George Fullerton returns to Fender???

[RumorsOFsurF]

http://www.fender.com/fullerton/

Apparently only for the 50th Anniv. '57 Strat...

It's a Master-built...They don't reveal that until you get in to the site.  EXPENSIVE!! 

Handwound pickups by Abigail Ybarra...

[chrisjedijane]

Yeah, nearly $6000... 

[mezcalhead]

I can't establish what he actually contributes to the project apart from signing the certificate. It seems to be vintage specs anyway so I can't imagine there was much R&D to do on it.

[Jets]

I can't establish what he actually contributes to the project apart from signing the certificate. It seems to be vintage specs anyway so I can't imagine there was much R&D to do on it.

Mojo?

[mezcalhead]

Of course, what was I thinking?

[dj_techa]

This may be a horribly stupid question, but is that fullerton any relation to the effect company???

[zhivago]

This may be a horribly stupid question, but is that fullerton any relation to the effect company???

nope.

[GUITARmole]

What's with Fender pushing the Pro Juniors with all their CS guitars?  It seems like they'd include the new Tweed Deluxe handwired instead?

The hype they've created around Abigail Ybarra is incredible too...Fender marketing: New idea! Let's take an unskilled factory worker that we trained to wind a certain number of turns of wire around a bobbin for hours at a time and promote her to legend status because she might have wound the pickups in Hendrix's guitar!  She didn't design the pickups, she didn't choose the materials, she showed up to work and wound wire!! If she was so great why are all the pickups in my Strat signed by her but she let them escape her quality inspection with one missing the Custom Shop sticker? 

Ahhhh...all this caffeine must be making me irritable....

[zhivago]

it's all in the wrist.... 

[mezcalhead]

This may be a horribly stupid question, but is that fullerton any relation to the effect company???

nope.

Mike Fuller is the effects guy you're probably thinking of.

George Fullerton, as you've gathered I guess, is one of Leo's guys in the early Fender years .. then worked with him later as well (he's the "G" in G&L). He's of particular interest to us because he owns one of the very early Jazzmaster prototypes from '57, although there's some doubt as to exactly how that particular guitar fits in.

[mjet]

What's with Fender pushing the Pro Juniors with all their CS guitars?  It seems like they'd include the new Tweed Deluxe handwired instead?

The hype they've created around Abigail Ybarra is incredible too...

Ahhhh...all this caffeine must be making me irritable....

No, but it's making you see clearly.

Separate yet related rant


[rant]
I got their little tiny Frontline newsletter/mini catalog the other day and I was shocked. Is this a company that makes guitars? All I see is signature model Squiers for under-30 pop/rock stars, some "new models" like the blackout Tele which as far as I can tell is different from other Teles in that it is black and has a black pickguard (revolutionary!!) and a second Tele neck pickup in the middle (as opposed to a Strat middle pickup on a Nashville Tele). Of course the writeup looks like this:

Modern and upgraded, the Deluxe Blackout Tele guitar features edgy black and chrome aesthetics and gives Telecaster fans a modern instrument with a wide range of great tones.

Aside from that, they have a junky little PA unit with a built-in CD player (presumably for the frat house, to play the music by those Squier signature model players), Fender-motif salt-and-pepper shakers, some Fender-logoed backpacks, and a profile on a Clapton (real risqué there, guys).

Going back in my memory banks, I don't think that I have ever bought a new instrument from Fender. Now it appears as if I'll never need to - although I might need to get in touch with them if I need a backpack or salt and pepper shakers...

My conclusion? Fender as a modern company is dead to me. It's been dead a long time (how many Frontlines of signature Strats can one take???) but now, more than ever, they're rubbing my face in it.

[/rant]

[dj_techa]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhh.  I agree, it seems like his thumbprint is no where to be seen on that guitar.

[GUITARmole]

I got rid of my only 'real' (in TM license only) Fender '57 reissue Strat a couple of years back when I traded it in for a counterfeit Deluxe Reverb (handwired Mojo kit w/ Fender faceplate); that was a GREAT move.  The Strat wasn't a bad guitar but the pickups were never what I thought they should be, it never got those really cool ultra-quacky tones,  the neck was too thin (personal taste only but a main reason for parting ways with it), and where the partially nitro finish had shrunken I could see the seams of the three piece alder body underneath.  I replaced the Strat with a USACG body/neck, Callaham trem, Fender CS69 pickups (signed by Abigail...maybe THAT's why the guitar's so good!  ), thin DIY nitro finish, etc.  I could never have imagined HOW much better the new guitar would be until it was completed.  It's probably safe to say I'll NEVER buy another new Fender guitar again.

Another experience was when I went to Colorado to go to the last Jeff Beck show with a friend.  We went to Wildwood Guitars (cool store and nice people BTW) and tried out a few VERY EXPENSIVE CS Teles ($5K +) only to be utterly disappointed.  They were heavy (even the thinline), played poorly, and sounded dead.  After we were done there we went to  GC and played some more guitars...you know what?  -The MIM Tele reissues weren't half bad and they were 10X less expensive.

The cool thing though, is that they have nice tennis shoes!  I've got a really good pair of 'relic' looking Fender branded leather Converse CT clones.  I also have a nice looking western shirt with an embroidered pinup girl riding a Strat on the back and the Fender logo on all the snaps.  Lastly, I got a 'Jimi Hendrix' psychedelic designer type shirt that I found out was made by Fender.  In other words...their guitars for the most part suck but the clothes are fantastic!!!  -And I do dig those salt and pepper shakers!

The best thing about the new frontline is there's a form in the middle that you can have filled out when you try out a piece of new Fender gear...if you send it in you get a free T-shirt with a Tele and tweed amp.  Have I mentioned, they have cool clothes? 

In all fairness...I do have some respect for the new amps they're coming out with.  The vintage reissues and the handwired amps all sound great to my ears and you can't beat the warranty either.  Guitars though?  No way...I'm building my own from now on!

[dj_techa]

G&L should do a jazzmaster.

[northern_dirt]

G&L should do a jazzmaster.

flamed maple and gold hardware?.. no thanks hahaha