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Fender - See also

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Fender - Electric Basses

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Fender Precision Bass

Fender Jazz Bass

Fender - Electric Guitars

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Fender Telecaster

Fender Stratocaster

Fender - Instruments

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The core of its instrument line — the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass and Jazz Bass — remains largely unchanged from the 1950s and 1960s originals (Roberts, Jim. 2003. American Basses:A Illustrated History).

Fender - Fender today

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In 1985, in a campaign initiated by then CBS Musical Instruments division president William Schultz (1926-2006), the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company employees purchased the company from CBS and renamed it the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Behind the Fender name, the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has retained Fender's older models along with newer designs and concepts.

Fender manufactures its highest quality guitars at its Corona factory in California and manufactures its mid to high quality guitars at its Ensenada factory in Baja California, Mexico. Channing Ward is the lead designer of the 2009 stratocaster. Fender also contracts Asian guitar makers to manufacture Fender guitars and to also manufacture the lower priced Squier guitars. The older and American built Fender guitars are generally the most favoured, but pre-1990 Fender Japan guitars are now highly regarded as well. Fenders built in Ensenada, Mexico took over the main export role from the Japanese made Fenders and Japanese Fenders are now manufactured mainly for the Japanese market, with only a small number marked for export.

Squier was a string manufacturer subsequently acquired by Fender. The Squier brand has been used by Fender since 1982 to market inexpensive variants of Fender guitars intended to compete with the rise of Stratocaster copies, as the Stratocaster was slowly becoming more popular. Squier guitars have been manufactured in Japan, Korea, India, Indonesia and China. The Squier name adorns many inexpensive guitars based on Fender designs but with generally cheaper hardware, bridges and electronics.

In recent years, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has branched out into making and selling steel-string acoustic guitars, and has purchased a number of other instrument firms, including the Guild Guitar Company, the Sunn Amplifier Company, and other brands such as SWR Sound Corporation. In early 2003, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation made a deal with Gretsch and began manufacturing and distributing new Gretsch guitars. Fender also owns: Jackson, Charvel, Olympia, Orpheum, Tacoma Guitars (based in Seattle, WA), Squier and Brand X amps. The Californian guitar giant has recently purchased Kaman Music Corporation, which owns Ovation acoustic guitars, LP and Toca hand percussion products, Gibraltar Hardware, Genz Benz Amplification, Hamer Guitars and is the exclusive U.S. sales representative for Sabian Cymbals and exclusive worldwide distributor of Takamine Guitars and Gretsch Drums.

In February 2007 Fender announced that it would produce an illustrated product guide in place of its traditional annual Frontline magazine. This change was made in large part due to the costs associated with paying royalties in both print and the Internet. With the new illustrated product guide, this removed print issues. The new guide contains its entire range of instruments and amplifiers along with color pictures and basic specifications. The New Fender Frontline In-Home will be produced during the year, keeping customers up to date with new products. These will be available through guitar publications and will be directly mailed to customers who sign up to the Fender website. As well as these printed formats, Fender Frontline Live was launched at the winter NAMM show in January 2007 as a new online reference point, containing information on new products and live footage from the show.

The German distribution for Fender instruments is hosted in Düsseldorf.

Fender - Sale to CBS

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In early 1965, Leo Fender sold his companies to the Columbia Broadcasting System, or CBS for $13 million. This was almost two million more than they paid for The New York Yankees a year before. CBS entered the musical instruments field by acquiring the Fender companies (Fender Sales, Inc., Fender Electric Instrument Company, Inc., Fender Acoustic Instrument Company, Inc., Fender-Rhodes, Inc., Terrafen, Inc., Clef-Tronix, Inc., Randall Publishing Co., Inc., and V.C. Squier Company), as well as Electro-Music Inc. (Leslie speakers), Rogers drums, Steinway pianos, Gemeinhardt flutes, Lyon & Healy harps, Rodgers (institutional) organs, and Gulbransen home organs.

