From a 1951 Road Worn edition to the Big F’s first-ever dual rail humbucker, vintage and modern come together for a T-shaped birthday party. Guitar World.
Fender has launched a new range of Telecasters to celebrate the guitar's 75th anniversary.
First launched in 1951 after switching its name from the Broadcaster, the Tele is a bona fide classic electric guitar design, and so, 75 years later, special anniversary models are a welcome addition to the Fender family.
The five-strong release doffs its metaphorical cap to the guitar's three-quarter-of-a-century history, from a Vintera Road Worn 1951 model, through to a Diamond Dust-encrusted Player II and high-spec American Ultra II, as period-correct features and Fender’s first-ever dual-blade pickup mix then and now.
For vintage enthusiasts, the 75th Anniversary Vintera Road Worn 1951 Telecaster will no doubt be the jewel in the crown here. Priced at $1,899, it pairs a swamp ash body with a maple neck, which gets Fender’s new Road Worn nitrocellulose lacquer finish to look and perform like a vintage gem.
An early ‘50s U-profile neck also promises an “authentic feel,” and its 7.25” radius maple fingerboard gets vintage-tall frets. Electronics include two Pure Vintage 1951 Telecaster pickups that “deliver all the crystal-clear chime and raw, steely twang that made Fender famous,” and a three-saddle bridge and vintage-style tuners.
The American Ultra II Telecaster ($2,999) iteration is a rather different proposition. Sporting a Liquid Gold finish, its alder body is sculpted with generous contours, a D-profile quartersawn maple neck with tapered heel, and an ebony 10”-14” compound radius fretboard with rolled edges, medium-jumbo frets, and custom lap steel inlays.
