In my continuing look at some of the earliest solid body electric guitars, it’s time to look at another legendary American guitar: the Fender Telecaster. The Tele has been in constant production since it was first produced about 60 years ago and has become a standard guitar for many musicians of many different genres. Whether in the hands of The Clash’s Joe Strummer or in the hands of Luther Perkins of Johnny Cash’s original Tennessee Three, a Telecaster sounds just right. It’s longevity is a testament to its utility, its simplicity, and of course, its distinctive sound.
The Telecaster came out of Leo Fender’s desire to make and electric guitar that could be played “Spanish Style” (as opposed to every other solidbody electric guitar at the time which were all intended to be played on one’s lap).
The first version of Fender’s guitar was a crude instrument initially made just to test pickups. This guitar was sought after by country players who liked its sound. Soon, Fender and his parter, Doc Kauffman, began refining the guitar that would eventually become the Tele.
The first Teles weren’t Teles. Leo Fender’s first production solid body guitar was called the Esquire. These first models came out in 1950 and had only one pickup which was in the bridge position. The Esquire also introduced an innovation that you didn’t see on the Les Paul--the Fenders had bolt-on necks.
Fender reasoned that the neck was the one part of the guitar that needed work or replacement the most, having it bolt on made it easier to detatch than the glued-in necks on Les Pauls and such. (This was a good thing for Fender since many of his first run Esquires had necks replaced due to the fact that they didn’t have truss rods to prevent the neck from warping under tension. All future models had truss rods.)
Later in 1950 the Esquire was renamed the Broadcaster and got a second pickup, in the neck position. The Broadcaster name didn’t last long either, though, as the Gretch company notified Fender that they had a line of drums known as Broadcasters. Fender acquiesced and decided to rename the guitar the Telecaster. (Television was a new fad at the time and Leo Fender thought having “Tele” in the name would be attractive.)
Since that time there have been many different versions of the Telecaster but all have retained the same basic style and features. One of my favorites is the Telecaster deluxe. This model, first produced in 1972, sports two of the legendary Fender Wide Range Humbucker pickups. The guitar also has a distinctive pickgaurd design different from the standard Tele, a three-way switch above the neck, as well as four knobs that provide individual volume and tone selection for each of the pickups. Besides this version there are also the Thinlines which are semi hollow and a favorite among country
pickers, and also the Custom models which are a favorite of Keith Richards.
While the times and styles change, it’s pretty great to see one guitar that has remained pretty much unchanged for the duration of its existence. The Telecaster has outlived a million fads and remains as it was originally, a true player’s guitar.
