cry:

I'm just saying it's silly to come out with such a nice guitar and then stop producing them after only a year. It's pretty obvious that it's a popular model. I don't get why you wouldn't want to make and sell more of them.


Actually it's pretty obvious that the Hot Rod '50s was not a popular model or it would still be around. At best it was the most popular of 4 unpopular models. The previous Hot Rod '52 was a popular model; Fender should have kept that model but based it off the current AV '52 Tele. Same with the Hot Rod '62 Strat - base it on the current AV '65 Strat and you probably would have a winner as well (it seems like the '65 is a bit more popular than the '59).


Well like you said the Hot Rod 52 was a popular model, and it's not around either, so it's not really all that obvious is it. The fact that most stores have sold their stock of them says something. I'd love to hear from someone at Fender that actually knows.


Yes, it is obvious; it's comes down to Production 101 principles:

1. Fender had a popular model that was based off another popular lineup - the 1998-August 2012 American Vintage Reissue models were quite popular, and 2 of the 3 Hot Rod models based on them were also popular. The pickups on the Hot Rod '57 Strat deviated further from it's AVRI base; it was not as popular as the Hot Rod '52 Tele or the Hot Rod '62 Strat.

2. Despite their popularity Fender replaced the 1998-August 2012 AVRI series with a new AV series. In fact they only retained the '52 Tele model. These are likely not selling as well as the previous series, due to the higher cost, but it appears Fender is fine with making this a more "exclusive" model. But this also meant that Fender no longer had the basis of old Hot Rod series and had to do something to revamp them.

3. Fender decided to revamp the Hot Rod series for 2013, but in the process they decided to make the Hot Rod deviate further from the AV series, essentially making them American Deluxe versions of the AV series. This makes all models a fairly radical departure from the AV series.

4. These did not sell all that well. Only the Hot Rod '50s Tele actually sold out in the BSB color; there were still a few of them in black left. The Hot Rod '60s Tele and the 2 Hot Rod Strats languished. They did not sell out until Fender allowed Guitar Center/Musician's Friend to sell them at half off in November of 2014. Those who did buy them at the sale discovered these were guitars built in October/November of 2013 that had been sitting in the warehouse for a year. That is not a sales success. Looking at it from a production standpoint it makes no sense to keep only one model of a series around. Basically it was a bad move by Fender. It's not the first time they misjudged the market, and I'm sure it won't be the last either.

Maybe this makes sense; maybe it doesn't. That being said it would surprise me to see a more conservative Hot Rod series be re-introduced at some point in the future - a model based on the '52 Tele, the '56 Strat, and the '65 Strat.


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: What happened to the 50s Hot Rod Telecasters?
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 7:59 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 1:59 pm
Posts: 14
John C wrote:
I play guitar n stuff wrote:
John C wrote:
I play guitar n stuff wrote:
yeah, I remember, :roll: but I still have the same complaint/question.

buying guitars online is crapshoot. the weight and tone varies from guitar to guitar. I like to play them 1st so I know I'm getting a good one, which means brick and mortar stores have to have them in stock, which will never happen now. :cry:

I'm just saying it's silly to come out with such a nice guitar and then stop producing them after only a year. It's pretty obvious that it's a popular model. I don't get why you wouldn't want to make and sell more of them.


Actually it's pretty obvious that the Hot Rod '50s was not a popular model or it would still be around. At best it was the most popular of 4 unpopular models. The previous Hot Rod '52 was a popular model; Fender should have kept that model but based it off the current AV '52 Tele. Same with the Hot Rod '62 Strat - base it on the current AV '65 Strat and you probably would have a winner as well (it seems like the '65 is a bit more popular than the '59).


Well like you said the Hot Rod 52 was a popular model, and it's not around either, so it's not really all that obvious is it. The fact that most stores have sold their stock of them says something. I'd love to hear from someone at Fender that actually knows.