This had far-reaching implications. The sale was taken as a positive development, considering CBS's ability to bring in money and personnel who acquired a large inventory of Fender parts and unassembled guitars that were assembled and put to market. However, the sale also led to a reduction of the quality of Fender's guitars while under the management of "cost-cutting" CBS. Several cosmetic changes occurred after 1965/1966, such as a larger headstock shape on certain guitars. Bound necks with block shaped position markers were introduced in 1966. A bolder black headstock logo, as well as a brushed aluminum face plate with blue or red labels (depending the model) for the guitar and bass amplification became standard features, starting in 1968. These cosmetic changes were followed by a new "tailless" Fender amp decal and a sparkling orange grillcloth on certain amplifiers in the mid-1970s. In the early 1970s, the usual four-bolt neck joint was changed in favor of using only three and a second string tree for the two middle G and D strings has been added in late 1971. These changes were said to have been made to save money; while it suited the new 'improved' micro-tilt adjustment of the neck (previously requiring neck removal and shimming), the "Bullet" truss-rod system and a 5-way pickup selector on most models, it also resulted in a greater propensity toward mechanical failure in the guitars.

During the CBS era, the company did introduce some new instrument and amplifier designs. The Fender Starcaster was particularly unusual because of its semi-hollow body design (while retaining the Fender bolt-on neck) and completely different headstock. The Starcaster also incorporated a new Humbucking pickup designed by Seth Lover. This pickup also gave rise to 3 new incarnations of the classic Telecaster. While more recent use by Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead has raised the Starcaster's profile, CBS-era instruments are generally much less coveted or collectable than the "pre-CBS" models created by Leo Fender before selling the Fender companies to CBS in 1965.

The culmination of the CBS "cost-cutting" may have occurred in 1983, when the Fender Stratocaster received a short-lived redesign without a second tone control and a bare-bones output jack as well as redesigned single-coil pickups, active electronics and three push-push buttons for pickup selection (Elite Series). In addition, previous models such as the Swinger (also known as Musiclander) and Custom (also known as Maverick) were perceived by some musicians as little more than attempts to squeeze profits out of factory stock. The so-called "pre-CBS cult" refers to the popularity of Fenders made before the sale.

After selling the Fender company, Leo Fender founded Music Man in 1975, and later founded the G&L Musical Instruments company, which manufactures electric guitars and basses based on his later designs.

Fender - Origins

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Sketch of Leo Fender's lap steel guitar from 1944 patent application

The company began as Fender's Radio Service in late 1938 in Fullerton, California, USA. As a qualified electronics technician, Leo Fender had been asked to repair not only radios, but phonograph players, home audio amplifiers, public address systems and musical instrument amplifiers. (At the time, most of these were just variations on a few simple vacuum-tube circuits.) All designs were based on research developed and released to the public domain by Western Electric in the '30s, and used vacuum tubes for amplification. The business also sidelined in carrying records for sale and the rental of self-designed-and-built PA systems. Leo became intrigued by design flaws in current musical instrument amplifiers, and he began custom-building a few amplifiers based on his own designs or modifications to designs.

By the early 1940s, he had partnered with another local electronics enthusiast named Clayton Orr "Doc" Kauffman, and together they formed a company named K & F Manufacturing Corp. to design, manufacture and sell electric instruments and amplifiers. Production began in 1945 with Hawaiian lap steel guitars (incorporating a patented pickup) and amplifiers, which were sold as sets. By the end of the year, Fender had become convinced that manufacturing was more profitable than repair, and he decided to concentrate on that business. Kauffman remained unconvinced, however, and they had amicably parted ways by early 1946. At that point Leo renamed the company the Fender Electric Instrument Company. The service shop remained open until 1951, although Leo Fender did not personally supervise it after 1947.

