Research Library - Fender Acoustic Guitars

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  It is common knowledge even among non-musicians that the Fender brand is synonymous with guitars. When we hear the brand name, we envision images of Eric Clapton, Stevia Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, and a myriad of other iconic performers with a Stratocaster or Telecaster in hand producing music that touches the souls of millions. To vintage guitar collectors, Fender inspires the never-ending search for the “holy grail” pre-CBS models. 

What does not necessarily come to mind are acoustic guitars. It is almost ironic that the Fender brand represents so much of the benchmark for quality electric guitars but has never achieved the same reputation with their acoustic lines. This may be that nearly all of them have always been made overseas in various Asian factories, or simply that they have never possessed the build level and price tags such as the classic Martin or Gibson products. In either case, acoustic guitars have always been at most a side-hustle for Fender. 

Modern day Fender acoustic guitars are widely available on the market in nearly every music store that markets to the entry-level crowd. These can usually be found within the same price bracket as today’s Epiphone, lower end Yamaha, and many other similar brands produced overseas. However, there is an understated history to these models that presents an intriguing opportunity for exploration into affordable, quality vintage instruments. Fortunately for vintage guitar enthusiasts, Fender has published much of the early history of its journey into the acoustic guitar realm.

Unlike most guitar companies, Fender guitar making did not begin with the Acoustic models. In fact, Fender was well established by its famous electric models long before delving into the acoustic market. In the early 1960’s, popular artists such as Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley (among others) made a huge impact on returning the acoustic guitar to the in-crowds and younger generations. Gone were the days of these instruments primarily seen on opera house stages played by musicians in tuxedos. Instead, the popularity of casual beachfront or backyard acoustic jams had risen dramatically. Fender already had the lead on the “California Surf Music” trend by that point (thanks to the Beach Boys) and wanted to capitalize on that reputation by producing acoustic instruments that fit the new model (Owens, 2023).

In 1962, Master Luthier Roger Rossmeisl (formerly a key designer of guitars for Rickenbacker) moved to California and walked into Leo Fender’s office with the intent to convince him that Fender needed an acoustic line. The approach worked, and Leo Fender hired him on the spot to spearhead the first acoustic models produced by Fender. Rossmeisl’s leadership, in 1963 Fender introduced their first production of acoustic guitars, the King, Concert, Classic, and Folk models (Owens, 2023). 

Side note here, this event establishes the first model year for Fender acoustic guitars, 1963. Any purported sellers claiming an older model are incorrect, if not fraudulent.

Key features of these early Fender acoustic models include many of their iconic electric guitar features such as bolt-on necks, strat-style headstocks, and screwed-on pickguards. Aside from just a few hundred very early models, these guitars featured a unique internal bracing system. Unlike classic designs already flooding the market at that time, these acoustics featured a 1” aircraft aluminum rod that ran parallel to the strings from the front to the back of the body. Fender referred to this unique design as “broomstick bracing.” (Owens, 2023). The earliest 1963 Fender acoustic models (approximately 200-300 ever made) had no support rod through the body (Gruhn & Carter, 1999). Genuine examples of these are extremely rare and valuable today.

The original lineup was produced at Fender’s factory in Fullerton, CA alongside the booming electric guitar production until a few months later when a new Fender factory was established in Anaheim, CA due to an already overcrowded facility at the original site (Owens, 2023).

Business was good for Fender on both the electric and acoustic sides of the house throughout the mid-1960’s. Production continued on the original 4 lines, and two more models were added in 1965 to target the more budget-friendly markets: the Malibu and the Newporter. In addition, Fender expanded the lineup to include two 12-string models that same year, the Shenandoah and a smaller and less expensive version, the Villager. Both of these 12-strings featured a new headstock design Fender refers to as their “hockey stick” shape (not to be confused with the famous Kramer design of the same name later in the 1980’s) (Owens, 2023).

Despite the CBS takeover of the brand in 1965, Fender did not initially change much within the acoustic division as a result, but development of new models came mostly to a halt. By 1966, the Classic model was discontinued and the “King” model was renamed to “Kingman.” Only one new model was introduced in1966: the Wildwood. This Rossmeisl-designed acoustic guitar was based on the Kingman design but featured dramatic colors by injecting dye into living beechwood trees before they were harvested to become the source tonewood for this line (hence the name “wildwood”). While these were extremely exotic looking in comparison to the more traditional designs and colors for acoustic guitars, they never achieved significant sales (Owens, 2023).

