Since 1987, Fender’s Custom Shop has been turning wild ideas into playable realities. Naturally, it’s learned a lot about what makes a guitar truly sing over the past four decades, and now its Master Builders are sharing some of their findings in the new issue of Guitarist
During an in-depth exploration of the Fender Custom Shop, Senior Master Builder Paul Waller offered his own two cents and what he believed makes up the soul and spirit of a Fender electric guitar.
“Pickups have always been a big thing for me because I think the heart and soul of a Fender is the pickup itself,” Waller believes. “I think everyone's aware that we're the biggest electric guitar manufacturer on the planet. And I say, 'Well, that also makes us the biggest pickup manufacturer on the planet, and we make a pretty good one.'
“We've been doing it a long time, and there are generations of people who have been working in the factory since the ‘50s and ‘60s that are still doing it.”
Abigail Ybarra is perhaps the most famous example of the lineage that Fender is proud to boast. She retired in 2013 after 50 years of winding pickups, but returned for a new project last summer.
“To me, that's super important; that's the quality ingredient that goes into it,” Waller continues. “I draw a lot of inspiration from the hot-rod world, where you want to make it look like it's an old part, or make it look like it existed back in the day but modernise it.”
When Waller isn’t building something to a customer’s exacting spec – or undertaking projects like the awe-inspiring Prestige Collection, the stunning ‘59 Journeyman Stratocaster, and luxurious Bvlgari Strats – he's experimenting. And pickups are at the centre of his attentions.
“Currently, I'm working on a Fender-ish sounding humbucker that would work well in both the neck position in a Telecaster and the bridge position in a Strat,” he teases. “It doesn't have that high volume when switched between the two, and then in the middle position, it makes it a lot sweeter and more balanced as well.”
Elsewhere in his Guitarist chat, Waller revealed the Fender guitars that will never disappear.
Head over to Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitarist.
