1950 Fender Broadcaster, '52 Telecaster & Nocaster Reissue Demo

[@paulgeorgia8013]

The only issue I have with my Telecasters is that they constantly have to be retuned once every 3 months

[@Glicksman1]

That soon?

[@steveb9325]

What are you doing: playing golf with it???

[@mikeb1841]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@darrenc8776]

@@steveb9325 haha class

[@goswo]

I just put strong glue on the tuners. Works great. Never need to retune

[@anthonyc1883]

Contributing to the different tone of the Broadcaster vs. the early Telecasters was a change in pickup wire gauge, from 43 AWG enamel-coated wire to 42 AWG formvar wire. The 43 is slightly thinner which enabled more wire to fit on the pickup. Of course, the changeover did not occur exactly when the Broadcaster/Nocaster transitioned to the Telecaster, and also of course variations occur from guitar-to-guitar pickups even with the same wire being used. but generally speaking, the thinner wire is what helps the B'caster have a bit of a different sound.

[@rselp]

Wonderful respectful tribute to the venerable Telecaster. Leo got it so right nearly 70 years ago!

[@littleleroyUSA]

Guys, thanks for the demo. Great to see that truly exceptional Broadcaster. Yet, I would have appreciated a more time spent on the early wiring. I've watched other demos of the earliest Tele's and no one takes the time to talk about the circuit. Firstly, there's no tone control. So immediately you have more punch and highs. The back control is a BLEND control that adds the neck pickup to the bridge in the #1 switch position. *Very* useful! Adding a touch of the neck keeps the snarl of the bridge and adds some body and quack = "The Broadcaster Sound". Rolling the blend pot completely counter-clockwise gives the player what is now the #2 position on the "modern" Tele: full neck/bridge combined. But, again, no tone control sucking gain and highs. The #2 position is the neck pickup, still with no tone control. Nice, fat neck sound. And you did spend a little time on position #3, which was good to see and hear, which incorporates a resistor/capacitor network to remove the highs and lower the gain. All the best to you. Be well and play lots of guitar!

[@frantisca]

That NoCaster surely sounds good ! ! !

[@Dailyvids25]

The Broadcaster has the best Tele whirring ever. It has the blend option. You can blend the two pickups.

[@juka421]

No. Just no.

[@0sm4n]

juka421 ahahahahah

[@michelleneeds4165]

I recently got a Baja Telecaster. (Second hand) and just wanted to comment on the sound of the Broadcaster, it has that "chirpy' sound that mine has, with the Broadcaster reproduced pickup in it. I thought it was quite modern take on the sound, but hearing an original Broadcaster it makes sense. No dark circuit on mine tho. Awesome guitars!

[@cellmate6]

Actually during 52 the year started with the blend control and ended with the tone control on the pickups ( the jack plate also changed around the same time). Both sound great!!

[@VoodooApex]

I was enjoying this vid so much. Then it happened. In a Tele convo, somebody mentioned Roy Buchanan before Keith Richards. Icing on the cake 🤙🏽

[@fourkray4825]

Great stuff, lovely trio of guitars.

[@mrmanch204]

I found they go out of tune in about 9 months...around the same time I change the strings. Thanks for a great video.

[@lesterpaul9657]

I played a lot of different guitars, strats, paulas, ES models but always came back to Tellies after a short period. What's the magic with this guitars? It was my first e-git and will be my last.

[@hectormonclova7563]

I am the blessed owner of a Nocaster reissue (that’s why I came here). Bought it in 2009, at a moment when I was so down, so I name her Beatrice. It’s natural ash and so versatile and easy to play with that massive baseball bat-like neck (prefer to play it without pick). She has given me such beautiful music. And, well, she needs to be retuned when she smells new strings... :)

[@massimofamularo1976]

nice video about the very granmother of all solidbody electrics.

[@kenbash2951]

Guys don't seem to be aware that the Broadcaster and Nocaster had a blend switch instead of a tone control. They really need to understand that better.

