by Rowlandwithaw

Created on: November 22, 2011

The Fender Telecaster began its life under the name Broadcaster in 1949, and it was due to a dispute with Gretsch that the guitar was renamed and launched in 1950 as the Telecaster. (The guitars made during the time of the dispute tend to be referred as Nocaster).

Leo Fender’s design was geared to mass production as opposed to the ‘hand made’ approach of luthiers. The slab body was band sawn and then routed to take the electronics. Furthermore the necks were not glued to the body in the traditional way but bolted on, making for faster construction and easier replacement. The electronics were also easier to access than on acoustic type guitars fitted with pick ups. The Tele was designed with two simple single coil pick ups with one volume and one tone control and a three way switch allowing selection of one, other or both of the pick ups. (Though models earlier than 1952 had a slightly different way of selecting the pick ups.)

Though it was simple and utilitarian, the Telecaster was a huge success and as a result the other Guitar manufacturers companies began to look at producing solid-bodied electric guitars - Gibson producing the legendary Les Paul model a few years later. 

The Telecaster sound is very distinctive – it is capable of producing bright cutting sounds favoured by country music players such as James Burton, Chet Atkins Rodney Crowell and Brent Mason as well as a warm rock – bluesy sound favoured by Albert Collins and Roy Buchanan. Though rather infrequently, the Tele has even been adopted by some jazz guitarists notably Ed Bickert, Mike Stern and Bill Frisell. The clean sound is, in fact, an ideal starting point for other directions too. Andy Summers was a committed Telecaster player when he was The Police and Jimmy Page used his Telecaster to record the first Led Zeppelin album.

The Telecaster is one of the three defining shapes of the solid bodied guitar (together with the Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul.) It’s a ‘workhorse’ which has a history- a well deserved history.

Technical Specifications

Body Wood: Ash, Alder or Poplar

Neck Wood: Maple

Fret Board: Maple or Rosewood

Scale Length: 25 ½ “

Pick Up: Two single coil pick ups, 3 way switch, volume and tone controls

Current Variations

Telecaster Custom: Humbucking pick up at neck position

Single coil pick up at bridge position

Telecaster Thinline: Hollow Body

Two Humbucking pick ups, two volume and two tone controls

(Earlier Thinline models  retained the standard pick-up arrangement)

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