ATS:
First off, I would like to thank you for taking the time to
talk with us. I know time, for a company this large, is a
valuable commodity. To begin with, I was wondering if you
could tell us a little bit about your background and how you
ended up at Fender?
 RM:
It’s a weird, long, and convoluted story.
I started playing around age 14…Ike Turner and Jimi
Hendrix introduced me to the Stratocaster…met a cat
when I was 19…Walt Richardson. He was a dishwasher and
I was a bus boy at the Denny’s by Arizona State University.
He was always singing and one day I said, “Hey, man!
I play guitar and write songs. Want to jam?” Well, we
ended up playing together in a band called MORNINGSTAR for
over 20 years. We toured 80 cities 300 nights a year for about
a decade. I don’t know who looks worse for the wear…me
or my ‘62 reissue Stratocaster! I had a Fender endorsement
via the bands sponsorship from Miller Genuine Draft. When
I heard the company was moving its global HQ to Scottsdale,
AZ, I thought maybe it was time to make that life change that
I had been thinking about. You know… the one every musician
gets around to when he decides he really does need medical
insurance, a 401K, and regular food. My Fender “A/R
rep” was the late Mark Wittenberg. He gave me the HR
department # and I sent in a resume.
ATS:
Did you start out at a high level position?
RM: No…I
started in the parts department answering phones and taking
orders…moved to CA and started the accessories expansion
for Fender…then came back to AZ and worked as a marketing
assistant to Ritchie Fliegler, who had come from Korg/Marshall
to run the amplifier division. My electronics background from
the Coast Guard, combined with my playing tenure, helped in
that gig. I did pro audio long enough to launch the Passport,
later took over amps and did the Acoustasonics, SFX, Cyber
Twin etc. I took the Fender guitar gig a few years later and
then VP of Marketing in early 2003. I also went back to college
in there somewhere and got a B.S. in Business Management.
ATS:
Wow! For a musician, it sounds like a dream come true. I understand
you have an ‘85 Candy Apple Red Stratocaster. I’m
sure our readers would love to hear about this.
RM: Yes…my
main guitar has been a CAR 1962 Reissue Stratocaster. I bought
it new in 1985 at Milano Music in Mesa AZ. It has a thin neck
and the fretboard radius is flat with bigger frets. Richard
Beck at Beck’s guitars in Tempe did all the work on
the axe. It has been re-fretted twice and had 2-3 saddle replacements,
etc. It’s an incredible workhorse guitar. Anyone that
picks it up is drawn into its vibe. It’s special.
ATS:
It sounds special, especially since you went to the trouble
of having it re-fretted twice. Now, I understand you are quite
the craftsman at woodworking. Do you build guitars?
RM: Yes…I
am into woodworking…but not guitars! I have a nice shop
at home and I make furniture, jewelry boxes, etc. It has been
a passion my whole life and at Fender there are plenty of
“wood-worms” to hang with. Donnie Wade, our Guild
Marketing Manager, is a talented luthier and an even bigger
wood nut than me.
ATS:
Okay…let’s talk business now.  Seriously,
how much of Fender do you oversee and what is your
role with the company? In other words, how much decision power
do you have?
RM: Oh geez…that
question! I am master of all I survey… just kidding.
I am FMICs Vice-President of Marketing. In a nutshell, I am
responsible for managing all brands falling under FMIC’s
umbrella…Fender Guitars and Amplifiers, Fender Acoustic,
Guild, Gretsch, Squier, Custom Shop, Jackson, Charvel, Bennedeto,
Rodriguez, Fender Bass amplification and SWR bass amps.
Rich
McDonald with the legendary Buddy Guy!
Each
of these brands has a VP of marketing or Marketing Manager
assigned as a brand manager. They are responsible for the
product and how it is positioned in the marketplace. These
are global positions that work closely with all world markets.
This is my staff. What you like and don’t like about
all the brands you see above is our doing.
Now…that
being said, there are a ton of people that make all of this
happen. FMIC is a team of people managing various processes
and marketing is one element. The best R&D staff in the
business (guitar and electronics) sales, admin, customer service,
manufacturing, etc. all contribute to the big picture…but,
if it’s a stupid guitar that no one wants and someone
needs to be blamed…that would be me…and I am ok
with that.
ATS: That’s
a tall order. I’m not sure I would want to be in your
shoes. Can I ask you…in terms of positioning, where
do you see Fender going in the next few years and how do you
plan to deal with any competition?
RM: The market
is insane…extreme fragmentation, country of origin issues
changing, globalization, consumers demanding more for their
money, US manufacturing cost continually on the rise. You
will see Fender responding to these issues as always. We will
deal with competition by being true to Fender’s legacy
of listening to players, producing quality instruments, and
remaining a leader in innovation. We don’t play follow
the loser at Fender. We try to stay true to ourselves.