[@_RLP]

Beautiful sounds. That 52 reminds me of a les paul, sometimes. Something about the highs in some of the licks... Funny... Thanks for sharing. Cheers

[@Gretev1]

Ricardo Lima Pereira I‘ve been saying this ever since I first started to play guitar! Les Pauls sound like fat Telecasters...

[@timothycormier3494]

Pretty nice playing and sounding guitars for almost 70 years old. Unlike us humans. Good instruments get better with age and will outlive us all

[@lager9342]

The Nocaster sounded as good as the others.

[@macmidi]

Fender's last Broadcaster is for sale at Carter Guitars as of 15apr23.

[@LuckyKoman7]

Normally the story is that the muffled front selection was mimmicking a bass. Electric bass was not around yet.

[@yanuarpermana5986]

i love the yellow one

[@Cinestudi0]

I love your comment, even if I find it a bit racist

[@BryanClark-gk6ie]

Cringe and Cringe

[@shaunw9270]

I love these old blackguards 👍👍👍

[@craigusselman546]

I would love to have any of em they look fun.

[@bobilly]

I prefer the 52, more even across the eq range. That Nocaster RI ain't far off! Gotta love a Tele! (even more one with a Bigsby!) Looking forward to the Strat video mentioned

[@dlwy4934]

When you realized that those guitars are as old as your grandpa.

[@MontyCantsin5]

Love the Broadcaster, but have to admit that the neck pickup sound doesn't do a lot for me. It sounds too muffled and woolly.

[@imannonymous7707]

That is a simple 2 dollar upgrade , its a capacitor swap ....stock broadcaster and teles came that way . Just save the old one......put it back if u dont like it or sell it

[@MontyCantsin5]

@@imannonymous7707: Exactly, and that's why a lot of owners do modify them. The point made at 3:27 seemed to suggest that this is a mistake, however: Because the guitar was originally designed to have a fixed tone (with the capacitor) when the PU selector is all the way forward, it should be left that way. From my perspective, I simply don't find it '...a more creative system' to have such disparity between the PU sounds. He even had to have the amp turned up to demonstrate just how 'useable' the tone is which I found amusing.

[@ahiwalter9153]

late to the party but that third position wasn’t really for guitar playing it was supposedly so you get & play bass tones without carrying around a upright bass in the 50s

[@MontyCantsin5]

@@ahiwalter9153: Yes, that's true but most bands now have an electric bass player making the sound in question even more redundant.

[@-Atmos1]

sounds good

[@joelopez3461]

It sounds very nice 👍alright!!!

[@chrisbullen219]

Custom shop nocaster? or the Mexican re-issue? Just curious.

[@zebdoz333]

reissues are fine but man you just cant beat that original tone!

[@AFaceintheCrowd01]

Of course, but who has $25K to spend on a guitar you can't bring out of the house?

[@Glicksman1]

Of course, the amp that any electric guitar is played through, the settings on that amp, the room in which it is played, the mic and rest of the gear used to transmit the sound to, not forgetting, the player him or herself make great differences in how guitars sound. Also, no two guitars are exactly or even sometime closely alike. Another Broadcaster might very likely sound quite different..

[@mjolnircarlssen4211]

They really are 3 distinct sounding guitars. All 3 different, but I can’t pick one that’s better than the others. The Nocaster appealed the most to me, personally. But that’s no knock on the others. Not by a long shot..

[@PMUP2016]

Please bring the 7 decades show to the states!

[@aladinin]

Not the easiest guitars to play compared to strats or Gibson`s.... but Tele`s do have rewards if you can tame the beast. Look out if your technique is not up to speed as the Tele will make this evident..! Definitely one of the more versatile guitar models on the market. As stated in this video, some Jazz players have utilized the Tele and they can also crunch in rock music and do R&B perfectly. The mighty Telecaster..!