Yes, it is obvious; it's comes down to Production 101 principles:

1. Fender had a popular model that was based off another popular lineup - the 1998-August 2012 American Vintage Reissue models were quite popular, and 2 of the 3 Hot Rod models based on them were also popular. The pickups on the Hot Rod '57 Strat deviated further from it's AVRI base; it was not as popular as the Hot Rod '52 Tele or the Hot Rod '62 Strat.

2. Despite their popularity Fender replaced the 1998-August 2012 AVRI series with a new AV series. In fact they only retained the '52 Tele model. These are likely not selling as well as the previous series, due to the higher cost, but it appears Fender is fine with making this a more "exclusive" model. But this also meant that Fender no longer had the basis of old Hot Rod series and had to do something to revamp them.

3. Fender decided to revamp the Hot Rod series for 2013, but in the process they decided to make the Hot Rod deviate further from the AV series, essentially making them American Deluxe versions of the AV series. This makes all models a fairly radical departure from the AV series.

4. These did not sell all that well. Only the Hot Rod '50s Tele actually sold out in the BSB color; there were still a few of them in black left. The Hot Rod '60s Tele and the 2 Hot Rod Strats languished. They did not sell out until Fender allowed Guitar Center/Musician's Friend to sell them at half off in November of 2014. Those who did buy them at the sale discovered these were guitars built in October/November of 2013 that had been sitting in the warehouse for a year. That is not a sales success. Looking at it from a production standpoint it makes no sense to keep only one model of a series around. Basically it was a bad move by Fender. It's not the first time they misjudged the market, and I'm sure it won't be the last either.

Maybe this makes sense; maybe it doesn't. That being said it would surprise me to see a more conservative Hot Rod series be re-introduced at some point in the future - a model based on the '52 Tele, the '56 Strat, and the '65 Strat.



Hey thanks that does make sense, though I don't see a problem with keeping the one model around that was actually popular. People would buy it….. Fender would make money. simple.
It doesn't need to be part of a series. It's just a cool guitar that can stand on its own.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: What happened to the 50s Hot Rod Telecasters?
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 7:03 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2008 6:45 pm
Posts: 2770
Location: Kansas
I play guitar n stuff wrote:
Hey thanks that does make sense, though I don't see a problem with keeping the one model around that was actually popular. People would buy it….. Fender would make money. simple.
It doesn't need to be part of a series. It's just a cool guitar that can stand on its own.


I think that might be the issue - I believe Fender makes instruments in batches of 250, so for the 2013-2014 Hot Rod series they made at least 1 batch of each model in each color; since there were only 2 colors, that would be:

250 butterscotch blonde '50s Teles
250 black '50s Teles
250 3-color burst '60s Teles
250 Olympic white '60s Teles
250 2-color burst '50s Strats
250 fiesta red '50s Strats
250 3-color burst '60s Strats
250 Olympic white '60s Strats

Of those, only the 250 butterscotch blonde '50s Teles sold out in a 12-month period; the black '50s Teles must have been close to selling out by November 2014 because they never went on clearance. But the '60s Teles and the '60s Strats went on deep clearance, and eventually the '50s Strat went on a not quite 50% off clearance (they were selling for $1,500-$1,600 instead of $1,200).

That assumes Fender only did one batch of them - and I think it's pretty clear that the there was only one batch of each color for the '60s Teles and '60s Strats, most of which were unsold by the time they went on clearance in November 2014.

If there was only one batch of '50s Teles in each color that still isn't very popular by Fender's standards, selling only 500 total units in 12 months (considering that "full capacity" at Corona is over 250 instruments per day - but who knows how often they hit "full capacity"). I suspect they had a break-even number of units, and if they didn't have enough sales + orders in the 12 month period they made the decision to drop them all.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: What happened to the 50s Hot Rod Telecasters?
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 11:18 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 1:59 pm
Posts: 14
^ thanks for a very informative post.

I'm still frustrated that I can't easily get one, but I appreciate the insight.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 19 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2
Go to page Previous  1, 2

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


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: