EXperimental and Prototype Telecasters
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The late ‘60s and the ‘70s were a particularly experimental time for Fender. During these years, the Research & Development Department designed some experimental guitars.
Some of them were developed to reduce the weight of Fender instruments, a project that culminated in the Thinline model. The Smuggler’s Telly, the semi-hollow Zebrawood Stratocaster, and the Zebrano Telecaster are notable examples. Others were truly custom, one-of-a-kind guitars that never went into production, like Phil Kubicki’s Stringer Telecaster shown in the Guitar World article by Rod Braked, published on November 22, 2022. This guitar gained the nickname “Stringer” because Phil used about 35 different woods to make its body, giving it the appearance of having strings running through it. To achieve this particular look, he used tiny veneers to separate the different woods, alternating dark pieces with light ones. |
The Stringer Telecaster (Image credit: Paige Davidson)
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The Walnut-Striped Telecaster
Recently, a new true six-string unicorn emerged from the second-hand market: the Walnut-Striped Telecaster. Buzz Wylder, the owner of this guitar, showed us this Fender instrument, whose body has something in common with the Stringer Telecaster.
The neck is a regular 1972 Thinline maple neck with a bullet truss rod and a 'J. Torres' stamp on the heel, but the body appears to be a full ash body with a walnut strip instead of the f-hole. The strip is too narrow to cover the entire f-hole, indicating that the body is not a modified Thinline body but a genuine custom body. The neck pocket features the stamp of ‘Benny Munoz.’
The neck is a regular 1972 Thinline maple neck with a bullet truss rod and a 'J. Torres' stamp on the heel, but the body appears to be a full ash body with a walnut strip instead of the f-hole. The strip is too narrow to cover the entire f-hole, indicating that the body is not a modified Thinline body but a genuine custom body. The neck pocket features the stamp of ‘Benny Munoz.’
The Walnut Striped Telecaster, Courtesy of Buzz Wylder
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The headstock of the Walnut Striped Telecaster, Courtesy of Buzz Wylder
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A few senior luthiers who worked for Fender during the ‘70s firmly believe that the body is an early prototype test by Phil Kubicki to check the compatibility of glues and woods used for the Stringer model.
Now the question is: how is it possible that such a guitar surfaced in the world thanks to the second-hand market? To understand the whole story, we have to introduce the Model Shop and the Model Makers.
Model Shop and Model Makers
Everybody knows about the Fender Custom Shop and the incredible instruments they make, but most have no idea that CBS Fender operated with a sort of Custom Shop and a string of elite master builders for the entire time they owned Fender. At CBS Fender the name of the Custom Shop was the Model Shop and the Master Builder was called the Model Maker.
The first Model Maker started at Fender around 1962, before CBS owned Fender. This means he was likely the man who made the prototype samples of the 3-bolt neck attachment and large head Stratocaster during his years there. From 1962 until just before the 1985 buyout, Fender always had one Model Maker attached to the R&D Department, strictly making prototype instruments or components and custom handmade instruments for music stars. At one time, they also had another Model Maker specializing strictly in cabinet making and electronic amp chassis work.
The R&D Department engineers designed all new models and parts, and the Model Maker crafted prototypes throughout the development phase. Once the final design was approved, the Model Maker made the final prototypes used for catalog pictures and trade shows like NAMM and Frankfurt MESSE.
During the CBS era, five people held the title and elite position of Model Maker of CBS Musical Instruments, Fender Rogers and Rhodes. It was Fender’s policy to always recruit a new Model Maker from within the company, and it was the ultimate reward to receive the promotion.
The first Model Maker started at Fender around 1962, before CBS owned Fender. This means he was likely the man who made the prototype samples of the 3-bolt neck attachment and large head Stratocaster during his years there. From 1962 until just before the 1985 buyout, Fender always had one Model Maker attached to the R&D Department, strictly making prototype instruments or components and custom handmade instruments for music stars. At one time, they also had another Model Maker specializing strictly in cabinet making and electronic amp chassis work.
