The Fender Telecaster : A Short History

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This is my Short History video on the Fender Telecaster. I go from the first prototype to the end of the CBS years and the beginnings of the many, many vintage reissues that have been done since.
This is the forth video in my history of famous gear series, "The Fender Telecaster". I've done, "The Fender Champ", "The Fender Princeton" and "The Fender Deluxe Amp" in the recent past to much acclaim (or such acclaim as can be found here on KZbin, :)
Five Watt World is a channel dedicated to learning about classics of gear and in finding ways to minimize the gear we use and maximize the music we make.
The following books helped make this video possible as research resources. ***
Thanks
"The Fender Telecaster" by A.R. Duchossoir
amzn.to/37EZu4P
"The Fender Telecaster: Life and Times of the Electric Guitar That Changed the World" by Dave Hunter
amzn.to/3mbGAH0
Thanks for watching. And welcome to five watt world.
Keith
***Five watt world participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn commissions by linking to Amazon. In simpler language, this means that whenever you buy something from Amazon from a link on here, I receive a small percentage of its price.

[@RickBeato]

I own 3 Tele’s and realized that I knew nothing about them after watching this. Thanks Hypes!!

[@JulianPatrickBronteGlenn]

Wow, Rick swallowed the pill.

[@auntjenifer7774]

I own 3 Tele's too !!!!

[@zincChameleon]

Rick, I've been using your John Coltrane 'Giant Steps' lesson, combined with Rockabilly on my Tele. Works great!

[@urbanfellavancouver]

luv your channel Rick! and your sideburns.too cool

[@thinkingape7655]

RICK B. 🤘

[@alextryan]

This is a great video and I admire the speaker's ability not to blink or move his eyes for 21 minutes straight.

[@mathewkromeo2934]

🤣🤣🤣

[@Topsy_Krett]

He's an android, actually.

[@joshmuz9018]

Technically that would mean he has the cleanest more moist eyes on earth

[@alejandroblanco2071]

It's a Cyborg

[@azuk689]

lmao

[@TheTrollMastah]

Ironic that Fender couldn’t use the name Broadcaster and now Fender owns Gretsch hahaha

[@kevdean9967]

Yeah well Leo sold Fender and started G&L which was sold to BBE so it's convoluted on all levels!

[@donnyhall2535]

The Gretsch company is still owned by the Gretsch family in South Carolina. Fender has distribution rights and makes custom Gretsch guitars in the Fender custom shop. Standard models are made by Terada in Japan.

[@zachjollimore4339]

And then they re-released the broadcaster too

[@ryanriggs9963]

Lol

[@lowyaw]

pwned, in today's terms

[@Tyrell_Corp2019]

Being highly informative aside, I appreciate the mature and stoic delivery here. It’s a breath of fresh air from all the annoying ego driven productions on KZbin. Just like the Tele... less is more. Great job 👍

[@awingmaster]

You are right this guy is great no cat stories

[@bikerjon8934]

Agree

[@Trdbrglr75]

Agreed.

[@thornil2231]

I second that!

[@popogejo7245]

Yes!!!! Another happy camper here, fur sure! If it's someone like Rhett Shall or goofy Groovy, Dylan that use antidotal stories to enhance the content that's cool, but if it's just someone blathering on about some inconsequential tiny little meaning less element, that gets boring quickly. OR my pet peave, showing how to do things that you know doen't work.

[@robinleebraun7739]

My oldest brother says he owned several late 50’s and early 69’s Strats and Telecasters in the late sixties. At the time, they were literally a dime a dozen. Some ended up in the Rochester town dump. They could fund his retirement if he had them all today. But you never know what is going to be valuable in the future.

[@jaredfreestone9041]

At the end of time, after human civilization; all that will remain will be cockroaches and Teles...and the Teles will be in tune" - Greg Koch

[@Officialshayne]

Jared Freestone And Keith Richards

[@goodun6081]

@@auntjenifer7774 , and why not? Keef's in tune, as he certainly ought to be, having been tinkering with and tweaking his own internal combustion engine for decades. It's my understanding that he's pretty well-tempered too. Except, and this is a big exception, perhaps not so well-tempered with Mick!

