Review of the Fender Cabronita Telecaster for Its 75th Anniversary]

Despite the sentiment that Leo Fender ‘got it right the first time’, we’ve seen hundreds of different versions of the Telecaster over the years. From the simple bolt-on neck, single-pickup combo that launched a million imitators, to the huge variations we see today in terms of pickup configurations, semi-hollow designs, baritone guitars and more, with the Telecaster, it’s undoubtedly a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The first Cabronita Telecaster was a Custom Shop model, created by Mike Aldred. In his own words, it was created to be the “asshole cousin” of the regular Tele, combining a simpler aesthetic with a style that was more aggressive than a standard T-type. A prototype was sent out to names such as John Mayer, Keith Urban, and Billy Gibbons, and when the first concept was released, many players opted to copy the design with their own builds as the price wasn’t accessible for most.

Today’s review model, the Fender 75th Anniversary American Professional Classic Cabronita Telecaster, is the odd one out in the lineup of five instruments Fender has launched to mark 75 years of one of the most popular electric guitar designs in the world. It’s the only one that eschews the classic dual single coil pickup format (or the HS of the Ultra II model) in favor of two TV Jones TV Classic humbuckers.