The first big series of amplifiers were built in 1948. These were known as tweed amps, because they were covered in the same kind of cloth used for luggage at the time. These amps varied in output from 3 watts to 75 watts. This period was one of innovation and changes; While Leo made a Tweed Princeton in 1948 for his Professional 8 string Lap Steel guitar [very short lived, as later he would focus on 6 string Student models] later the Princeton would become a push-pull class AB tube amp, in 1948 it was a single ended Class A amplifier similar to the Fender Champ, with the output transformer mounted to the speaker frame and bereft of any negative feedback. Also, in 1964, the Tweed Champ amp would be reissued in black tolex in small numbers along with the newer model with the slant front panel and controls; the stacked plywood boxes Leo used often went uninventoried. In late 1963, he found a couple hundred Tweed Champ chassis boxes in these bins. He had had them chromed and printed in 1958; being frugal, he built them in black tolex with a chrome and black Champ nameplate, as he had money tied up in them already.

Fender moved to Tolex coverings for the brownface amps in 1960, with the exception of the Champ which kept its tweed until 1964. Fender also began using Oxford, Utah and CTS speakers interchangeably with the Jensens; generally the speaker that could be supplied most economically would be used. Jensens and Oxfords remained the most common during this period. By 1963 Fender amplifiers had a black Tolex covering, silver grille cloth, and black forward-facing control panel. The tremolo was changed to a simpler circuit based on an optical coupler and requiring only one tube. The amps still spanned the spectrum from 4 watts to 85, but the difference in volume was larger, due to the improved, clean tone of the 85w Twin.

Fender owed its early success not only to its founder and talented associates such as musician/product engineer Freddie Tavares but also to the efforts of sales chief, senior partner and marketing genius Don Randall. According to The Stratocaster Chronicles (a book by Tom Wheeler; Hal Leonard Pub., Milwaukee, WI; 2004, p. 108), Mr. Randall assembled what Mr. Fender's original partner Doc Kauffman called “a sales distributorship like nobody had ever seen in the world.” Randall worked closely with the immensely talented photographer/designer Bob Perine. Their catalogs and ads — such as the inspired "You Won't Part With Yours Either" campaign, which portrayed people surfing, skiing, skydiving, and climbing into jet planes, all while holding Jazzmasters and Stratocasters — elevated once-staid guitar merchandising to an art form. In Fender guitar literature of the 1960s, attractive, guitar-toting teenagers were posed with surfboards and Perine's classic Thunderbird convertible at local beachside settings, firmly integrating Fender into the surfin’/hot rod/sports car culture of Southern California celebrated by the Beach Boys, beach movies, and surf music. (The Stratocaster Chronicles, by Tom Wheeler; Hal Leonard Pub., Milwaukee, WI; 2004, p. 108).

Fender - History

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Fender offered the first mass-produced solid-body Spanish-style electric guitar, the Telecaster (originally named the 'Broadcaster'; 'Esquire' is a single pickup version) the first mass-produced electric bass, the Precision Bass (P-Bass); and popular Stratocaster (Strat) guitar. While Fender was not the first to manufacture electric guitars, as other companies and luthiers had produced electric guitars since the late 1920s, none was as commercially successful as Fender's. Furthermore, while nearly all other electric guitars then were either hollow-body guitars or more specialized instruments such as Rickenbacker's solid-body Hawaiian guitars, Fender had created versatile solid-body electric guitars. These guitars were and still are popular for musicians in a variety of genres.

The company makes acoustic guitars, electric basses, mandolins, banjos, and violins, as well as guitar amplifiers, bass amplifiers, and PA (public address) equipment. Other Fender brands include Squier (entry level/budget), Guild (acoustic and electric guitars and amplifiers), Rodriguez (classical guitars), Benedetto (jazz guitars), SWR (bass amplification), Tacoma, Jackson and Charvel Guitars, X Brand (bass amplifiers) and collaborated with Eddie Van Halen to make the EVH guitars and amplifiers.

On October 28, 2007, Fender announced its intention to buy Kaman Music Corporation (owners of Hamer Gutars, Ovation Guitars, Genz Benz amplifiers, Gibraltar Hardware, along with many others, and exclusive distributor for Sabian cymbals and Takamine Acoustic Guitars.