ATS:
That’s a great philosophy! I really like that! What
about market saturation? Do you feel that the market is currently
saturated or that it will become saturated in the future?
RM: I sometimes
wonder where all these guitars go? No…I don’t
fear saturation although there is a large amount of excess
production capacity in Asia. That can result in no name brands
popping up at rock-bottom prices as factories attempt to feed
the monster (production capacity). Accept no imitators…buy
Fender branded products.
ATS:
Many of our readers are interested to learn about new technologies,
such as digital modeling guitars, like the Variax. Do you
think modeling and digital-out guitars will begin to make
inroads within the marketplace?
RM: New technology
is exciting for us. You would probably be shocked at our electronics
R&D department in Scottsdale. We have a building full
of engineer/musicians types…PhDs that left NASA to make
Fender amps. Guitar R&D is the same story. OK, here is
the line on digital and guitar from our angle. Line 6 is cool,
they brought in a new mind set to the business…woke
me right up. Gibson has been developing “Magic”
for some years now. The last article I read said Henry had
spent over $50 million to date. I agree with some who see
it as a solution in search of a problem.
With
a market so fragmented, it is really hard for me to sit here
and believe any one idea (product) will be an all encompassing
change that takes the music industry by storm and changes
the face of guitar playing forever. Where is Midi in the overall
picture of guitar playing today?
The
Variax is fun and cool. Will all guitars in the future have
pickup modeling? I don’t think so. Just because some
people like it means at least half the public will “pooh-pooh”
it just to be unique. We still make a ton of tube amps along
with our digital Cyber amps.
We will work in these areas as well and create products with
the Fender spin on technology. Once again, our Cyber amps
are a statement to our ability to develop technologically
heavy product offerings. New technology will continue to bring
great things to guitarists and most will fall into niche markets
or have relatively short product life cycles. Fender will
be there.
ATS:
Fender has been working in some interesting partnerships with
non-music companies, like the SoCal Speed Shop, to create
collaborative products. Will this continue in the future?
RM: I can’t
tip the cards there, but you can bet we will continue to be
the industry leader in this area. It is great for market exposure.
In this business, you are often found preaching to the choir
of guitarists out there taking it all in. Co-branding gets
us out into the world. We also are in an era of specialization.
Companies like Meguiar’s are specialists…people
trust that. I know I do. By the way, the Fender Instrument
Care Kit by Meguiar’s is unreal and by far the best
guitar care solution ever offered.
And
now…a few questions from our readers and forum “friends”
Q:
Will Fender bring back the Starcaster?
RM: We are using
the name for a line of guitars offered at Costco. It is not
the Starcaster of old, however.
Q:
Does Fender focus its marketing on current Fender owners or
new owners? Also, which area do you see the greatest growth
potential? (Amps, guitars, etc.)
RM: A large percentage
of our marketing goes toward owners and players. That doesn’t
please me, but it is the nature of the beast. Getting out
to non-targeted markets looking to develop new players is
exciting, but incredibly expensive. We have elected to do
this via events such as X games, music festivals, car shows,
mountain bike races and various grass roots-type, one-on-one
marketing.
Q:
Why are there so many versions of the Stratocaster?
RM: Everybody
wants something different today. Look at how many recording
categories are on the back of Billboard magazine. Fifteen
years ago, there were only a few…Rock, Country, Folk,
Blues, Classical. Today, there are dozens. Look at magazine
racks. There used to be 3-4 magazines per category. Now, there
are several for every lifestyle. Strats are no different.
Q:
Why do think Fender vintage gear is so popular?
RM: There are
a lot of reasons. People like old stuff that smells like cigarettes
and scotch. It was right to begin with…a fondness for
nostalgic Americana…and a huge body of recorded music
that validates the instruments as timeless. Think about it,
if you are in an orchestra in Tulsa or Tokyo, you need a violin.
It’s the same with Rock and Blues and Country. You want
to play that…you probably need a Fender of some kind.
Also, Fender gear keeps its value and that keeps coming back.
More importantly, a Fender will work many years later (a Fender
hallmark).
Q:
Will the *Marble Bowling Ball* Strats be re-issued soon? Many
Fender players have been crying out for a return of these
beautiful guitars, since the initial issue was only 300.
RM: We have a
variation on that theme coming out this year I believe.
ATS:
"All Things Strat" would like to thank you for your
time and for sharing so much about yourself and Fender with
us. It has been very interesting hearing all this information
first-hand from Fender and we are certain that our readers
will love reading this interview. We at "All Things Strat"
thank you again and look forward to creating similar exciting
projects with you and Fender Musical Instruments in the future.
One
last thing…Gina D. in Corona says you owe her five bucks!
RM: I owe Gina
a lot more than $5. We all owe her for her dedication to quality
at Fender. She rocks! |