[@auntjenifer7774]

@@goodun6081 you ever hear Keef's death hack from smoking a pack a day ? It's like he's yelling at death it self to "go the fuck away I've got another Marlboro to puff death go fuck off !" 🤣😅😆😉

[@madcockney]

Keef was on BBC radio here in the UK about a year ago and he was saying that with all the grief that he has given his body with drugs, alcohol and fags (British for cigarette not the USA meaning for fag), he should be dead so somebody must be keeping an eye open on him.

[@Tonetwisters]

Very poetic, and I understand the sentiment ... Telecasters are the most functionally basic of instruments, period. But at the end of humanity, there will be nothing left, period ... until God creates a new heaven and a new earth. Make sure you are on it. Choose Jesus.

[@Fugettaboutit]

I've had this dream a few times. I'm suddenly transported to 1964. I walk into a big music store in Memphis, and there are Fender Stratocasters...a few current ones, and a few from the 50's that some have traded in for new ones. There's a blackguard Telecaster that's been there for years and they're just trying to get rid of so they've marked it down a lot...same with that 1959 Gibson Les Paul in the corner which no one will touch. I pick out a sunburst 57 Strat, the Lake Placid Blue '64, the Tele and the Les Paul tell them I'll take them along with that new Fender Super Reverb amp. Bill comes to just shy of $1300 for the lot. I'm beaming with joy...so I ask the clerk where the nearest ATM is....he stares at me and asks "The nearest what...?" And then I wake up...........weeping.

[@mmccartney6579]

LOL!! I have that same dream!! I was 20 years old in 1964. Rock on!! :)

[@billberney3750]

That is a dream that is a night mare. I would be heart sick if I had it. LOL

[@Fugettaboutit]

​@@billberney3750 That's why I wake up crying....

[@blazer6248]

Why? All you had to do was go IN the bank instead of to the electronic machine you expected to be next to it? Have people already forgotten you can withdraw money from a bank lol? If every atm shut down today, I bet a bunch of you would be useless. Smh. Stuck at home wondering how you're going to get your money without an atm lmfao

[@Fugettaboutit]

@@blazer6248 Which bank....and withdraw from which account....years before I'm even born?

[@misterschubert3242]

I love how I can use my tele to paddle a canoe to the local lakeside gig, shake off the water, play two full sets, and then paddle home again. And on the rare occasion I need to use a clip-on tuner, it won't harm the finish...

[@davidmacleod9313]

I just hope you don’t play and leave the tuner clipped to the guitar. That, apparently, is lame. Lol

[@paulgeorgia8013]

The only thing I dislike about my telecasters is that I have retune them once every three months

[@fivewattworld]

Hahahaha! You’re a funny guy! Thanks for watching Paul.

[@Barabyk]

So true!

[@randyvanvliet226]

Try tuning them half a key down, and you can go six!!!! ;-)

[@jeff4310]

It's hard to make a Tele go out of tune. I've dropped them, knocked them over, bumped and banged them around and they just keep on rolling. The most simple, most reliable, most ergonomic and most efficient workhorse of a guitar ever made!

[@paulgeorgia8013]

Telecaster: Everything you need, nothing you don’t

[@TraneFrancks]

I always thought of Teles as "cowboy guitars" and had precisely zero interest in them. One day, I walked into a guitar shop here in Tokyo and there was this cheap, Japan-built Tele on the wall. Somehow, the combo of sunburst finish, black pickguard and maple neck called out to me. That was in 2000. It's been my Number 1 ever since. It's been upgraded with Fender Pure Vintage '64 pickups and CTS pots. I've played it enough that the poly finish is wearing off the edges of the fingerboard. Some things you just don't see coming.

[@noahgoyette467]

and now Japanese Teles will give you high dollar resale, great sound and build quality and crazy rock street cred.

[@TraneFrancks]

@@noahgoyette467 Certainly not just now. The FujiGen "Made in Japan" era from '81 through '96-'97 and '97-2015 "Crafted in Japan" Dyna-/Tokai Gakki factories produced some amazing quality. Both my '72 reissue Strat and '72 reissue Tele are "Crafted in Japan" models.

