Coloring Inside the Lines: Honoring the Past, Living in the Present, and Looking to the Future

The opportunity for this guest editorial presents itself in the receding shadow of the 60^th anniversary of the Stratocaster, which Fender celebrated throughout 2014.

And while anniversaries are of course great for looking back and celebrating a rich history, they’re also an ideal occasion to reassess where we’re going and what the next 60 years will hold.

After recently sharing my contemplations on these subjects with noted guitar historian and author Tom Wheeler as he was researching the latest edition of his indispensable book, The Stratocaster Chronicles, I thought I’d expand on that conversation here, because it revealed fascinating correlations with many parallels that can easily translate to businesses outside Fender (running a multigenerational retail store, for example).

Undoubtedly, the bedrock of Fender’s rich legacy consists not only of the company’s history of innovation, but also of more than 60 years of music made using the products of that innovation: the Telecaster, the Stratocaster, the electric bass guitar and an entire stable of amps, to name only a few. For everyone everywhere, and in just about every genre, the countless great recordings and memorable performances featuring the sound and style of Fender are the soundtrack of our lives. That makes Fender a true U.S. icon – a symbol of rock and roll and Americana evoking powerful images of creativity, individuality, freedom of expression, and more.

Being so well entrenched, it’s tempting to think that Fender’s present-day stewards need only steer the company straight in its lane, so to speak, with success defined merely by not messing up what has already worked. The reality, however, is much more nuanced and complex, because simply staying the course is simply not an option.  We cannot drive by the rearview mirror; we must remain as vital and relevant as ever.

Our founder, Leo Fender, always kept moving and pushing forward, and we strive to embody and honor that entrepreneurial spirit in the way we operate today.  And this ethos can extend not just to Fender, but to everyone’s business- keeping one foot on a firm foundation, but one-stepping forward into tomorrow.

It’s easier to say than to do, though.  And this is exactly where the challenge lies. How many products of other industries look just like their ancestors of 1954? What if you walked into a Chevrolet dealership to find all the brand-new cars virtually indistinguishable from their predecessors of 60 years ago? We just don’t see that kind of thing across the vast spectrum of consumer goods; especially not in technological fields. The musical instruments industry is a different field, though – one where we find many players who still want a traditional instrument no matter how many digital effects, complex racks of gear and modeling programs they use. The real challenge is to make things new while remaining true and relevant, without making “New Coke,” if you will.

This isn’t so much a limitation as it is recognition that our instruments have distinct personalities. As musicians, it’s a truth we all hold dear. There are elements and aesthetics that must be maintained, or else it’s not a Stratocaster or a Precision Bass anymore. We must remain keenly aware of drawing that balance properly. A decade ago, the advice I received from industry vet and Fender hall-of-famer Dan Smith was to “color inside the lines.” That is, to push specs and features forward, but within the sacred framework; to stay relevant to new musical and stylistic trends while leaving untarnished the legacy that makes our products special and timeless.

On being Timeless vs. Timely

time·less

ˈtīmləs/adjective : not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion.

time·ly

ˈtīmlē/adjective : done or occurring at a favorable or useful time; opportune.

Many work to hit the sweet spot and to be in the right place at the right time with their businesses, meaning that they do whatever they can do to be timely. At Fender, though, the real lesson I’ve learned is to strive to make things that transcend trends—that is, to make things that are timeless.

In years past, Fender has certainly chased trends in attempts to be a bit more “of the moment.” A little more timely. Witness, for example, mid- to late-’80s experiments such as the Heavy Metal (HM) Strat, the Performer and the Katana …

Today, however, we prefer timeless. Bellbottoms, skinny jeans, and $500 designer denim all come and go, but Levi’s 501s remain a constant through all of it, and we aim to keep that kind of timelessness as a guiding maxim. Instruments that are timeless rise above trends in the form of classics with evergreen appeal.

Many younger players today aren’t that familiar with Buddy Holly and Eric Clapton, which means that our instruments must continue to appeal, to work and to speak on their own merits to musicians hungry to express themselves. While ancient history matters little to these younger players, what does resonate with them is what our products deliver, how they sound and how they fuel one’s own voice – lean too hard on the history lesson and your product could be ruled out before it’s even tried out. It’s about what’s inside – you can take one of our classic instruments and absolutely blaze a new musical trail with it. Because it’s a tool that just works.

I have come to follow four main rules that help keep that timelessness intact while allowing room to push forward and innovate:

1. Evolve. Keep things authentic and true to your brand, but keep it current. Your brand or business probably didn’t have a social media presence a few years ago, but it’s a given today, and while this is a newer element, it can impart the vibe and core aesthetic of your brand with enormous effectiveness. As with any good personal resume, your experience is important, but you must always add relevant new skills to remain vital.
    
2. Leave room for risk. For Fender, overreaching products have often made great footnotes, only to later become cult favorites due to their rarity.  Look at the recent resurgence of the initially ill-fated Starcaster guitar of the 1970s—now a successful reissue wielded by many artists.
    
3. Know your history. Build on what works, and learn from missteps so you don’t repeat them. At Fender, the specter of much the CBS era looms large as both guiding force and cautionary tale, discussed and acknowledged openly as something to not repeat.
    
4. Build a sandbox. When going out on a limb and being more creatively disruptive (see item two above), we created new product families and platforms built for experimentation and differentiation. Examples of ours include the Pawn Shop series, the VG Stratocaster, and current models such as our iOS-compatible Stratocaster and Deluxe Strat Plus, which uses an expandable and removable card system for its wiring and circuitry. This “sandbox” approach leaves the classic core platforms pure and true to the original recipe, letting players choose among past, present and future with equal appreciation.

We are part of this industry because we love it and are passionate about music and musical instruments.  Every decade or so there’s an industry “gold rush” whether it be portable keyboards, ADATs, Floyd Rose equipped electric guitars, DAWs, Ukuleles, et cetera, but for all those timely sales spikes, we need the stable, evergreen, timeless foundational products that will keep us in business and moving forward for the long haul.

Shooting for timeless is a great guiding star in your professional and personal life – when you do this much of the noise and less important stuff falls away, thus increasing the quality and value of what really matters.

Well into 2015 now, the Stratocaster – and all Fender products – embark into the next 60 years with more vitality and innovation than ever. We proudly celebrated a milestone year in 2014 for our second electric guitar – the one that first appeared in 1954 and exists today largely unchanged; the one that is now synonymous with the term electric guitar. Indeed, the Stratocaster is the epitome of the kind of timelessness that in a wider sense describes Fender itself. It’s why Fender is a great name instead of a once-great name. It’s why, as the stewards entrusted with this great name, we curate the Fender brand not only according to what it has been for six decades, but for what it is now and for what it’s going to be far into a very bright – and loud – future.