Fender Telecaster Guitar
fender telecaster electric guitar
History
Fender Telecaster guitar, as it sometimes known, was invented in 1940s by Leo Fender and others in California. The body of the Telecaster is a solid one piece design. The first form of Fender Telecaster was known as the Esquire and there were about fifty guitars that were produced originally. In about 1950, Esquire, which was a one-pickup model was replaced with a two-pickup model and was named Broadcaster.
Body
The classic form of Fender Telecaster was a very simple framework, which had a neck and fingerboard including a single piece of maple, which was bolted to an ash or alder body with both sides flat, the front and back.
The Telecaster is a single cutaway guitar. A cutaway is an indentation or scallop in the guitar body, where the neck joins the body.
Neck
The Telecaster had a one piece maple neck, one of Fender’s many innovative design and manufacturing techniques. Today the Tele is available in maple and rosewood fretboard models.
Pickups
Originally Fender sold a single pickup guitar called the Esquire. A short time later a two pickup version of the guitar was named the Broadcaster. However, the Gretsch company objected due to their line of Broadkaster drums and Fender renamed his guitar The Telecaster. The Telecaster has two single coil pickups, as opposed to the double coil “humbucking” pickups found on some other guitars such as those by Gibson. The pickup nearest the bridge is mounted in a slanted position. The Telecaster had a three position switch to select the pickups. Musicians and Fender have tried other pickup combinations on the Tele, including using double coil or “humbucking” pickups.
Bridge
The bridge has three adjustable saddles carrying two strings each. For many years the Tele was available with a large chrome cover, Fender seems to have omitted this on many models recently. A popular add-on for the Telecaster is called the B-bender. This attachment allowed a smooth bend of the pitch of the B string, simulating the sound of a steel guitar. This was, of course, popular with country musicians.
Company History
Fender had a troubled history after CBS bought it 1965. However, Fender management bought out the company in 1985 and restored the company’s prestige and reputation as a manufacturer of quality musical instruments.
Future
Today there are numerous models of American Standard Telecasters available from Fender in various price ranges. Its popularity and Fender’s renovation guarantee a successful future for the Telecaster.
One of the musicians that have made Telecaster their signature include Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard, Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanan, Albert Collins who played the blues with the Telecaster, Muddy Waters as well as a long list of musicians who when played the guitar just touched the hearts of millions.
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