[@blazer6248]

Prince played Teles as his main guitar, I think. Just think about that. Lol That badass solo he played on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at the R&R Hall of Fame? On a TELE. It's a MadCat Hohner Tele but a Tele nonetheless. Hell, even, Duane Allman played a Tele at one time. 👍✌️

[@dstateswimmer]

Out of sheer curiosity what guitar was your main go to prior to the tele. I find myself torn between my les paul and my tele everytime I play. So its interesting to me to hear other people's justification and experiences on why they prefer certain guitars! Lol

[@TraneFrancks]

@@dstateswimmer My first electric guitar was a Yamaha Pacifica 112XC, which was followed by a CIJ '72 reissue Strat. Truth be told, I can't remember whether the DeArmond M-75 came before or after the Tele. The Strat had been my number 1 prior to the Tele. That said, since this video was posted, I bought a Les Paul Special that was a similar story to the Tele. I didn't expect to like it, but, holy hell, the P-90s are sublime. It's been challenging Tele for the role of alpha. Not sure who's going to win. 😁

[@scottnewellguitar]

I had never heard the ES="Electric Spanish" thing before. Amazing!

[@kharviassociates7124]

Neither had I till I saw this video

[@36742650885]

Leo Fender wasn’t a musician himself, but worked closely with working musicians who gave him vital feedback on his designs and were indispensable in the development of the Telecaster, Stratocaster, and Amplifiers. His floating Tremolo design was one of his greatest contributions to the design of the Strat

[@johnnieguitar5724]

Hear hear! THAT is why the Fender guitar developed into the workhorses they have become. Gibsons? Not so much.

[@psyche2018]

@@johnnieguitar5724 exactly. I think Gibson’s are cool and all, but there just is something so natural about a Fender to me.

[@legozfordayz]

@@johnnieguitar5724 Gibsons, especially Les Pauls, have many flaws on them that Gibson chooses not to fix for “traditions” sake (Mainly the weak point on headstock and the crappy bridge that kills the tuning).

[@drtm1718]

Weird. I own a gibson les paul and a squire 40th anniversary jazzmaster, and the lp feels more natural, more ergonomic, sounds better, and feels like the ideal "workhorse" guitar to me. Granted, I've played around with Mexican teles that felt almost on par, but something about the lp just feels more "right" to me. I wanted to love my jazzmaster more and hate the gibson for being so overpriced, but I love mine and I think people are too quick to act as though their opinions are objective. Play what you like, but you don't need to shit on other people's preferences. It doesn't really help anyone to try to dissuade others from trying different guitars out to see which fits them best ergonomically and sonically.

[@drtm1718]

LegozForDayz Idk about the headstock issue because I haven't researched it at all, but I'll jam with mine for hours over the course of days, bending the shit out of strings and strumming them like they owe me money and the thing won't go out of tune. Not sure what could be wrong with the bridge design in that regard. My jazzmaster and Ibanez on the other hand...

[@rumrstv]

I believe George Harrison famously played the rosewood Tele in the Let It Be Sessions not the Magical Mystery Tour ones. He's shown throughout the LIB film playing it.

[@reuvengershon6625]

This is correct, however they were called the Get Back sessions at the time. He played his sonic blue psychedelic painted 'Rocky- Strat for Magical Mystery Tour. This video was excellent and informative

[@rumrstv]

@@reuvengershon6625 Of course... Get Back sessions.

[@AndrewMasters]

I'm 32, and have my first tele showing up in 2 days. I feel prepped and ready.

[@fivewattworld]

Nice Andrew! Enjoy man.

[@kraytkopacki4034]

I clicked on this video thinking that i know everything about teles. BUT MAN THIS WAS SO GOOD

[@fivewattworld]

Thanks Krayt!

[@crujones4046]

His staring skills are exquisite.

[@fifteenthfret]

I own a 1954 Telecaster - original owner - original paid receipt - original tweed case - white pick guard - blonde/butterscotch - skunk stripe - if memory serves, “Gloria” assembled. I had it appraised by Tom Doyle, dear friend of Les Paul about 10 years ago. Of course he said, “the value of anything is only as much as someone is willing to pay for it.” I wonder what that would be…

[@rogerdavies4702]

Will you marry me?

[@fifteenthfret]

What? No ring?

[@WS-bk7uu]

Hold on to that beauty!

[@fifteenthfret]

@@WS-bk7uu will do @W S

[@johnsmith-bk4ps]

to me? 20k is it for sale?

[@LZcool]

"Leo thought if the neck need to be repaired it would be easier to unscrew it and send it" That magical way of thinking. Modern designers (Not necessarily for guitars): "It is designed to break after a couple of years in a way it is unrepairable so the consumer needs to buy one new product at full retail price"

[@mikelord9860]

That was the same logic behind the Ovation Matrix acoustic, my first brand-name guitar. Problem was, the backorder for a new neck was too much to bear and I got only $45 for it (had paid $250 for it new just 4 years earlier, in '77).