Other Fender instruments include the Mustang, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Starcaster, Duo-sonic, and Bronco guitars; basses such as the Jazz Bass, the 'Telecaster Bass' reissue of the original 1950s Precision Bass; a line of lap steels; three models of electric violin, and the Fender Rhodes electric piano.

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation

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Type	Music Companyhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/70/Button_lower_letter.png
Genre	http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiphttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/70/Button_lower_letter.pngedia/en/7/70/Button_lower_letter.png
Founded	1946
Founder(s)	Clarence Leonidas Fender
Headquarters	Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Area served	Global
Key people	Chairman and CEO William (Bill) Mendello CFO Richard Kerley
Industry	Musical instruments
Operating income	http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/button_hr.png
Subsidiaries	Squier Gretsch Jackson Guitars Charvel Tacoma Guild Guitar Company SWR Sound Corporation Brand X Orpheum Olympia Heartfield
Website	http://www.fender.com/

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation of Scottsdale, Arizona is a manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers, such as solid-body electric guitars, including the Stratocaster and the Telecaster. The company, previously named the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, was founded in Fullerton, California, by Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender in 1946. Leo Fender also designed one of the first commercially successful solid-body electric bass, the Precision Bass (P-Bass), which has become known in rock, jazz, country, funk and other types of music.

The company is a privately held corporation, with the controlling majority of its stock owned by a group of its own company officers and managers. William (Bill) Mendello is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer and Richard Kerley is Chief Financial Officer.

Fender's headquarters are in Scottsdale, Arizona with manufacturing facilities in Corona, California (USA) and Ensenada, Baja California (Mexico).

PRS - Discontinued models

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513 Rosewood (Brazilian rosewood neck)
Custom 22 Soapbar
Mark Tremonti Model (Stoptail; 12th fret "Mark Tremonti" inlay)
CE22
CE24
CE22 Alder body
CE24 Alder body
McCarty
McCarty Standard
McCarty Soapbar Standard
Modern Eagle (ME)
Singlecut Tremolo Modern Eagle (SCT ME)
Santana I
Santana III
Santana SE
McCarty Archtop
Singlecut - replaced by SC 245 (a 24.5" scale Singlecut) and SC 250 (a 25" scale Singlecut) in 2007
All Left-handed models

PRS - Limited editions

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Signature model (about 1003 made - though only 1000 "officially" made - a few duplicate #'s - officially made from 1987-1991 but more than a few early sigs were made in 1986 like #'s 14, 19, and 30)
Signature 'Limited Edition' 1989, 1990 Semi-Hollow Body Tune-O-Matic (about 303 made. #300/300 was made twice - VERY rare with maple top since most had cedar or redwood tops - a few had tremolo instead of a TOM - this was also the first officially 'limited' run of guitars PRS ever did, the 1003 sigs were not originally intended to stop at 1000 guitars)
Mark Tremonti Tribal (Only 100 made - signed by Tremonti and numbered)
McCarty (Supposed to be the 100 signed by Ted McCarty and numbered but some unsigned McCarty's predate (by serial number)the "first 100")
Artist I, II, III, IV & the very rare Artist LTD (only 68 made)
Dragon I, II, III, 2000, 2002 and 2005 Double Dragon
Rosewood Limited (tree of life inlay on finished East Indian RW neck - 100 made - numbered - some were semi-hollow - a few had tremolo)
Golden Eagle (only 10 made)
20th Anniversary (made though 2007 - special 20th anniversary bird inlays - thousands made)
Brazilian McCarty (Solid Brazilian necks - 250 signed and numbered - NOT a BLE)
Brazilian Singlecut (Solid Brazilian necks - 250 signed and numbered - NOT a BLE)
McCarty Brazilian Limited Edition (BLE) models (Brazilian Rosewood fretboards - 500 numbered)
CU22 Brazilian Limited Edition models (BLE)(Brazilian Rosewood fretboards - 500 numbered)
CU24 Brazilian Limited Edition models (BLE)(Brazilian Rosewood fretboards - 500 numbered)
Custom 22 semi-hollow body (not really a limited edition PRS - just hard to find)
Private Stock, one-off instruments (not really limited editions - just custom orders)
1986 Single Pick-up 24 Fret Standard (3 made - 1 red and 2 blue - the EVH PRS - not really a limited edition, more like prototypes)
Singlecut Semi-Hollow (no f-holes - only 90 made - not numbered or signed)
SC-J Thinline(single cut, jumbo, hollowbody with optional Bigsby vibrato)
Archtop Artist

