Telecaster and Esquire Custom
1958 Telecaster Custom advert
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In addition to announcing the Telecaster and Esquire with the new rosewood fingerboard, the 1959 Summer NAMM saw the debut of the Telecaster Custom and Esquire Custom, as high-end alternatives to standard models, featuring an alder body with a three-tone sunburst finish, white binding on the front and rear edges of the body, and three-layer white celluloid pickguard. Because of its unstable nature, celluloid had the characteristic of turning brown over time, especially if subjected to light or smoke. So, these pickguards were never completely white, but showed a greenish-yellow hue, hence the name of mint green pickguards.
Forrest White in his book stated that the first Telecasters with binding actually dated back to 1958 and were built with the help of Fred Martin: “Fred Martin, of the Martin Guitar Company, had been kind enough to show me through his factory. He showed me the special tool they made to cut binding strips, and what material and what adhesive to use. One Telecaster was for Buck Owens, one for his guitarist, Don Rich, and one was a spare. A matching Precision Bass was also made.” |
According to Forrest, Fender Sales was so impressed with the guitar made for Buck that he placed a purchase order, dated July 23, 1959, for what Don Randall would call the Telecaster and Esquire Custom.
After 1965 Fender produced some Telecasters and Esquire Custom models with black binding on some models with light painted bodies.
It is interesting to notice that in the 1959 catalogue, the Telecaster and the Esquire Custom with rosewood fretboard had the walnut plug, probably because the truss rod in the prototypes was still inserted from the back of the neck. Also, in the same catalogue, the standard Telecaster was still shown with the maple fretboard because the initial idea was probably to produce only the Custom models with the rosewood fretboard, but in a short time Fender decided to extend its use also to standard ones.
Even if in the first Telecasters and Esquire Custom models the strings were installed all on top of the body (top-loading system), as in the standard models, already in 1960 Fender came back to the traditional strings-through-body design.
After 1965 Fender produced some Telecasters and Esquire Custom models with black binding on some models with light painted bodies.
It is interesting to notice that in the 1959 catalogue, the Telecaster and the Esquire Custom with rosewood fretboard had the walnut plug, probably because the truss rod in the prototypes was still inserted from the back of the neck. Also, in the same catalogue, the standard Telecaster was still shown with the maple fretboard because the initial idea was probably to produce only the Custom models with the rosewood fretboard, but in a short time Fender decided to extend its use also to standard ones.
Even if in the first Telecasters and Esquire Custom models the strings were installed all on top of the body (top-loading system), as in the standard models, already in 1960 Fender came back to the traditional strings-through-body design.
In the 1959 catalog, the Telecaster and the Esquire Custom with rosewood fretboard had the walnut plug, probably because the truss rod in the prototypes was still inserted from the back of the neck
In the 1959 catalog, the regular Telecaster was still shown with the maple fretboard, whilst the Custom had the rosewood fretboard
Seth Lover shows off his PAF humbucking pickups, on the left, and his Fender Wide Range Pickups, on the right
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Towards the end of the 1960s rock music became harder and harder, enhancing the sustain and sound of Gibson's humbucking pickups. For this reason, CBS, owner of the Fender brand, began to feel the need to use these pickups also for Fender instruments, which had always been associated with the sound of single coils. In 1967 Richard Dick Evans, a former Gibson employee who worked at Fender at that time, invited Seth Lover, a recently resigned humbucker inventor from Gibson, to visit the Fullerton factory. Shortly thereafter, Seth was hired by Fender and designed the Fender Wide Range Humbucking Pickup, the first Fender humbucker. This pickup featured twelve threaded magnetic poles made of CuNiFe, an alloy based on copper, nickel and iron. Once the metal cover was soldered, only six pole pieces, split in two offset rows, came out of the cover and could be adjusted in height: those of E, A and D of the coil closest to the neck and those of G, B and high E of the coil closest to the bridge. The other poles were upside down and were hidden by the cover.
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This allowed for a stronger magnetic field compared to that obtained by Seth with Gibson PAFs, characterized by a single Alnico magnet under the coils. The sound produced was brighter and the resistance of about 10kOhms guaranteed a higher output.