2 years earlier (under CBS direction), Fender joined the growing trend of imported guitar production with its acoustic guitars in 1966, the F-Series. These were made in Japan under license by Fender and production continued up until 1979. In 1968, Fender introduced their final US made acoustic model of the 1960’s, the Redondo. All of the US-made models (except the Classic, discontinued earlier) resumed production in California until late 1971. From that point until 1979, only the Japanese-made F-series remained in production under the Fender brand.

As the company’s financial decay under CBS’ leadership continued into the early 1980’s, acoustic guitar production remained on the back burner and no Fender acoustics were produced anywhere. Thankfully, the company was again reborn in a post-CBS world and by 1990, acoustic guitars re-emerged under the Fender banner with new California, Gemini, and (resurrected) F-Series model lineups.  Additional model lines such as Telecoustics and SX series came out in 1993, followed by DG and Spring Hill series in 1995. By the next year, the lineup consisted of DG, CG, JG, BG, and GC models, along with Fender’s first acoustic bass guitar, the BG-29 (Owens, 2023).

Into the new Millenium, Fender evolved the acoustic division into the modern era with the introduction of Grand Series (introduced 2002), the Global Design series and J5 Signature acoustic (introduced 2005), and the Ensenada series, re-released Classic series, and redesigned California series (introduced 2006). A limited run of Tiki-themed art acoustics was produced in 2007 only, and Artist-signature models for Tim Armstrong (2009) Dick Dale (2010), and a few others emerged Later in the decade. In the modern era, Fender has also expanded across other acoustic instruments such as banjos, ukeleles, mandolins, etc (Owens, 2023).

Gruhn’s Guide provides specific build details for the vintage US-made Fender acoustics:

All flat-top models from 1963-1970 have 2 screws on the pickguard and 6-on-a-side tuner arrangements (except the Classic and Folk models), similar to Fender electric headstocks.

The King & Kingman series both featured a 20” body and 15 5/8” width, 25 ½” scale length, and a dreadnought shape. The models came with a spruce top and mahogany (standard) or optional Brazilian Rosewood, Indian Rosewood, Zebrawood, or Vermillion for the back and sides.  This series also included adjustable bridge saddles, 21 frets on a bound fingerboard with dot inlays and chrome-plated tuner buttons. The “King” model (1963-1965) was only available in a natural finish, but the “Kingman” transition in 1966 included options for either natural and sunburst finish, and from 1968 to the end of production, the back/sides remained mahagony (standard) with Maple, Rosewood, or Vermillion optional and a choice of natural, “Antigua” (silver-to-black sunburst), black, or custom finishes This model was discontinued in 1971. (Gruhn & Carter, 1999). 

The Wildwood model was available from 1966-1970 and was a Kingman design with dyed beechwood back/sides and featured a 3-ply beveled edge pickguard, block fret inlays, and a headstock colored to match the available body schemes of green-gold-brown, gold-purple, dark blue, purple-blue, or blue-green. The other design characteristics matched the Kingman. The Wildwood series was in production from 1966-1970 (Gruhn & Carter, 1999).

The Concert model featured a Spruce top, mahogany back/sides (standard) and optional Brazilian Rosewood, Indian Rosewood, Zebrawood, or Vermillion alternate materials. Finish was natural until the sunburst option was introduced in 1968. The fretboard was unbound with 20 frets. This model had a 19” body, 15 3/8” width, and a scale length of 25 ½” and was produced between 1963 and 1970 (Gruhn & Carter, 1999).

The Classic series was a nylon-string (strings tie to bridge vs bridge pins) classical guitar with a slotted peghead, 19 frets, and no pickguard. It featured a Spruce top and Brazilian Rosewood, Indian Rosewood, or Maple back/sides and was produced between 1963 and 1965. The Folk model was essentially the same design as the Classic series, but fitted with steel strings and a tortoiseshell celluloid pickguard, produced only from 1963 to 1964 (Gruhn & Carter, 1999). 

<Note: This page is currently still under development. We are still gathering a lot more information on this topic to ensure our accuracy and completeness. Be sure to check back here often for updates!>

Sources Cited:

Gruhn, G., & Carter, W. (1999). Gruhn’s guide to vintage guitars: An Identification Guide for American Fretted Instruments. Hal Leonard Corporation.

Owens, J. (2023, March 8). Beaches, stages and the silver screen: a history of Fender acoustic guitars. https://www.fender.com/articles/instruments/fenders-acoustic-guitar-models

Image Source: 

Fender Elvis Presley Kingman RW naturel. (2020, September 21). GITAARSHOP HEEMSTEDE. https://gitaarshop-heemstede.weebly.com/store/p15/Fender_Elvis_Presley_Kingman_RW_naturel.html