TONE MACHINES

In the vintage guitar market, the terms ‘pre-CBS’ and ‘CBS-era’ have become pretty loaded. Leo Fender sold his companies to the giant Columbia Broadcasting System on 5 January 1965, and any product made by Fender prior to that date is unequivocally classed as ‘pre-CBS’. But what about those that came not long after?

The distinction is crucial because the values of Fender guitars made a matter of weeks apart can vary dramatically. Much hinges on which side of the takeover date the guitar happened to be made, along with various other features, but it’s actually a grey area. For some time, Fender guitars remained essentially unchanged and Leo Fender carried on working for CBS in a consultancy role for a couple more years.

CBS instituted changes to manufacturing processes, largely for monetary rather than musical reasons, but these were rolled out gradually. The upshot is that the full gamut of features that typify the CBS era, and made it notorious, weren’t fully in place until late 1968. Some came later still.

STRUMMER OF LOVE

The 1968 Olympic White Telecaster featured here is right on the cusp and showcases a combination of pre-CBS and CBS-era features. Most