Fender Bullet
Encyclopedia
The Fender Bullet was an electric guitar originally designed by John Page and manufactured and marketed by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. It was first introduced as a line of "student" guitars to replace the outgoing Mustang
and Musicmaster
models.
but with cheap parts and lower quality and originally sold for $199.00. It comprised a single cutaway Telecaster-shaped body with a 21 fret rosewood neck and Telecaster-style headstock. The Bullet Deluxe had a plastic pickguard with a separate, traditional hardtail bridge while the standard model featured a metal pickguard-bridge combo painted white or black, with separate saddles for each string. Both models had 2 single coil pickups with a three-way selector switch. The pickups were covered with a white or black plastic sheathing. The original Fender Bullet was only available in red (with a white or black pick guard) and off-white (cream).
. This version featured a double cutaway Fender Stratocaster-shaped body with a smaller, maple neck. Headstocks retained the version one (Telecaster) profile. Five models were marketed -the Bullet, Bullet Deluxe (S-2), S-3, H-1, and H-2 in addition to the two new bass models (a regular scale "B-34" and short scale "B-30"). The standard Bullet had the previous style metal pickguard-bridge combination with two single coils and three-way switch. The Deluxe (S-2) had a plastic pickguard and separate hardtail bridge with the same pickup configuration. The new S-3 had a separate plastic guard, traditional hardtail bridge, and three single coils with a five-way switch. The H-1 sported the metal pickguard-bridge combination with one humbucker. It also had a coil tapping button. The H-2 had a plastic guard, traditional hardtail bridge, and two humbuckers each with their own coil tapping button. The humbucking pickups were really two single coil pickups with alnico rod magnets side-by-side. The basses each had plastic guards and traditional bridges. They had the old Mustang bass style pickups. They differed only in scale. The second version Bullets were available in standard colors of red, cream, sunburst or translucent brown, as well as in custom colors.
And at that time it was very much famous.
trademark as the Squier Bullet
. Humbucking pickups from the original (early 80s) consisted of the same paired single coil configuration as the American-made models but used steel rods as pole pieces with a ceramic bar magnet. The three single coil pickup pattern like the Fender Stratocaster was also available as well as tremolo and hard tail bridges. The move was one of several strategies by Fender to reclaim market share
from companies who manufacture and sell Fender Stratocaster
imitations to beginning guitarists.
Fender Mustang
The Fender Mustang is an electric guitar by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, introduced in 1964 as the basis of a major redesign of Fender's student models then consisting of the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic. It was produced until 1982 and reissued in 1990.In the 1960s, it was used in Surf...
and Musicmaster
Fender Musicmaster
The Fender Musicmaster is an electric guitar by Fender, and was the first of their 3/4 scale guitars. With a single pickup and no tremolo arm, it was a basic but functional instrument....
models.
Original version (1981)
Fender marketed two original models made in the U.S.A.- the Bullet Deluxe and a standard Bullet. The original version of the Fender Bullet was based on the Fender TelecasterFender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
but with cheap parts and lower quality and originally sold for $199.00. It comprised a single cutaway Telecaster-shaped body with a 21 fret rosewood neck and Telecaster-style headstock. The Bullet Deluxe had a plastic pickguard with a separate, traditional hardtail bridge while the standard model featured a metal pickguard-bridge combo painted white or black, with separate saddles for each string. Both models had 2 single coil pickups with a three-way selector switch. The pickups were covered with a white or black plastic sheathing. The original Fender Bullet was only available in red (with a white or black pick guard) and off-white (cream).
Second version (1982)
In 1982, Fender introduced a second version of the Bullet, including two bass modelsFender Bullet Bass
The Fender Bullet Bass is an electric bass guitar model produced by Fender. It was introduced in 1982 as a part of a new line of guitars meant to replace the outgoing Mustang and Musicmaster - Fender's so called "student" guitars. The Bullet Bass had Mustang style pickups, but was available with...
. This version featured a double cutaway Fender Stratocaster-shaped body with a smaller, maple neck. Headstocks retained the version one (Telecaster) profile. Five models were marketed -the Bullet, Bullet Deluxe (S-2), S-3, H-1, and H-2 in addition to the two new bass models (a regular scale "B-34" and short scale "B-30"). The standard Bullet had the previous style metal pickguard-bridge combination with two single coils and three-way switch. The Deluxe (S-2) had a plastic pickguard and separate hardtail bridge with the same pickup configuration. The new S-3 had a separate plastic guard, traditional hardtail bridge, and three single coils with a five-way switch. The H-1 sported the metal pickguard-bridge combination with one humbucker. It also had a coil tapping button. The H-2 had a plastic guard, traditional hardtail bridge, and two humbuckers each with their own coil tapping button. The humbucking pickups were really two single coil pickups with alnico rod magnets side-by-side. The basses each had plastic guards and traditional bridges. They had the old Mustang bass style pickups. They differed only in scale. The second version Bullets were available in standard colors of red, cream, sunburst or translucent brown, as well as in custom colors.
And at that time it was very much famous.
Squier Bullet (from 1984–2007)
From 1984 the Bullet has been manufactured in Japan and other countries and is marketed under the SquierSquier
Squier is a musical instrument brand name owned by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.-History:Fender, under the ownership of CBS, acquired the Squier brand name in 1965 when it bought a USA based string making firm , but it lay dormant for many years...
trademark as the Squier Bullet
Squier Bullet
The Squier Bullet Strat is an electric guitar that emulates the look of the Fender Stratocaster, but with modifications to reduce cost. Like the Squier Stratocaster, it is not considered a strat copy as it is manufactured by Squier, a subsidiary of Fender and therefore carries the Fender brand name...
. Humbucking pickups from the original (early 80s) consisted of the same paired single coil configuration as the American-made models but used steel rods as pole pieces with a ceramic bar magnet. The three single coil pickup pattern like the Fender Stratocaster was also available as well as tremolo and hard tail bridges. The move was one of several strategies by Fender to reclaim market share
Market share
Market share is the percentage of a market accounted for by a specific entity. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found the "dollar market share" metric very useful, while 61% found "unit market share" very useful.Marketers need to be able to...
from companies who manufacture and sell Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
imitations to beginning guitarists.
Squier Bullet (2008– )
Squier introduced a new, Chinese-made version of the Bullet in 2008, sporting a built-in tremolo arm, rosewood fingerboard, and one of six body finishes (Pink, Arctic White, Daphne Blue, Fiesta Red, Brown Sunburst, or Black) with a single-ply white pickguard.Further reading
- Fjestad, Zachary R. (Editor), The Blue Book of Electric Guitars; (9th Edition), 2005
- Peter Bertges: The Fender Reference; Bomots, Saarbrücken 2007, ISBN 978-3-939316-38-1