What Is The Most Popular Electric Guitar Model Ever Made?
Perhaps even more so than the later Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul, the Fender Telecaster is arguably the most important electric guitar ever made, with a profound legacy felt when picking up a rare vintage model.
Associated with legendary innovative figures that range from Bob Dylan to Joe Strummer to Tom Morello, the Telecaster was the first guitar that people knew the name of, and its distinctive solid-body design effectively invented rock and roll as we know it.
Why was this the case? Where did the name come from? And why is the Fender Telecaster still so beloved today?
Why Is It Called The Fender Telecaster?
The original version of the Fender Telecaster was known as the Esquire, although it would only feature a single pickup compared to the two humbuckers used in the final version of the Telecaster.
It was originally known as the Fender Broadcaster, so named because it was designed to be plugged into an amplifier and PA system for performances, unlike the acoustic and semi-acoustic guitars used at the time.
However, following a legal threat by Gretsch over the name, they initially sold it without a name before opting for the Telecaster name as it became a very popular guitar on the then-new medium of television, especially noticeable with its traditional yellow colour scheme.
Why Is It The Most Successful Guitar Ever Made?
As the first widely available solid-body guitar, it was an immediate success amongst musicians making the switch to electric blues, country and rock, as it had two incredible tones available thanks to its pickups without the nasty feedback that came from hollowbody instruments.
The bridge pickup provides a bright tone perfect for country music whilst the neck pickup became hugely popular in electric blues and jazz, later translating into rock, punk and heavy metal.
Leo Fender initially believed that the later Stratocaster, with its rounder double-cutaway design, three pickups and custom tremolo system, would replace it, but the Telecaster has endured to this very day.
