He got it right here too...
And at the sharp end...
And at the sharp end...
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Leo Fender did it best....
- Thread starter Gbonus Uralias
- Start date
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- fender leo leo fender
You think Leo was doing a Google search of 18th Century.....oh.....wait......
I only disagree with the romantic nonsense that Leo did it all himself. He didn't. He had a bunch of people doing lots of stuff the whole time.
Anyone could come up with an idea, if Leo approved then it was in. If he didn't it wasn't, but he didn't do it all by himself! I believe that several others were involved in the Stingray design. Don't know about the G&L basses though.
PS
I do agree that P and J basses are fantastic machines. I've owned a P bass for 48 years. It was the first proper bass I bought and it will be the last one I sell.
There used to be these things called books.
I agree with this 100%. Leo and Fullerton's initial designs (the Tele and 1st Gen P) were slabby and sort of utilitarian, but none the less genius. When Tavares came in and added his professional design skills to the instruments, we ended up with the much more slick P bass, Strat, Jazz Bass, Jazzmaster, Jag, etc...
George and Leo continued to knock it out of the park with Musicman and G&L, though the majority of the tweaks were in the electronics more than body/neck shapes and such. That's testament to the spirit of the OP.
This one would have been less than 100 years old when Leo was dreaming up his first designs.
6 on a side headstocks weren't particularly uncommon on acoustic guitars is all I'm saying.
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Ha Ha! No mess Brother! all opinions are welcome here as there is no wrong one.
This post may get some pics of some very unique Instruments I have not seen before, yours being one of them.
Very nice.
Welcome to TB. Here a week and already starting a "Fender vs The Rest" battle, huh? Nope, that's never been done here before......
I love the Ric body shape, but it was designed to look cool, not be particularly ergonomic. The Strat body is probably the most perfect mass-produced consumer product form factor in existence, based on it's longevity. I can't think how you would improve on it. Many have tried and failed.The P Bass was intended to be a Bass Strat, so to speak, but still doesn't look as graceful as the Jazz bass body, that design is more appealing to me visually.
Thanks and you summed up my feelings behind the original post quite nicely.
Especially being that there was nothing proceeding these, for the designers to reverse engineer, other than traditional uprights for the most part.
To all, Please bring forth your unique Bass(es) from other designers.
Bring them into the light to shine!
Peace, Love and good happiness stuff to all.
Welcome to TB. Here a week and already starting a "Fender vs The Rest" battle, huh? Nope, that's never been done here before......
Indeed! 
I've never been a fan of the Stratocaster body shape. Don't know why, just never liked it!
You mention the Les Paul body shape, which I do like, but what about the SG? Gotta love those horns! \m/
I had a Ric I bought new from GC in Hollywood in 87.
10 years later I traded it straight up for and acoustic Charvel Bass. Bad decision and still miss that Bass.
They are very cool indeed.
10 years later I traded it straight up for and acoustic Charvel Bass. Bad decision and still miss that Bass.
They are very cool indeed.
I've never been a fan of the Stratocaster body shape. Don't know why, just never liked it!
You mention the Les Paul body shape, which I do like, but what about the SG? Gotta love those horns! \m/
Yup good point on that one! Angus Young rocked it too \m/
I totally agree with all this. I love Fender designs and style. The headstock gets me every single time. It's like if I ever lay eyes on a Fender headstock, it immediately inspires me to play.
My only gripe with them, and this very well may be the only one, is the bottom cut away. I wish it was recessed more and cut out to make it easier to get as high as possible way up the neck. Not a deal breaker, but it would be nice. And the stock bridges (the older style simple ones) have never been my favorite. I own 4 different Squier/Fender basses and I have changed the bridge out on all of them. Not that those older bridges don’t work, because they do. I just hate the way they look. But that’s all aesthetic.
I agree on the Strat body. It's one of the best feeling and most comfortable solid body electrics ever. And I agree, over the decades Leo got more refined with his innovations. He was a good electrical engineer that didn't play instruments, but he listened to good players and got feedback from which he created.
Although he was a innovative creator, his last creations are very old. And many new innovations have come to light. Though they may not be ground breaking or as well known as what Leo did, they do build off on what exists, and are essential for the development of music.
Although he was a innovative creator, his last creations are very old. And many new innovations have come to light. Though they may not be ground breaking or as well known as what Leo did, they do build off on what exists, and are essential for the development of music.
However, tastefully done larger pickguards to cover skillfully done larger body routes could have knocked some weight off.
