Artist and Custom Artist guitars
1993 Frontline
Since the beginning of its history Fender has showed in its catalog many musicians with their Jaguars, Piggybacks or steel guitars, but, unlike its most important competitors, made no Signatures until the late '80s. Indeed Mary Kaye was a simple nickname that referred to all the blonde Stratocasters with golden hardware, while the 1980 Stratocaster with reverse headstock inspired by Jimi Hendrix appeared only a decade after the death of the legendary guitarist, reason for which it must be considered a tribute rather than a signature.
Indeed, Fender's intention was not to release signature guitars. The examples of the Gibson Les Paul being the only successful one as guitar players didn't know there was a real person called Les Paul and guitar shops scratching Joni Mitchell's name from her Ibanez signature model to improve sales were cited as reasons for not investing in this project. So why Fender changed its mind and introduced the new signature guitars? The new post-CBS Fender was in urgent need of revenue and rebranding: it had to relaunch itself by creating a strong emotional link between Fender and the guitarists and recalling the musicians who had made the history of music with their pre-CBS Fender and would continue to play the new and equally excellent post-CBS Fender.
It was not by chance that one of the very first advertisements of the Eric Clapton signature model - the instrument with which this series was inaugurated - which appeared in the Rolling Stone magazine, said: "There's only one Eric Clapton... And there's only one Fender".
The initial concept, which later became "signature", was to create an "Iconic Series" of historic Fender instruments reproductions and to homage a group of British musicians who aided Fender's rise in the Golden Age of the electric guitar: David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Page, Hank Marvin, Johnny Marr, Andy Summers, Steve Howe, Sting, George Harrison, Dave Murray and Pete Townshend.
In a short time we came to the concept of Signatures, instruments designed in collaboration with the musicians, which reproduced the specs of the Fender guitars that sported their name.
At first the Signatures included both factory and Custom Shop instruments, like the Robert Cray Stratocaster. However, in the late '90s, Fender began to divide the signatures into Artist Series (for a while called Artist Signature Series) and Custom Artist Series, depending on whether they were factory or Custom Shop instruments.
Indeed, Fender's intention was not to release signature guitars. The examples of the Gibson Les Paul being the only successful one as guitar players didn't know there was a real person called Les Paul and guitar shops scratching Joni Mitchell's name from her Ibanez signature model to improve sales were cited as reasons for not investing in this project. So why Fender changed its mind and introduced the new signature guitars? The new post-CBS Fender was in urgent need of revenue and rebranding: it had to relaunch itself by creating a strong emotional link between Fender and the guitarists and recalling the musicians who had made the history of music with their pre-CBS Fender and would continue to play the new and equally excellent post-CBS Fender.
It was not by chance that one of the very first advertisements of the Eric Clapton signature model - the instrument with which this series was inaugurated - which appeared in the Rolling Stone magazine, said: "There's only one Eric Clapton... And there's only one Fender".
The initial concept, which later became "signature", was to create an "Iconic Series" of historic Fender instruments reproductions and to homage a group of British musicians who aided Fender's rise in the Golden Age of the electric guitar: David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Page, Hank Marvin, Johnny Marr, Andy Summers, Steve Howe, Sting, George Harrison, Dave Murray and Pete Townshend.
In a short time we came to the concept of Signatures, instruments designed in collaboration with the musicians, which reproduced the specs of the Fender guitars that sported their name.
At first the Signatures included both factory and Custom Shop instruments, like the Robert Cray Stratocaster. However, in the late '90s, Fender began to divide the signatures into Artist Series (for a while called Artist Signature Series) and Custom Artist Series, depending on whether they were factory or Custom Shop instruments.
Tribute Strats
In the '90s Fender began to use also the term Tribute to refer to both some Custom Shop guitars, like the Telecaster Merle Haggard and the Waylon Jennings, and some factories, like the 1997 Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster.
Unlike the Signatures (or Artist guitars), which were guitars designed according to the specs suggested by living guitarists, the Tributes were at first guitars dedicated to deceased musicians; however, their meaning was soon extended to the replicas of guitars that, owned by still alive artists, marked the history of Fender, like those of Eric Clapton’s Blackie (2006) and Brownie (2013) or David Mayer’s Black One (2010).
The Tributes could be simple reproduction of stock guitars of the past, like the Mary Kaye Tribute Stratocaster (2005), or could be inspired by instruments heavily modified by the guitarist, like the Stevie Ray Vaughan's Number One (2004) and Lenny (2007), the Rory Gallagher Stratocaster (2004) or the Malmsteen "Play Loud" (2008).
To make the “mojo” of these instruments and better match them with the artist, Fender often associated to the guitars specific road cases, CD, DVD, certificates, photos, books or posters. They were usually made in limited editions, less than a hundred units, could be built by a single Master Builder or with the collaboration of many, and they were all sold in one or two days generally.
The price of these tributes was definitely high, but the earnings of Fender, in proportion, were not so important, if you consider the charges related to the extra-planning and the travels to meet the owners of the original guitars, the hours spent to analyze the instruments and to document all the phases, and, sometimes, even the time necessary to refine the production techniques. According to Mike Eldred, the artist or his family earned more than Fender on the sales of a Tribute.
Unlike the Signatures (or Artist guitars), which were guitars designed according to the specs suggested by living guitarists, the Tributes were at first guitars dedicated to deceased musicians; however, their meaning was soon extended to the replicas of guitars that, owned by still alive artists, marked the history of Fender, like those of Eric Clapton’s Blackie (2006) and Brownie (2013) or David Mayer’s Black One (2010).
The Tributes could be simple reproduction of stock guitars of the past, like the Mary Kaye Tribute Stratocaster (2005), or could be inspired by instruments heavily modified by the guitarist, like the Stevie Ray Vaughan's Number One (2004) and Lenny (2007), the Rory Gallagher Stratocaster (2004) or the Malmsteen "Play Loud" (2008).
To make the “mojo” of these instruments and better match them with the artist, Fender often associated to the guitars specific road cases, CD, DVD, certificates, photos, books or posters. They were usually made in limited editions, less than a hundred units, could be built by a single Master Builder or with the collaboration of many, and they were all sold in one or two days generally.
The price of these tributes was definitely high, but the earnings of Fender, in proportion, were not so important, if you consider the charges related to the extra-planning and the travels to meet the owners of the original guitars, the hours spent to analyze the instruments and to document all the phases, and, sometimes, even the time necessary to refine the production techniques. According to Mike Eldred, the artist or his family earned more than Fender on the sales of a Tribute.
- Eric Clapton
- Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster, Play Loud and double neck
- Alex Gregory
- Robert Cray
- Jeff Beck
- Hank Marvin
- Stevie Ray Vaughan, Number One and Lenny
- Bill Carson
- Richie Sambora
- Dick Dale, the Beauty and the Beast
- Jimmie Vaughan
- Ritchie Blackmore
- Rory Gallagher and his Stratocaster
- Eric Johnson
- John Mayer Stratocaster
- Black Strat and David Gilmour Signature Stratocaster
- Pete Townshend
- Jimi Hendrix
- Mary Kaye