[@CC-te5zf]

Many guitars have passed thru my collection over the last 40 years, but the one that keeps me honest is my Telecasters. There's something about it's simplicity in design that beckons one to dig in a little harder to see how you can shape the tone. But, there's nothing old-fashioned or simple at all about the bridge pickup design. It's unique and still one of the most wonderful tone crafting inventions ever. Love this video - I've lost count of how many times I've watched it. It's like a 300 page book on Telecasters in 21 minutes. Love this channel!!!!

[@MountSellout77]

One of the best (in my opinion) Esquire players was definitely Syd Barrett. Can't get enough that guitar with all the reflective discs on it. It's also probably where Jimmy Page got the idea to put mirrors on his Telecaster that was recently reissued. Now if only they would reissue Syd's Esquire!

[@townshendshean]

Having grown up in the home of Fender guitars (Fullerton, Ca.) Leo will always live on in our "Fullertonian" hearts. G&L guitars are still made in Fullerton...they're located on Fender Avenue.

[@STSGuitar16]

I find it really interesting that the price of a standard telecaster has pretty much stayed the same (when adjusted for inflation) all these years. They’ve always been great, long lasting workhorses that pretty much anyone can own.

[@timothydaniels504]

Blonde Tele’s were the guitar of choice for just about every guitar player in Toronto bands during the 1960’s. Robbie Robertson playing with Ronnie Hawkins was the guitar hero in the early ‘60’s and his Tele tone was something everybody wanted. If you look at pictures of great Toronto guitarists like Dominic Troiano, Ed Bickert, John Kay of Steppenwolf , known as the Sparrow in those days, they all played Tele’s. There was a definite Toronto sound back then and Telecasters were a big part of it.

[@johnnieguitar5724]

Hear hear! Us teenagers were too heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton Strats to even pick up a Tele then. We didn't know what a strong clean multi-tonal guitar we were missing. The session musicians knew this, we just didn't know what they were playing. Thanks for mentioning my fave Toronto musicians Tim!

[@Bbbbad724]

My only guitar teacher Donnie Clinton Thompson of the Skeletons played a Tele that he made a body for shaped like a 6 gun. He could play any style. He just showed me the Pentatonic scale up and down the neck and the major and minor modes like Lydian and Mixolydian transitions and I was off. He did a lot of studio work and got me a lot of studio work. I got married and had to put that aside, no studios nearby. I still play in my 60s though for fun.

[@kgk4L96]

The world if a far better place because of Leo Fender and George Fullerton.

[@OscillationOverdrive]

Mike Bloomfield! Thank you for mentioning him. He often doesn't get his credit for a huge contribution to blues and rock. Great work on this history!

[@davidyanosh1590]

Stew Mac has a couple of videos of Mike Bloomfield's Tele.

[@Zappappappappa]

Was literally looking for this comment just in case I had to step up and gove props for recognizing arguably the most underappreciated guitarists along with Rory Gallagher. His influence to modern music is among the greatest yet unknown.

[@JohnLeePedimore]

Luther Perkins played a Esquire when he started with Johnny Cash. Clarence White's 54' Telecaster was of course transformed by Gene Parsons into the very first B-bender Telecaster. Marty Stuart has it now and has used it as his main stage guitar for decades. I heard Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick on an interview and he was talking about him and Bun E. Carlos doing some session work on John Lennon's last album. Rick showed up with several guitars including a B-bender Telecaster and he said Lennon had never seen one so he told Lennon to hang on to it and play it till the next session. Well,the next session never came and Lennon got shot. Nielsen said he just wrote off the guitar and forgot about it until one day he got a call from the family asking if he would like his guitar back.

[@robertiaccarino4363]

Classy thing for the family to do. They do not get the most positive press.

[@CMRCustom]

Interesting tidbit about John Lennon. Still most guitarists don't know about a thing called a b bender. I have one with a b and g bender.

[@CWRobinsonMusic]

John 5 is big Tele guy. Super great player. Metal, Country, the guy is amazing and does it all on a Tele.