PRS - Partial List of PRS Guitar Models

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A more extensive list is available at the PRS website. Many of the listed guitars are available with an option of stoptail or tremolo bridge; the finish options are complicated and depend on the model.

The PRS Guitar (1985 and 1986 -- all mahogany - optional bird inlays -- now known as the pre-standard)
PRS Custom (PRS Guitar with maple top - optional bird inlays - name changed to 'Custom 24' after the 22 fret model was introduced in the mid-nineties)
Metal Model (VERY rare solid mahogany 24-fret PRS with pinstripe top)
Custom 22
Custom 22/12 (a 22 fret 12 string)
Custom 24 (the same as the PRS Custom - just renamed CU24 after the CU22 was introduced)
SC245 (24.5" scale 22 fret single cut)
SC250 (25" scale 22 fret single cut)
SC250 Satin
McCarty (22 fret neck -- thicker body than the CU22 - thinner headstock set at a different angle)
McCarty II
McCarty Korina
Smokeburst McCarty
Mira
Mira Maple Top
Mira X
Santana 1, II, III, Brazilian, and the new Santana MD
Johnny Hiland Model
Dave Navarro Model
Mark Tremonti Model
513 (mahogany neck)
Standard 22
Standard 24
Standard 22 Satin
Standard 24 Satin
Corvette Standard 22
Hollowbody I, II and Spruce
Hollowbody I Singlecut
Hollowbody Singlecut Standard (all mahogany body)
Swamp Ash Special
Starla
Santana SE II
Soapbar SE II
Soapbar SE II Maple
SE Custom
SE Paul Allender
Singlecut SE
SE EG
Tremonti SE
SE One
SE Soapbar
Sunburst 22
Sunburst 245
Starla

PRS - Legal Issues

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In 1998 PRS released their "Singlecut" guitar, which bore some resemblance to the venerable Les Paul, Gibson Guitar Corp filed a trademark infringement against Paul Reed Smith. An injunction was ordered^[1] and PRS stopped manufacture of the Singlecut at the end of 2001. Federal District Court Judge William J. Haynes, in a 57-page decision ruled "that PRS [Paul Reed Smith] was imitating the Les Paul" and gave the parties ninety days "to complete any discovery on damages or disgorgement of PRS's profits on the sales of its offending Singlecut guitar."

In 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the lower court decision and ordered the dismissal of Gibson's suit against PRS. The decision also immediately vacated the injunction prohibiting the sale and production of PRS’s Singlecut Guitar. Paul Reed Smith Guitars announced that it would immediately resume production of its Singlecut guitars.

Paul Smith, the founder of PRS, stated "We are delighted that the appellate court affirmed what we and the industry have long known: the PRS Singlecuts are musical instruments of the highest quality that would never be confused with a competitor’s product."

Gibson tried and failed to have the case reheard by all twenty-four Sixth Circuit judges (denied in December 2005) and then by the United States Supreme Court (denied June 2006), which was their last chance to have their original injunction upheld.

In the litigation, Gibson alleged that concert goers in a smoky concert hall might not be able to differentiate a PRS Singlecut from a Gibson Les Paul. The appellate court rejected that trademark theory out-of-hand, emphasizing Gibson’s concession in court arguments that “only an idiot” would confuse the two products at the point of sale.