[@valentino3191]

That's cool. But I'd go sell it to a cork-sniffer for $40K and then go buy a Custom Shop replica for $2,500 and have pretty much the same guitar...Minus the bragging rights. Ha ha. Fender has gotten so good at cloning these early vintage Stratocasters and Telecasters that I honestly can't tell the difference and I've played a lot of real 50's fenders. If you think about it, a player can get a near-identical copy of a early 50's Fender for under $4K. That's pretty reasonable when you consider a period-correct one is over $20K now.

[@jimmythefish]

They're more than that. That Broadcaster would be in the range of $70-80k or more. I agree...their value is in their collectibility. That's a lot of Custom Sop guitars for that money and you can get modern wiring, better frets, quartersawn necks, belly cuts, heel cuts etc as well as your choice of neck profile and radius. You could get CS replicas of Tele, Strat, LP, 335 as well as a slew of acoustics for that. And a Tesla. I know where I'd spend my money.

[@drfdwf392]

Any chance you'll do a video of the Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster Butterscotch Blonde being amazing it is?

[@stevenbyrne4789]

Haha

[@svbarr]

I have a refin Nocaster (real one) and it's lighter than balsa wood.Right around 5 pounds.

[@joelopez3461]

And also keath richards of the rolling stones!!! Loves the fender Telecaster!!!!😁😁😁😁😁😇

[@iansnyder274]

Love em' ...I'll take two please

[@johnpaniccia3802]

What does that broadcaster weigh?

[@waynechurchill7212]

What strings on the 50

[@artprince9163]

Nikoo0033 You have your own opinion but a lot of great players have made wonderful sounds with a Tele. Not everybody can though. Teles tend to reveal flaws and weaknesses in players.

[@dodjiegarcia2320]

The Broadcaster has a ridiculously thicker body! The chunky baseball bat and that thick body must make it weigh more than the sun, but thanks Leo used Pine wood.

[@butterscotchtele]

sounds like a telecaster to me.

[@Glicksman1]

Well, maybe because it is one with an other name.

[@anthonyc1883]

Tone can be lost listening on YT vs. being in the room with the guitars and amp.

[@WileECoyotey]

I flip my switch plate and knobs so volume is under the fingers for swells

[@tobyrutter3776]

Same here kept knocking the switch so flipped it and had it re wired so the the volume pot is first

[@sean.eidemiller]

Catto sighting at 10:07-10:24! Clearly not too interested in Blackguards, tho...

[@timgelder4263]

TURN IT UP

[@kempini]

I’ve never played a bad telecaster

[@cayogator]

they needed Keef there to show em some shit !

[@BenLubin]

Needed a better amp to do it justice.

[@imannonymous7707]

Love me a maple neck tele

[@blueveinriver3253]

1:15 5:00 13:10

[@davidmacleod9313]

I heard they made 250 of the Broadcaster.

[@JtotheP68]

He played each guitar in a very different way, so very hard to actually compare them.

[@henry66699]

Are there later affordable versions of the telecaster (below the 2000,- range) that are an exact copy? Why is it not possible to make exact copies? We are technologically way, way ahead now, so it must be possible to make an exact copy. I mean, its wood, a certain weight, shape, electrical parts (nothing really futuristic, just wires and pickups), what's the difficulty here? I don't want to troll here, just curious can someone explain to me why the oldest are so special that they are so valuable? If its a painting ok, its too much going on. But a wiring on a plank of wood, why is it so 'fantastique'...I will accept any explanation as long as its logical.

[@DougHinVA]

7.5 minutes of them talking ? Vintage guitars and they are talking ? No....

[@lptomtom]

If only there was a feature to fast forward to the playing part...

[@joonasarmpalu7805]

Imagine there are people actually interested in what they’re talking about and others (like you) can just skip through it, if they don’t care. Christ, if someone would be giving out free burgers and beer at the mall, you’d complain that you only wanted the beer.

[@grosebud4554]

The broadcaster wiring is not more versatile. Quite the opposite.

