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Because Fender Guitars is the parent company of Jackson/Charvel, perhaps you may be interested to know this.
This is from the current U.S. News and World Report:
American Made:
Fender
The company that in 1954 invented the Stratocaster electric guitar, played by legends like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, has recently seen the popularity of its American-made instruments soar. That's a far cry from 1987, when demand for low-cost, mass-produced guitars prompted the firm to open a plant in Ensenada, Mexico. For several years, that factory provided some 60 percent of the firm's sales, with the rest coming from a Corona, Calif., facility that makes pricier models. By introducing guitars like the American Deluxe series--which replicate the sassy shape of classic 1950s models--and capitalizing on the Stratocaster's 50th anniversary this year, Fender expects to see sales from the Corona plant eclipse Ensenada's in 2004. Considering that the Corona-made guitars sell for about an average $800 morethan the Ensenada models, that's a real boon to Fender. "The spirit of rock-and-roll is U.S.A.," says marketing vice president Richard McDonald. "Many of our overseas markets don't even want our catalog translated, because then it becomes less American."
But even Fender's California-made guitars represent an America that's not easily defined. The Corona plant, which churns out about 523 guitars a day, uses ash, alder, and maple trees, nearly all of which come from U.S. forests, for its guitar bodies. But even the vintage-style guitars sport German tuning gears and partially Italian-made plastic pick guards (the panels that sit under the strings to protect the guitar body). And what about the 350 workers who assemble them? Noting the irony, McDonald quips: "Ninety-nine percent of the factory workforce is Mexican."
This is from the current U.S. News and World Report:
American Made:
Fender
The company that in 1954 invented the Stratocaster electric guitar, played by legends like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, has recently seen the popularity of its American-made instruments soar. That's a far cry from 1987, when demand for low-cost, mass-produced guitars prompted the firm to open a plant in Ensenada, Mexico. For several years, that factory provided some 60 percent of the firm's sales, with the rest coming from a Corona, Calif., facility that makes pricier models. By introducing guitars like the American Deluxe series--which replicate the sassy shape of classic 1950s models--and capitalizing on the Stratocaster's 50th anniversary this year, Fender expects to see sales from the Corona plant eclipse Ensenada's in 2004. Considering that the Corona-made guitars sell for about an average $800 morethan the Ensenada models, that's a real boon to Fender. "The spirit of rock-and-roll is U.S.A.," says marketing vice president Richard McDonald. "Many of our overseas markets don't even want our catalog translated, because then it becomes less American."
But even Fender's California-made guitars represent an America that's not easily defined. The Corona plant, which churns out about 523 guitars a day, uses ash, alder, and maple trees, nearly all of which come from U.S. forests, for its guitar bodies. But even the vintage-style guitars sport German tuning gears and partially Italian-made plastic pick guards (the panels that sit under the strings to protect the guitar body). And what about the 350 workers who assemble them? Noting the irony, McDonald quips: "Ninety-nine percent of the factory workforce is Mexican."
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