While no changes to the design of the Singlecut occurred as a result of the lawsuit (given that Gibson lost), some Singlecut owners and sellers have erroneously adopted the term 'pre-lawsuit' to differentiate their Singlecut from others.

PRS - Artists who use PRS Guitars

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Ted Nugent was the first big-name guitar player whom Paul Reed Smith persuaded to play one of his guitars.
Carlos Santana was another recipient of some of Paul Reed Smith's early instruments. Santana's unusual 24-fret, 24½"-scale signature model was one of PRS' earliest special models.
Alex Lifeson of Rush has used PRS guitars since 1990, and continues to use them today, in addition to other brands.
Al Di Meola, from Return to Forever, mainly uses a Private Stock McCarty PRS as a solo artist.
Mike Oldfield has also used a Custom 24.
Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth uses Custom 24s and Custom 22s.
Mark Tremonti of Alter Bridge has two signature PRS models.
Dave Navarro from Jane's Addiction
Larry LaLonde of Primus

PRS - Non-American PRS (Student Edition or SE Models)

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To keep up with demand, PRS introduced a new low-end budget line in the late 1990s. The Student Edition line, is manufactured in Korea and is notable for opaque finishes and lower quality tone-woods though some models also include figured maple veneers such as the Soapbar II. The PRS SE models are increasing in popularity among hobbyists, whereas the higher-end PRS models tend to be geared towards professional musicians.

PRS - Current Manufacturing Methods

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As demand grew during the mid 1990s, PRS had to switch from partially hand manufactured and assembled guitars to partially automated manufacture and assembly. Bodies and neck blanks are now CNC (computer numerically controlled) routed, though sanding, assembly, and finishing are still done by hand. CNC machines are more accurate than the previously used duplicarvers. The main line of PRS guitars are designed and constructed wholly in the United States of America. This and the exacting standards of the PRS factory contribute to their price.

PRS - Finishes

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PRS is known for "popping the grain" on their figured maple topped instruments, a process that accents the '3D' quality of the maple through a multistep staining process. Finishes are transparent, translucent (often with bursts), or opaque and are automotive-grade polyurethane or satin nitrocellulose, meaning that in some instances, the paints were intended for automotive use.

PRS - Pickups

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Pickups are designed and wound in-house; PRS is more secretive about magnet and wire type and construction than some aftermarket pickup manufacturers. PRS humbucking pickups have gone by many names, including HFS (Hot, Fat, and Screams); Vintage Bass; McCarty; Santana I, II, and III; Archtop; Dragon I and II; Artist I through IV; #6, #7, #8, #9, and #10, RP (after the initials of the designer, Ralph Perucci) and Soapbar. Further adding to the obscurity, many of the above pickup types are actually a pair of pickups wound in opposing directions, one intended for the neck and one for the bridge position.

PRS - Hardware

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Close-up of the 3rd, 5th, and 7th fret bird inlays.

Nuts are synthetic; tuners are of PRS' own design, although some models feature Korean-made Kluson-style tuners. PRS guitars feature three original bridge designs: a one-piece pre-intonated stoptail, an intonatable is unique to PRS and can be used because PRS manufacturing tolerances are so tight, guaranteeing that the distance between witness points will be within a few thousandths of an inch from guitar to guitar. This design does not however allow intonation to be adjusted to compensate for variations in string thickness or drop tuning. This is a result of PRS.' CNC (robot-assisted) manufacturing process. Two other designs are the PRS tremolo, which resembles a vintage Fender Stratocaster unit but with much better tonal stability due to less friction, and the more recent compensated wrapover tailpeice, which allows for height and intonation adjustment.

