One of the interviews I conducted was with Freddie, a soft-spoken and gentle individual, during his time as an employee at Fender when it was still under the CBS umbrella.
The interview took place at the Fender office located at 1300 Valencia Ave, Fullerton. I believe the creative office, which had a distinct beehive appearance, connected to the factory building, still exists today under different ownership.
During my visit, Freddie showed me an old prototype guitar. It was sitting in a corner of his office, somewhat assembled but without strings. The neck appeared to be temporarily in place, possibly from a Lead I or II model. However, the body was a bare wood Stratocaster, looking rather aged, and the pickguard was a single-ply black material known as vulcanized fiber. (Vulcanized fiber was commonly used for pickguards on early Precision Bass guitars and amplifier circuit boards at Fender.) It was a mock-up of sorts, and what caught my attention was the absence of pickups. There were no pole pieces visible.
Additionally, it had four lever switches, two slanted like a Stratocaster and two side by side at a different angle. Intrigued, I asked Freddie about it, and he mentioned that it was likely a prototype for the Marauder model. The Marauder was never officially released, but we do know that a few playable prototypes exist. However, all the known prototypes have larger Jaguar/Bass VI-style bodies. So, the presence of a Stratocaster body in this early prototype raises interesting questions. I had hoped to follow up on this with Freddie, but unfortunately, I never had the chance to revisit and confirm the details.
To be continued…