While it may lack the pedigree of the Stratocaster or Telecaster, the Fender Bullet has a 27-year history which began with the release of this guitar in 1981.

By the early 1980s, Fender's market share had began to decrease as many people abandoned the more expensive US-built Stratocaster and Telecaster in favour of cheaper foreign-made copies. The Bullet was introduced to help ease the financial impact of these cheaper imports, and to appeal to the beginners guitar market.

There is a rumour that Fender initially attempted to move production of the Bullet to the Far East to cut costs, but poor build quality meant the first production run was moved back to the US.

The initial 1981 Fender Bullet, designed by John Page, came in two styles: standard and deluxe. The deluxe model featured a Stratocaster-style pickguard and bridge, 'hard-tail' style (without the traditional tremolo). With the standard version the bridge is continuous with the scratchplate - painted white. Colours were limited on the early Bullets, and the deluxe version came in either cream or red. The Bullet initially retailed for $199.

The original 1981 models featured two single-coil pickups (neck and bridge), a three-way selector switch, and a single volume and tone pot. The jack socket is on the front of the guitar, as on a Telecaster. The 21-fret rosewood neck and headstock are said to be a typical Telecaster style. The neck is regarded as very playable, and guitarists often wonder whether it is indeed a strict copy of a Telecaster neck or whether Fender modified the design somewhat. The body of the guitar is generally Telecaster-like with a single cutaway, although the shape was to change in later designs. Despite the differences in their bridges, both the standard and deluxe models have separate saddles for each of the six strings.

A year on from its initial release, Fender reinvigorated the series by modifying the design. The shape became a double cutaway, the traditional Stratocaster-type body. The firm also produced further versions with a greater variety of hardware and electronics. Humbucker pickups were introduced, and there was the option of having either two humbuckers or one humbucker and one single-coil pickup. Fender also added a coil tapping button for the humbucker-equipped guitars.

The later models, with a differing array of pickups and electronics, seem more suited to rock and distortion sounds, while the earlier models with the two single-coil pickups have a cleaner tone that is better suited to blues and similar styles.

Sadly, in 1984-85 the Bullet was swallowed up by Fender's 'cheap' brand, Squire, and production switched from the US to Japan¹. In general, these Squire Bullets appear to be more closely related to the Fender Stratocaster, with three single-coil pickups and a traditional Strat layout on a laminated body.

The sound of the Fender Bullet is in many ways a mixture of the Telecaster and Stratocaster, the two guitars from which its design borrowed. With the rear (bridge) pickup, the guitar has a very trebly, harsh sound, which in some ways is similar to the type of tone produced on a Telecaster. However, switch to the front (neck) pickup and the sound increases in both volume and depth of tone. This is more like the sound of many Stratocasters - a rich deep tone, especially when played through a valve amplifier. Finally, of course, there is the middle selector switch position, which produces a richer Telecaster-like sound.