I have sold and bought both acoustic and electric guitars over the years, and I am sure many of you guys and girls have also. I have bought new guitars at the retail outlets and on the web and I have bought used guitars at the store, over the internet and at the online auctions. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these methods, but within this site I hope to detail where you can find a sweet deal on a used guitar and how to get a good price on a used guitar.

Stay tuned!

One way to supply additional humidity to your guitar is through a device known as a guitar humidifier. These devices are designed to release humidity inside the guitar through the sound-hole. Sound-hole humidifiers all utilize some type of water reservoir with an absorbent medium such as a sponge, water absorbent floral foam or absorbent polymer. The medium is then surrounded by some type of cover which holds the water absorbent medium in place and restricts the flow of water evaporation from the medium. To get inside your guitar, they slip between your guitar strings and are held in place there. Depending upon the brand of humidifier you purchase, it may or may not touch the wood inside your guitar. Dampit is designed to lie inside your guitar, while Planet Waves and Oasis are completely suspended from the strings.

Water holding capacity and the restrictiveness of the outer cover are the greatest factors in determining how often you will need to refill the device. Needless to say, you can't stick a quart container of water inside your guitar, but there are several humidifiers that will hold an ounce (30 mls) or more such as Oasis or Planet Waves. If your guitar needs several mls per day of water vapor, a humidifier that holds only 5-10 mls will need to be refilled every few days.

Planet Waves and Dampit utilize holes in the outside membrane to release water vapor. Oasis uses a fabric which allows the water vapor, but not the water, to pass through the material to keep your guitar humidified. One downside to evaporation holes is the risk of water leakage. Very careful handling can minimize, but not eliminate this risk. Oasis is a water-tight, sealed unit which eliminates the risk of water leakage.

When to refill your humidifier is one of the great mysteries which have been solved by Oasis. Since Oasis is a flexible sealed container, is shrinks as the water inside of it evaporates through the fabric. When Oasis begins to look like a prune, you need to refill it.

All of the sound-hole humidifiers work. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. As with any new product you purchase, please read the directions carefully before use. 

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Although other companies actually fabricated and sold electric guitars before the Fender Company, Fender electric guitars were the first solid body electric guitars to be offered on the mass market. The Fender Company is responsible for popularizing the electric guitar in popular music with the introduction of their Fender Telecaster. The Broadcaster was actually the first solid body electric guitar made by Fender, but Fender made it economically feasible to mass produce the Telecaster, which inspired other manufacturers to make their own versions of the solid body electric guitar. Other famous Fender models include the Stratocaster, the Jazzmaster, the Mustang and the Jaguar.

Fender electric guitars are manufactured in Mexico and Asia as well as in the United States. Their ‘premium’ guitars are made in the US, although their Mexican line of guitars are highly regarded at that price point. The Squier brand is also manufactured under the Fender brand in Asia, but the lower end components and the quality control issues associated with their production sometimes result in a less than desirable instrument.

History

The Fender Company began as an electronic repair business run by Leo Fender that repaired amplifiers, radios, record players and other electronics. Leo’s own amplifier work began by improving existing designs and that work branched into designing new amplifiers. Fender’s original amp designs were innovative in that they incorporated tone controls, and became much more appreciated during the revival of the tube amp by musicians searching for the tone that was missing from the ‘modern’ electronic amplifiers. Although Fender is still known for their quality amplifiers, the company found fame in their original guitar designs beginning in the fifties.

Leo Fender and Clayton Orr Kauffman formed K & F Manufacturing Corporation where they first started to produce musical instruments in the forties. However, Fender and Kauffman had different business plans where Kauffman’s was more centered on repair while Fender was more focused on design. Consequently, Fender started his own company called the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Corporation which later became the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

In 1951, Fender released the Broadcaster that was soon renamed to the Telecaster due to copyright issues. Later that year Fender produced the electric Precision bass (P-Bass) guitar. In 1954, Fender introduced the Stratocaster; one of the most popular rock guitars of all time. The Fender Electric Instrument Company continued to grow on the primary success of these two stalwart guitars.

However, Leo Fender’s poor health led him to sell his company to the CBS corporation in 1965. Despite the marketing and advertising budgets of CBS, the brand began to decline in the late sixties and early seventies due to CBS’s lack of understanding of the market. Their efforts to maximize production resulted in a lessening of a quality guitar. The brand was further downgraded when CBS owned Fender produced the "Squire" Strat, a cheaper version of the Stratocaster, to combat the pricing competition of the Japanese guitar makers.

CBS took steps to try to reestablish the Fender brand in 1981 when William Schultz was appointed as the new President of the company. His business plan focused on strengthening the company’s research and design arm and increased advertising to retake Fender’s lost market share. However, in 1985 CBS decided to divest itself of Fender and Schultz and some investors bought Fender from the conglomerate and established the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

Bill Schultz built two new manufacturing plants in California and Mexico to centralize manufacturing to improve quality and to minimize transportation costs down. Consequently, Schultz was able to reduce production costs through consolidation and centralization and eliminated the Japanese exported guitars, although they are still produced in Japan for the Asian market.

Fender acquired the Sunn Amplifier Company 1987 and in 1991 moved its’ headquarters from Corona, California to Scottsdale, Arizona. In 1995 Fender acquired Guild Guitar Company and has purchased other brands, including SWR Sound Corporation, Kaman Music Corporation (Ovation guitars) and Hamer Guitars.

Today Fender produces electric guitars, acoustic guitars, electric bass guitars, tube and solid state amplifiers, speaker cabinets and guitar effects. Visit the Fender web site for more information.

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