Considering the fact that the Telecaster was Leo Fender’s very first electric guitar (and that he wasn’t even a guitar player), it’s incredible that it turned out so perfect that only a few minor tweaks have been necessary over the past half century. How many products can make that claim?
The real beauty of the Fender Telecaster is its design: A simple slab body, a pair of single-coil pickups, tone and volume controls with a 3-way blade switch, and a comfortable maple neck – and that’s it! It could hardly be any more basic, yet artists as diverse as James Burton, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Bryant, Merle Haggard, Albert Collins, and Bruce Springsteen chose it over other, flashier guitars. And you don’t get any more “back to basics” than with a Fender Classic ’50s Telecaster. It has a premium ash body with a White Blonde finish, a comfortable “C”-shape maple neck, a single-ply pickguard and two vintage Tele pickups. Oh, and it comes with a price tag that’s as down-to-earth as the guitar is – just $669.99 (which even includes free shipping from Sweetwater’s giant state-of-the-art warehouse right to your door).
The Classic ’50s Telecaster also includes a gloss polyurethane finish, a maple fingerboard with 21 vintage-style frets, a 3-saddle, string-thru-body bridge, and two vintage Tele pickups. It ships in a deluxe padded gig bag that provides a surprising amount of protection without the weight of a hardshell case.