Around mid-1972, Fender redesigned the recently discontinued Telecaster Custom with a new Fender Wide Range neck humbucker. Despite the name, this model had little to do with the original Telecaster Custom. On a new black pickguard, larger than the previous one, a three-position switch and four knobs stood out. The classic three-saddle bridge, used for the very first models, was quickly replaced by one with six saddles similar to that of the hard-tail Stratocasters. The new “tiltable guitar neck incorporating thrust absorbing pivot and locking elements,” also known by the name of Tilt-Neck or Micro-Tilt, designed by Leo Fender and Freddie Tavares in 1970, allowed to modify the inclination of the neck through a small Allen key located in the anchor plate. The truss-rod adjusting bolt was removed from the neck heel and housed in a bullet – hence the term bullet truss rod – located above the nut, all without disassembling the neck. Furthermore, unlike the first Telecaster Custom, it was available in both the 1-piece maple neck version and the one with the rosewood fretboard.
Around mid-1972, Fender redesigned the recently discontinued Telecaster Custom with a new Fender Wide Range neck humbucker. Despite the name, this model had little to do with the original Telecaster Custom. On a new black pickguard, larger than the previous one, a three-position switch and four knobs stood out. The classic three-saddle bridge, used for the very first models, was quickly replaced by one with six saddles similar to that of the hard-tail Stratocasters. The new “tiltable guitar neck incorporating thrust absorbing pivot and locking elements,” also known by the name of Tilt-Neck or Micro-Tilt, designed by Leo Fender and Freddie Tavares in 1970, allowed to modify the inclination of the neck through a small Allen key located in the anchor plate. The truss-rod adjusting bolt was removed from the neck heel and housed in a bullet – hence the term bullet truss rod – located above the nut, all without disassembling the neck. Furthermore, unlike the first Telecaster Custom, it was available in both the 1-piece maple neck version and the one with the rosewood fretboard.
Despite the picture of the micro-tilt patent, it was never used on regular Telecaster. Although Freddie Tavares was not mentioned, he helped Leo to design the micro-tilt.
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1972 Telecaster Custom,
Courtesy of Guitar Point
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Telecaster Thinline
Philip Kubicki
The Telecaster Thinline, a hollow-body version of the historic Fender solid-body guitar, was introduced in July 1968 and appeared in the November 1968 edition of Fender Facts magazine.
The prototype, built by Phil Kubicki, was designed by Roger Rossmeisl, of the Research & Development department, who had already designed the Fender Coronado, helped by Virgilio Simoni, head of the Blank, Body and Sanding department.
But who came up with the idea of building this model? In an interview with Rick Batey for Guitar & Bass in 2015, Phil Kubicki stated that the request came from the sales sector, as had already happened for other Fender instruments: “Roger didn't think of it. It came down from above. We weren’t free to think for ourselves, we weren’t hired to think about new models. The ideas came from the people that sell them. You know, they might say ‘I want an electric that sells for $125.’ It wasn't something that I or even Roger generated.”
The prototype, built by Phil Kubicki, was designed by Roger Rossmeisl, of the Research & Development department, who had already designed the Fender Coronado, helped by Virgilio Simoni, head of the Blank, Body and Sanding department.
But who came up with the idea of building this model? In an interview with Rick Batey for Guitar & Bass in 2015, Phil Kubicki stated that the request came from the sales sector, as had already happened for other Fender instruments: “Roger didn't think of it. It came down from above. We weren’t free to think for ourselves, we weren’t hired to think about new models. The ideas came from the people that sell them. You know, they might say ‘I want an electric that sells for $125.’ It wasn't something that I or even Roger generated.”
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Certainly, after the sale to CBS, Fender tried to figure out which solid-body model could be converted into a hollow-body. Obviously, the Stratocaster could not be taken into consideration because the body had too many curves, so the choice fell on the Telecaster.