PRS -Materials

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PRS Custom

Wood selection plays a major role in crafting a PRS guitar. The bodies are crafted of mahogany, with a maple top on most models (maple tops are graded on a 1-10 scale according to their "figure", referring to the visual character of the wood). PRS guitars often feature highly figured tops, including flame maple and quilt maple and even fantastically figured maple creating the effect of tiger stripes. PRS necks are usually made from mahogany, although some models feature maple or Indian or Brazilian rosewood necks; fingerboards are made of rosewood. PRS's signature fret markers include the lower end moons, and the higher end birds. The moons appear similar to standard dot inlays, but have a crescent more prominent than the rest of the dot. The bird inlays feature nine or ten different birds inlayed at the appropriate frets. Inlay materials have included semiprecious stones; all sorts of iridescent shells, including abalone and abalone laminates; gold; and even such exotic and costly materials as unearthed ivory from the (extinct) woolly mammoth.

Ibanez - Discontinued Signature models

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0ICJ100WZ - Jay Yuenger Signature
K7 - Korn Signature
Stanley Jordan Signature
AH10 - Alan Holdsworth Signature
PS10 - Paul Stanley Signature
MFM - Marty Friedman Signature
VM1 - Vinnie Moore Signature
FGM - Frank Gambale Signature
JPM - John Petrucci Signature
RBM2NT - Reb Beach Signature
DMM1 - Daron Malakian Signature
AT - Andy Timmons Signature
MMM - Mike Mushok Signature
ADM - Adam Moher Signature
PKW - Peter Kirkwood Signature
PGM301 - Paul Gilbert Signature

PRS Guitars

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Type	Private
Founded	1985
Founder(s)	Paul Reed Smith
Headquarters	Stevensville, Maryland, USA
Area served	Worldwide
Industry	Guitar manufacturing
Parent	self-owned
Website	http://www.prsguitars.com

PRS Guitars is an American guitar manufacturer headquartered in Stevensville, Maryland. PRS Guitars was founded by guitarist and luthier Paul Reed Smith in 1985. Paul Reed Smith Guitars is a leading manufacturer of high-end electric-acoustic guitars. PRS guitars were originally crafted for local musicians. Guitars made by PRS have become highly prized by musicians and collectors around the world.

Ibanez - Pickup Serial Numbers

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Ibanez and Greco Nisshin Onpa (Maxon) pickup serial number format consisting of 5 numbers up to and including 1977. Ibanez Super 70 pickups have the same serial number format.

First number = Nisshin Onpa (Maxon) pickup code (1, 2, etc)
Second number = Year (7=1977)
Third number = Month (0=Jan ... 9=Oct then .=Nov, X=Dec)
Fourth and Fifth number = Day of Month (01-31)

Ibanez and Greco Nisshin Onpa (Maxon) pickup serial number format consisting of 6 numbers from 1977 to 1982.

First number = Nisshin Onpa (Maxon) pickup code (1, 2, etc)
Second number = Year (9=1979)
Third and Fourth number = Month (01=Jan ... 12=Dec)
Fifth and sixth number = Day of Month (01-31)

Ibanez "Super 70" pickups made by Nisshin Onpa (Maxon) had a alnico 8 magnet. Ibanez "Super 58" pickups made by Nisshin Onpa (Maxon) had a alnico 3 magnet. Ibanez "Super 80" pickups made by Nisshin Onpa (Maxon) had a ceramic magnet. All of the above pickups DC resistance is approximately 7.5-8.0 kilohms.

Ibanez - Approximate Ibanez Serial Numbers (non Acoustic)

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Japanese Ibanez Serial Numbers

1997 and after (CE logo designation)

F = FujiGen
YYXXXXX format
YY = year (98=1998)
XXXXX = production number

1987-1997

F = FujiGen
H = Terada
I = Ida Gakki (Iida)
YXXXXX format
Y = year (2=1992)
XXXXX = production number

1975-1986

MYYXXXX format
M = Month (A = Jan to L = Dec)
YY = year (82=1982)
XXXX = production number

Most Ibanez models with this serial number format were made by FujiGen Gakki. Exceptions are the Ibanez Blazer models which were made by Dyna Gakki and the Axstar by Ibanez models AX40, AX45, AX48, AXB50, AXB60, AXB65, AX70, AX75 which were made by Chushin Gakki. The Ibanez Axstar AXB1000 model was made by FujiGen Gakki.

