FENDER TELECASTER

The Fender Telecaster, also known as a Tele, is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender. Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music. Introduced for national distribution as the Broadcaster in the autumn of 1950, it was the first guitar of its kind to be produced on a substantial scale. Its commercial production can be traced as far back as the spring of 1950, when the single- and dual-pickup Esquire models were first sold. From that time to the present, the Telecaster has been in continuous production in one form or another, making it the world's senior solid-body electric guitar .
The Fender Telecaster was developed by Leo Fender in Fullerton, California in the 1940s. Prior to its creation, the solid-body electric guitar had been created independently by several craftsman and companies, in the period roughly between 1932-1949, but none of these guitars had made a significant impact on the market. Leo Fender's Telecaster was the design that finally put the solid-body guitar on the map.
The initial production model appeared in 1950, and was called the Esquire. Fewer than fifty guitars were originally produced under that name, and most were replaced under warranty because of early manufacturing problems. In particular, the Esquire necks had no truss rod and many were replaced due to bent necks. Later in 1950, this single-pickup model was discontinued, and a two-pickup model was renamed the Broadcaster. From this point onwards all Fender necks incorporated truss rods. The Gretsch company, itself a manufacturer of hollowbody electric guitars (and now owned by Fender), claimed that "Broadcaster" violated the trademark for its Broadkaster line of drums, and as a newcomer to the industry, Fender decided to bend and changed the name to Telecaster, after the newly popular medium of television.
The Telecaster is known for its bright, cutting tone. One of the secrets to the Telecaster's sound centers on the bridge pickup, which has more windings than the neck pickup and hence has a much higher output, sometimes having twice the inductance of the neck pickup. At the same time, a capacitor is fitted between the slider of the volume control and the output, allowing treble sounds to bleed through while the mid and lower ranges are dampened. [2] A slanting bridge pickup enhances the guitar's treble tone. The solid body allows the guitar to deliver a clean amplified version of the strings' tone. This was an improvement on previous electric guitar designs, whose hollow bodies made them prone to unwanted feedback, and which sometimes suffered from a muddy, indistinct sound. These design elements allowed musicians to emulate steel guitar sounds, making it particularly useful in country music. Such emulation can be enhanced by use of a B-Bender (B-string bending device co-introduced by country picker Clarence White), enabling a smooth, precise change of pitch for a single string within a chord.


Fender American Deluxe Power Telecaster Review:

Features : 9 All mentioned in other reviews. Very versatile, especially with the right amp options. Noiseless magnetic pickups really are, the Fishman gives a convincing acoustic sound (especially if your only other choice is a pedal). Has the chunky "C" shaped neck, which unlike the earlier tele models, feels more like you're taking batting practice than playing. Personal preference, of course. Still a 9+ for features.
Sound : 10 I play thru a Marshall AS80R, so I can split the Fishman into the acoustic channel, the magnetic pickups to the aux/electric channel (with a Boss GT-3 in front for flexibility - the Marshall is NOT going to provide any usable overdrive/distortion). I may have to play an acoustic song followed by hard rock, so I can just dial in the proper acoustic/electric mix for each song via the individual volume knobs. And the sound is quite simply, beautiful. Running the Fishman through an acoustic amp really makes a big difference. Have to keep the piezo tone knob at center at most, as it can get a bit shrill. Overall, the sound is excellent.
Action, Fit, & Finish : 10 Setup was very close. Action (other than the chunky neck) is great. The fit and finish are custom shop quality. Mine is the white blonde, which is not quite as transparent as the finish on other white blonde ash tele's, but it is stunning nonetheless. This guitar is truly too nice to take out of the house, but I do for the occasional gig.
Reliability/Durability : 9 Again, this guitar is too nice to abuse by regular live playing use. The Fishman seems to pop now and then which is worrisome. Take the advice and always unplug the guitar chord when not playing. Otherwise, battery will drain quickly and provide you with an unusable piezo signal (plus a nasty noise).
Customer Support : 9 Generally very helpful. Mr. Gearhead web site is helpful. Would be great to have online customer support for problems (not for the "when was my guitar made"? questions).
Overall Rating : 9 Been playing 30 years. Have a LP DC Standard, Parker Fly Deluxe. Parker's neck is more playable, but the mag pickups don't math the tele's. You get a great deal of flexibility with this tele, and it is no longer in production, so grab one if you can. A valuable asset for any dedicated player.