Electric pi- thetics on the other. Richard Smith. a pushed to change the pitch of the oneer Clarence columnist for Guitar Pluyer Maga- strings. For his work, Fender was in- Leo Fender, zinc said, "He left a usable, afford- ducted into the Country Music Hall whose revolution- able that sounded of Fame and the Rock Walk of ary "Stratoca3ter" great and was accessible to musi- Fame. models have been cims of little means. He did the Eager acceptance of Fender's de- extensions of the same thing for the guitar that Henry sign was also attributable to its be- muslcal hearts Ford did for the automobile." In ing more comfortable to use than Clarence Leo Fender and nlinds of rock 1965 Fender sold his company to existing instruments, but as time and roll giants CBS Inc. for $13 million. went on, it was the Strat's fluency like Buddy Holly, , and The "Strat," which also had a vi- with radically different musical Ji~niHendrix, died of natural causes brato, broke musical barriers with its styles, ranging from country-weste~n on March 23rd at the age of 8 1. variety of tones. Besides its distinc- to blues to heavy metal. that assured Fender began tinkering with gui- tive new look-fluid curves, spark- its now legendary place in musical tars a? a radio repairman in the late ling colors and longer neck-the history. "The Stratocaster is like the 40s. 111 1954 he created the "Strato- "Strat," whose neck was simply bolt- Rolls Royce," said , 53, caster." a revolutionary instrument ed on, was designed to be easily who pioneered the surf rock sound hailed as a near-perfect fusion of manufactured 011 an asse~liblyline. in Southern California in the late electronics. ergonomics and technol- One innovation that is practically 1950s and early 60s. "It can never ogy on one side and design and aes- universal today is an arm that can be be surpassed." l I I

EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION GRANTS PROGRAM 1 The AES Educational Foundation announces the I I opening of its 1991 educational grant program. Educational grants are made annually for univer- In previous years, grants were made to students sity studies at the graduate level with emphasis at the University of Surrey, U.K.; Universidad Na- on audio topics. Successful applicants may re- cional Autonoma de Mexico; McGill University, quest a one-time renewal of their grants. Montreal Canada; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology; and, in the US., the University of Illi- Completed applications must be received by nois, Brigham Young University, Georgia lnstitute 1991 June 1 to be considered for the 1991-1 992 of Technology, Iowa State University, Northwest- academic year. Applications are available from ern University, University of Pennsylvania , Rens- AES headquarters. selaer Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Miami. The Foundation, established to provide means for encouraging talented students in audio engi- Grants from the AES Educational Foundation neering and related fields, awards the grants on have been made possible by contributions from the basis of demonstrated past interest, achieve- private benefactors, the Audio Engineering Soci- ments in audio, and faculty recommendations. ety, Inc., and Mix magazine. For further information, please contact: Audio Engineering Society Educational Foundation 60 East 42nd Street, New York, NY I0165-0075, USA. Telephone 212-661 -8528, Telex 620298 AES UW, Fax 212-682-0477

J. Aud~oEng. Soc.. Vol. 39, No 5. 1991 May 419