Already in 1966, a guitar had been built, never going into production, which had a Telecaster hollow and double-bound body, the neck of the Jazzmaster and the vibrato of the Mustang. At the beginning of 1967, Roger Rossmeisl and Virgilio Simoni built a first prototype. The instrument, which never went into production, had a completely hollow body, with the top in spruce and the bottom in zebrano. In 1967, to lighten the Telecaster's heavy ash body, some “Smuggler's Tellies” were made whose bodies featured small cavities hidden under the pickguard, but they were not very successful. |
Roger Rossmeisl
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The prototype with the top in spruce and the bottom in zebrano (Photo Martin Kelly, Terry Foster, Paul Kelly: The Golden Age of Fender: 1946-1970)
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"Smuggler's Telly" body, Photo Courtesy Premier Guitar
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The final prototype was designed in 1968 using a technique that Rossmeisl had developed when he worked at Rickenbacker. The body was hollowed out in the back, adding a large f-shaped hole on the front, and was capped with a thin sheet of the same wood. “The body was carved out in the back on the f-hole side, and then the f-hole was machined in, then a matching back was glued on so it looked like a solid-body,” Phil Kubicki told Rick Batey.
The prototype’s body was mahogany: “The first one was mahogany, and as the guitar was mostly a stock item, we had a production body. I mean, why should I route something out from scratch when I could just get it from the floor?”, Phil declared. The prototype was so popular that the new Telecaster Thinline was marketed with both ash and mahogany bodies. It had a larger pickguard and weighed about half the size of regular Telecasters. Otherwise, the neck, hardware and electronics were identical to those of the regular Telecaster.
The prototype’s body was mahogany: “The first one was mahogany, and as the guitar was mostly a stock item, we had a production body. I mean, why should I route something out from scratch when I could just get it from the floor?”, Phil declared. The prototype was so popular that the new Telecaster Thinline was marketed with both ash and mahogany bodies. It had a larger pickguard and weighed about half the size of regular Telecasters. Otherwise, the neck, hardware and electronics were identical to those of the regular Telecaster.
The 1968 Telecaster Thinline advert showed both the ash-body and the mahogany-body guitars in a stunning Natural finish
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1968 Telecaster Thinline,
Courtesy of Guitar Point
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The Telecaster Thinline was introduced in July 1968 and appeared in the November 1968 edition of Fender Facts magazine, in the two versions with the body in ash or mahogany, with a Natural finish, both with maple cap necks, yet strangely, did not appear in the 1969 catalog. Towards the end of 1968 it was also available in the 3-Color Sunburst finish as a standard option, in addition to the Custom Colors which could be chosen for a 5% surcharge, and the neck went back to being 1-piece maple, while, in 1969, the rosewood fingerboard was added upon request.
At the end of 1971 the Telecaster Thinline was redesigned with two Fender Wide Range pickups, a six-saddle hard-tail bridge reminiscent of the hard-tail and tilt-neck Stratocasters, and only in the 1-piece maple neck version.
At the end of 1971 the Telecaster Thinline was redesigned with two Fender Wide Range pickups, a six-saddle hard-tail bridge reminiscent of the hard-tail and tilt-neck Stratocasters, and only in the 1-piece maple neck version.
1972 Telecaster Thinline,
Courtesy of Guitar Point
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Telecaster Deluxe
First appearing in the 1973 catalog, the Telecaster Deluxe was the third with humbuckers and was the flagship model of the Fender Telecasters. It can be considered a hybrid model, as, while maintaining the same body shape as the other Telecasters, it had the rear contour and headstock like the Stratocaster, two Fender Wide Range humbuckers like the second Thinline, an elongated pickguard with a three-way switch and four knobs such as the Custom, bullet truss rod, tilt neck and six-saddle bridge, and, on request, it could be equipped with a vibrato bar. It was only available in the 1-piece maple neck version.
1973 Telecaster Deluxe,
Courtesy of Guitar Point
Conclusive Notes
Despite the humbucker innovation, the three CBS Telecasters with Fender Wide Range pickups failed to appeal to musicians who aimed at the Gibson sound. The Thinline went out of production in 1979, while the Custom and the Deluxe went out of production at the beginning of 1981. The CBS management, that focused on large-scale production rather than quality control, together with an increase in prices due to general inflation and to the value of the dollar which did not facilitate export, caused the sales of Fender instruments to decrease significantly in the 1970s.
