CBS Takeover

      In 1965, Fender was sold to a large company called CBS  (Columbia Broadcasting System). Leo Fender sold Fender Guitars and it's sub-companies for thirteen million dollars. The value of the Fender brand becomes clear when you take into consideration that this figure is two million more than what CBS paid for the New York Yankees Baseball Team. Initially, the takeover was seen as a good thing, as CBS were able to bring in capital and staff to increase sales. Despite this, It is the opinion of most that the sale of the company resulted in a decline in quality, as CBS implemented a cost-cutting regime.
    After their takeover of Fender, CBS introduced some new features to the guitars, including larger headstock shapes and bold black Fender logos. A new semi-hollow guitar was introduced, called the Starcaster, which was designed to go up against Gibson's popular ES-355.

Fender Starcaster

You sometimes see used Fender guitars for sale with the description "Pre-CBS". This signifies a guitar that was made before CBS took over and started cutting corners with Fender products. Pre-CBS guitars are incredibly sought-after in the used guitar market.