The R&D Department engineers designed all new models and parts, and the Model Maker crafted prototypes throughout the development phase. Once the final design was approved, the Model Maker made the final prototypes used for catalog pictures and trade shows like NAMM and Frankfurt MESSE.
During the CBS era, five people held the title and elite position of Model Maker of CBS Musical Instruments, Fender Rogers and Rhodes. It was Fender’s policy to always recruit a new Model Maker from within the company, and it was the ultimate reward to receive the promotion.
The R&D Model Shop was a fully equipped wood and metal fabricating shop. They could create a guitar from scratch and do everything except paint. They could make handmade tremolo bridges, custom knobs, amplifier chassis, amp cabinets, and prototype Rogers drum parts.
Notable instruments built in the Model Shop include George Harrison’s all-rosewood Telecaster, the original prototype of the Telecaster Thinline, the extremely limited Jimi Hendrix Stratocasters, and the prototypes of the entire Vintage Reissue series released in 1982.
Notable instruments built in the Model Shop include George Harrison’s all-rosewood Telecaster, the original prototype of the Telecaster Thinline, the extremely limited Jimi Hendrix Stratocasters, and the prototypes of the entire Vintage Reissue series released in 1982.
The 1967 Zebrawood Stratocaster prototype, a guitar that never went production (Image credit: Paige Davidson)
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An experimental 1951 Fender Telecaster with Bigsby made for a Telecaster body, rather than an archtop (Image credit: Paige Davidson)
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To ensure the instruments were perfect, it was common to build more than the requested quantity due to the unpredictability of wood, which could lead to unavoidable imperfections.
As you can guess, over time the Model Maker would accumulate a quantity of leftover, useless necks, bodies, and other parts, just collecting dust in boxes with absolutely no way to use them.
It was a time-honored tradition for the Model Maker to be asked by people in the company to make custom, one-of-a-kind guitars from these leftover parts. He would be approached in secret by people at all levels of management at Fender with these requests. The one concrete rule in all this was that there was never any money involved. They were simply recycling abandoned parts, and the Model Maker was giving his skill and time for free. It was an unwritten rule of the Model Maker job.
Although these guitars were crafted for Fender employees, many, if not most, have found their way into the second-hand market, being sold or traded by the person who originally requested the instrument. This became dangerous because Fender senior management would find out, and they would want to know where the guitar came from, as it was against all company policies. Model makers, of course, could have refused, but refusing to follow this tradition would have put them in a bad light.
Judging by rough estimates of the instruments and knowing that this was a tradition in place for a couple of decades, the quantity of genuine original custom one-of-a-kind Fender guitars and basses is impressive. These instruments have shown up in exhibitions, at dealers, and even in books, and have been discussed on various internet sites by people wondering about their origin. And the correct answer has never even been assumed or guessed, as no one knew that such a custom shop had existed for decades.
As you can guess, over time the Model Maker would accumulate a quantity of leftover, useless necks, bodies, and other parts, just collecting dust in boxes with absolutely no way to use them.
It was a time-honored tradition for the Model Maker to be asked by people in the company to make custom, one-of-a-kind guitars from these leftover parts. He would be approached in secret by people at all levels of management at Fender with these requests. The one concrete rule in all this was that there was never any money involved. They were simply recycling abandoned parts, and the Model Maker was giving his skill and time for free. It was an unwritten rule of the Model Maker job.
Although these guitars were crafted for Fender employees, many, if not most, have found their way into the second-hand market, being sold or traded by the person who originally requested the instrument. This became dangerous because Fender senior management would find out, and they would want to know where the guitar came from, as it was against all company policies. Model makers, of course, could have refused, but refusing to follow this tradition would have put them in a bad light.
Judging by rough estimates of the instruments and knowing that this was a tradition in place for a couple of decades, the quantity of genuine original custom one-of-a-kind Fender guitars and basses is impressive. These instruments have shown up in exhibitions, at dealers, and even in books, and have been discussed on various internet sites by people wondering about their origin. And the correct answer has never even been assumed or guessed, as no one knew that such a custom shop had existed for decades.
