!#8# Fender Telecaster Electric Guitars

!±8± Fender Telecaster Electric Guitars

History
There were other solid body electric guitars before the Fender Telecaster guitar. But the Tele, as it sometimes known, was invented in 1940s by Leo Fender and others in California. Leo later created the successful Stratocaster guitar. The body of the Telecaster is a solid one piece design.

Body
The Telecaster is a single cutaway guitar. A cutaway is an indentation or scallop in the guitar body, where the neck joins the body. Since the Telecaster is a single cutaway, it has only one cutaway below the neck where it meets the body. This cutaway provides room for the guitar player's hand to occupy when playing notes "high" on the neck.

Neck
The Telecaster had a one piece maple neck, one of Fender's many innovative design and manufacturing techniques. Today the Tele is available in maple and rosewood fretboard models.

Pickups
Originally Fender sold a single pickup guitar called the Esquire. A short time later a two pickup version of the guitar was named the Broadcaster. However, the Gretsch company objected due to their line of Broadkaster drums and Fender renamed his guitar The Telecaster. The Telecaster has two single coil pickups, as opposed to the double coil "humbucking" pickups found on some other guitars such as those by Gibson. The pickup nearest the bridge is mounted in a slanted position. The Telecaster had a three position switch to select the pickups. Musicians and Fender have tried other pickup combinations on the Tele, including using double coil or "humbucking" pickups.

Bridge
The bridge has three adjustable saddles carrying two strings each. For many years the Tele was available with a large chrome cover, Fender seems to have omitted this on many models recently. A popular add-on for the Telecaster is called the B-bender. This attachment allowed a smooth bend of the pitch of the B string, simulating the sound of a steel guitar. This was, of course, popular with country musicians.

Company History
Fender had a troubled history after CBS bought it 1965. However, Fender management bought out the company in 1985 and restored the company's prestige and reputation as a manufacturer of quality musical instruments.

Future
Today there are numerous models of American Standard Telecasters available from Fender in various price ranges. Its popularity and Fender's renovation guarantee a successful future for the Telecaster.