Fender Musical Instruments Corp. and Mobile Fidelity Electronics (MoFi) are partnering to develop, produce, and release Fender’s first-ever turntable, the Fender x MoFi Precision Deck. Limited to a run of only 1,000 units, it is a high-performance turntable in every way, stated Fender.
The blanks of swamp ash are sourced, milled, and finished in the iconic three-color sunburst by Fender USA. The components are designed and built by MoFi. The turntable table is virtually ready to play straight out of the box with its pre-mounted MoFi MasterTracker pickup. Each limited-edition unit is individually numbered, badged, and certain to become a collector’s item.
“Having the opportunity to work with MoFi to bring this turntable to life has been a pleasure. The turntable finish comes in our legendary and iconic 3-color Sunburst and of course, uses the same ash wood used to make the Fender Precision Bass guitar,” noted Yuriy Shishkov, Fender Custom Shop principal master builder.
The journey of the PrecisionDeck has been an authentic collaboration between two respected brands within the industry. MoFi is renowned for remastering some of the greatest records of all time, and collaborating on a turntable with the Fender brand, whose instruments are widely featured on those albums, was a natural fit. MoFi Electronics President, John Schaffer said, “Working with the entire Fender team has been a great pleasure and we could not be more excited or proud of the result. From the beginning, creating this turntable has been a joy. The ideas on how to leverage both companies’ strengths and create something authentic and special just flowed. With the very first prototype we knew we were really on to something, as folks would stop by to admire what we were creating.”
Along the journey, MoFi learned of a story that convinced them that the PrecisionDeck was fated to be. In the early 1940s, Leo Fender was operating Fender Radio Service in Fullerton, Calif. His primary business was repairing home audio equipment—radios, TVs, and hi-fi sets. In 1945, Fender, with fellow inventors Doc Kauffman and Clifton Abbott, designed and patented a turntable of his own. Fender ultimately sold the turntable rights in 1945 for $5,000 in advance royalties and used the proceeds as seed money to fund the K&F Manufacturing Corporation with Kauffman. K&F manufactured lap steel guitars, amplifiers, and the record player for a short time before Kauffman sold his share in the company to Fender. Undaunted by Kauffman’s departure, Leo Fender established Fender Electric Instruments in 1946. Now, 75 years later, Fender’s name is once again gracing a technologically advanced turntable.
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