Korean Ibanez Serial Numbers

C = Cor-Tek (Cort), S = Samick(1990-1995), S/SQ = Saehan(Sunghan), P = Peerless (Iida), Y = Yoojin, A = Sae-In.

YYMMXXXX format
YY = year (03=2003)
MM = month (01=Jan..12=Dec)
XXXX = production number

E = Sung-Eum

YMMXXXX format
Y = year (9=1999)
MM = month (01=Jan..12=Dec)
XXXX = production number

W = World

MYXXXX format
M=month (1=Jan .. 9=Sep, X=Oct..Z=Dec)
Y=year (3=2003)
XXXX = production number

Indonesian Ibanez Serial Numbers

I = Cor-Tek (Cort) Indonesia, K = KWO

YYMMXXXXX format
YY = year (03=2003)
MM = month (01=Jan..12=Dec)
XXXXX = production number

Chinese Ibanez Serial Numbers

Z = Yeou Chern, J=Sejung

YYMMXXXXX format
YY = year (03=2003)
MM = month (01=Jan..12=Dec)
XXXXX = production number

Odd Ibanez Serial Numbers

2940000 Acoustic
2 = Cor-Tek (Cort) Taejan
YYXXXX format
YY = year (94=1994)
XXXX = production number
Ibanez Ghostrider model numbers GR=Cor-Tek (Cort), MGR=Samick

Older Acoustic

YYMM (Kato)
YY = year (82=1982)
MM = month (01=Jan..12=Dec)

Silver Cadet model

Z = Woo-sin

Ibanez - Tube Screamers

2009-02-03T20:00:00.000+07:00

Effect pedals

Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer Pedal

Based on the earlier Overdrive I and II pedals, Hoshino Gakki began releasing the first Ibanez Tube Screamer, the TS-808 in the late 1970s. These contained the famed JRC4558D integrated circuit (IC). Many players consider this one of the best solid state pedals to emulate the sound produced by an overdriven vacuum tube guitar amplifier.

Over the years, Hoshino Gakki released many different kinds of pedals bearing the Ibanez Tube Screamer name. The first was the TS-9 Tube Screamer, which included only a few component changes and often, but not always, different ICs. In 1985 the Master or L series were introduced and sold only for a year. Many claim that in this series, there's no Tubescreamer. Looking closer circuitwise shows that there is one but in the disguise of the Metal Screamer with slightly changed component values. The name change was most likely for marketing reasons.

Based on the Master series but with slight changes in housing in 1986, the Power Series were introduced, which included the TS-10. Like many of the Master and Power Series pedals, there were not many differences in the circuitry between these and their 9-series counterparts. To make production cheaper, these pedals used circuit board-mounted potentiometers (pots) and jacks. In 1992, Hoshino Gakki began re-issuing the Ibanez TS-9. Then in 1996, Hoshino Gakki added a CE mark to the back of the Ibanez pedal, which is required for it to be sold in Europe.

In the early 1990s, Hoshino Gakki released the Ibanez Soundtank series, which, except for the first run which was metal, had cheap plastic enclosures and like the Power Series before it, used less expensive parts. Around 2000 came the Tone Lok series, and the TS-7, which included a switch for added gain. In 1998, the new TS-9DX was introduced, which included a 4-way switch for capacitor changes and changes in the clipping section. Then in 2002, Nisshin Onpa stopped production of the TS-9 for Hoshino Gakki. Post-2002 circuit boards say Ibanez instead of Maxon.

Due to popular demand, Hoshino Gakki reissued the Ibanez TS-808 in 2004, complete with the JRC4558D chip. Original TS-808's, and to a lesser extent, TS-9s, have become highly collectible. Many overdrive pedals in production, especially those by "boutique" manufacturers, are a modified version of the Tube Screamer circuit.