Fender marks the Telecaster's 75th anniversary with five new models.] - Guitar | Technique

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.

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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.

(Image credit: Fender)

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.

Contemporary flourishes come via Luminlay side dots and a Graph Tech TUSQ nut, and its Noiseless neck pickup, and a 75th Anniversary Fastlane bridge humbucker “for crystalline cleans” and “beefy growls.” The Fastlane ‘bucker is Fender’s first-ever dual rail pickup design, ushering something very new into the guitar’s age-old recipe.

Further underscoring that there are two S-1 switches. One puts both pickups into series mode, while the other activates series/parallel modes for the humbucker. The guitar is finished with a six-saddle string-through-body bridge with chromed brass saddles, Deluxe locking tuners, knurled aluminum knobs, and a one-ply anodized aluminum pickguard.

Fender Telecaster 75th Annniversary guitars

(Image credit: Fender)

Over to the 75th Anniversary American Professional Custom Telecaster ($2,799). This model stands out via a double-bound and resonant alder body and flame maple top that’s finished in a purist two-tone sunburst colorway.

Its C-shaped neck gets a 9.5” radius and a maple fingerboard and medium-jumbo frets, with its tones powered by “best of both worlds” 75th Anniversary V-Mod pickups. So, expect the bridge to twang, and summer holiday warmth from the neck.

There’s also a push/push tone pot to put both pups in series, gold-plated hardware aplenty, and a three-saddle bridge.

Fender Telecaster 75th Annniversary guitars

(Image credit: Fender)

Moving on, the 75th Anniversary American Professional Classic Cabronita Telecaster ($1,999) revives the Gretsch-channeling cult classic. It rocks the series’ stylish treble horn pickguard and TV Jones pickups in both positions, promises tonal “punch and sparkle,” and a modern C-shape neck with a 9.5” fingerboard radius. It’s a real looker, serving “all the soul of a golden-era Fender, evolved for the modern player.”

Fender Telecaster 75th Annniversary guitars

(Image credit: Fender)

Finally, the 75th Anniversary Player II Telecaster ($1,099) adds “a touch of sparkle” to the Player II line with its Diamond Dust Sparkle finish. But it isn’t all about the looks. The mid-priced Tele – and cheapest of the celebratory bunch – is well spec’d with a modern C neck, 9.5” radius rosewood fingerboard, and rolled edges.

Elsewhere, it gets 75th Anniversary Thunderbolt pickups for “rich, powerful tones,” a six-saddle string-through-body bridge with block steel saddles, ClassicGear tuners, and a four-ply pearloid pickguard, with all hardware chrome.

Fender Telecaster 75th Annniversary guitars

(Image credit: Fender)

As Tom Petty’s foil, Mike Campbell, once said, “the Telecaster is like the heart and soul of rock and roll music,” and here, Fender is celebrating a milestone anniversary with a quintet of standout electrics.