[@anthonyc1883]

I must disagree with you. Although the hosts didn't demo it (I don't think), the unaltered original B'caster and Nocaster circuit had one very unique feature. It's a "blend" control that can get more tones than just the lead pickup only, the neck pickup only and the neck pickup with the bassy capacitor. What we think of as the tone pot is actually the blend control, going from full lead sound, full neck pickup sound, and an infinite number of blended sounds between the two. I had it on my early Custom shop Nocaster and it is very cool, although many players rewired the originals over the years to the more standard Tele configuration. A commenter a few posts below gives a more detailed description.

[@madeleine8537]

It's a guitar alright

[@cawfeedawg]

interesting.. not being in the room; I prefer the more balanced output of the CS nocaster... SACRILEGE 😣

[@SAGABIJO2]

Let me guess, you can't afford the real deal...

[@cawfeedawg]

SAGABIJO2 its not a problem financially, captain obvious. It is more about listening to a recording of them rather than being in the room.

[@SAGABIJO2]

@@cawfeedawg be in the room with a good ex. listen to it and also feel the way it behave and inspire you to play, that's the thing here.

[@livingestudiolivesessions5787]

need real plalyers........

[@DMSProduktions]

Ironic, Fender OWNS Gretsch now, so NO excuse to NOT use the Broadcaster name if they want for the early re-issues! LOL!

[@stratmagic6893]

Fender doesn't actually own Gretsch.They have a marketing, product development and distribution deal.

[@DMSProduktions]

Hmm debatable, but that may have changed since the last time I looked! It's like Charvel/Jackson, its all FMIC!

[@bonhamhouse1169]

Oh the modesty.

[@bristolfashion4421]

Bonga donga bingle bungle twangle dangle dong. The tough and industrial telly will be a-lying gentlywithesunand wotnot loooong after we bite de doos, our dessicated corpses picked clean by ‘roach and rat… oh dear Here Come The End - buthay nevermind cape diem and twangle the dangle and not worry ‘bout The Future oh yes!

[@artprince9163]

Why compare this to a Strat? Compare it to other Teles. Teles are much more meaty sounding than any Strat.

[@l3ertuz362]

in a very nice way they call the neck position to be jazzy but for me it sound like sh!t, no wonder the 2020 reissue has different circuitry by default

[@mrkite89]

Muted Tele Pos. -> Fuzz Face = Garage Rock

[@maxwellfan55]

WTF? NO mention/demo of the early blender control. THE Broadcaster sound. What a waste of time. Also. The neck posn' was wired to sub a bass sound, not initially designed for jazzers. The guy's uncontrolled twitching also very distracting.

[@JasJones123]

Have built many Teles and never once did I think of my playing any of them as a demo, I guess demoing a guitar is strumming it when you really can't play it yet. You guys need to practice your demoing skills some more. Does not matter how old the thing is if you can't play it what does it matter how old it is. Wall hanger is what it becomes.

[@modestoney1577]

not gonna lie: look and sound a lot like my mexican made Road Worn Tele. i love that guitar

[@MELONenSURPRISE]

This is not original

[@Nikoo033]

Telecasters really sound like the archetype metaphore of a broom to which 2-3 metal strings have been attached to. Thin and dry. Although I sometimes like their neck pickup sound, but that’s about it. You have to put 13s or 16s and tons of pedals to get a good sound out of them 😅

[@Glicksman1]

You obviously know nothing of Telecasters.

[@Nikoo033]

Glicksman1 you are right, I have to admit, none of the videos I have seen (including this one) in HD (audio and video) has ever convinced me to grab and try one in a music store. And yet I am a fan of Josh Smith. 😅

[@ajlsrv5490]

Nikoo033 History says you are way off. Countless designs have come and gone in the past 70 years, but the tele is still the bench mark.

[@Nikoo033]

AJLGUITFIDDLE That’s fine with me, I just don’t like their thin and dry sound. Just watched your video with your Laney amp. Really don’t like the sound, sorry.

[@Nikoo033]

Actually, in addition to Josh Smith’s telecaster sound, the other one that I like is Richie Kotzen’s one, but I think the pickups aren’t classic ones.