Pre-CBS refers to the period before the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company was sold to CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) in January 1965.
For collectors and players, anything made before this date represents the absolute pinnacle of Fender's quality, craftsmanship, and historic value.
The "Pre-CBS" Era (Up to January 1965)
-Fender was still run by its founder, Leo Fender.
-Everything was produced in smaller quantities with a high level of hand-craftsmanship and premium materials.
The CBS Takeover & The Shift
When CBS took over in 1965, they immediately scaled up production to meet massive global demand by introducing assembly-lines, cheaper materials, and inferior design tweaks. Because of this, the year 1965 became a hard dividing line for collectors.
Pre-CBS Heavy Pick is a genuine piece of vintage guitar ephemera from that pre-1965 window.
The Logo Font: True pre-CBS picks feature Fender's early, elegant cursive script logo rather than the bolder, blockier logos used later in the 1970s.
No Registered Trademark Symbol: Genuine pre-CBS picks typically DO NOT HAVE the tiny circled R trademark stamp next to the logo, as those were introduced later.
They were made from old-school celluloid, often in a distinctively rich, highly swirled tortoiseshell pattern.
An original pick from the early '60s or late '50s is certainly a find for vintage enthusiasts to go with their vintage guitars!