[@josueguevara2126]

Great video. One of the most iconic Tele players of contemporary music is Jonny Greenwood with his 1994 Tele Plus featuring Lace Sensors pickups

[@kevincolliss2877]

I have the original receipt for my 61 telecaster, case and amplifier bought used in 1963 for $200🤤 Recently bought the 50's vibe and it was the closest thing I could find to the original. Absolutely love both of them and feel very privileged to own them. Thanks for the vidio

[@chipsterb4946]

$13.5 million? That’s all? I’m speechless. Really fun video. That rosewood Tele is so beautiful.

[@nickf9392]

Excellent video, as always, and great content. Dyed in the wool Telecaster junkie here....I have been playing and building them for 52 years. The simplicity, ergonomics, and utilitarian nature of the Tele, really sets the hook deep with Tele lovers. And that bridge pick up is thrilling and never ever gets old. Grew up with country music in our house, and of course the Tele was a big deal. I do favor mine with a humbucker in the neck, and that really creates a monster of a tone machine. Just completed one with Fender Pure Vintage 64 in the bridge position and a SD Pro II humbucker in the neck....the cleans from this are addictive. When I think Telecaster I have to mention Luther Perkins, Don Rich & Buck Owens. And my favorite rock player of all time Terry Kath.

[@KowboyUSA]

Should've, but never knew ES was an acronym for Electric Spanish.

[@patrickclark3337]

ES is more an abbreviation than an acronym. Surprising that anyone who plays guitar doesn't know what it stands for. Understandable if a non guitar player doesn't know.

[@funkyjones]

Acronym: an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word

[@deltavistastudio124]

WOW! That "Rosewood Telecaster", most beautiful guitar I've ever seen!!

[@kirkeipper9990]

Kinda heavy too

[@julesseyer1993]

I don't know why but I like the maple more than the rosewood fret board. Now I'm gonna look up that " Rosewood Telecaster" just to check it out.

[@galenmarek8287]

Holy Shit!!!! I just googled "Rosewood Telecaster" and theres one listed on Reverb for 12k. It's a beautiful piece though!!

[@toneyisaiah408]

Sly Stone played a Fender Telecaster during his time with Sly And the Family Stone.

[@donnyhall2535]

Yeah they look great, but are a boat anchor. But the sound and resonance is amazing.

[@tomk1tl]

My first guitar was a 'Tele.......I have always loved the look of them........I still have it after 25 years !

[@jimvandemoter6961]

A little sidelight of history, The six on a side tuner setup has been around much longer than Fender. In 1825 a German luthier named Johan Georg Stauffer invented the modern gear type tuner we know of today, and mounted them six on a side on his guitars. He also had an apprentice named Christian Fredrick Martin who came to the U.S. and, in 1833 founded the CF Martin guitar company in Nazareth PA.

[@rogerwilliamson7161]

Greetings from Germany.

[@elizabethcoleman5729]

This is great I have a 1963 yellow Telecaster like new I purchased it in 1966 for an old car a 1955 Ford that needed a transmission and serious Engine work. and I am still happy today that I did the trade.

[@johnszczudlik2306]

So glad you mentioned Danny Gatton, what he could do with a tele was incredible.

[@curbmassa]

Nobody better. Saw him at the end of the Humbler tour (might have been the last show of the tour) with Robert Gordon in Boston and if you think he was great on the bootleg, what I heard was twice as good from him and the rest of the band. We were 10' from the stage and I spent 45 minutes staring at his '53 before the show with NO idea who would come out and play it but I do remember thinking " THAT is one cool guitar and I hope it's not just a stage prop for some Springsteen clone. "There Stands The Glass" put my concerns to rest pretty quickly. the rest is just a blur. The thing that Danny had that NOBODY that came after him has had was this incredible wellspring of all the greats he studied that came before him- Chet Atkins, Billy Butler, Merle Travis, Les Paul, Earl Scruggs, Charlie Christian, Cliff Gallup, Wes Montgomery and probably 10 more. Most guitar players are about notes, Danny was about music. I can't imagine what he could have done with a piano. The same might be said of Joe Pass, Jeff Beck, Brent Mason and a few others but I think it's a pretty short list.

[@zarchy55]

A “short history”, but as thorough as any I’ve heard. Well done!

[@chrislarcombemusic8445]

And don't forget Gene Parsons and Clarence White, who in late 1967/early 1968 developed the B-bender system for Clarence's tele, which aimed to help Clarence emulate a Pedal Steel. This device went on to be used by many; Albert Lee, Bob Warford, and now similar systems such as Glaser/McVay bender mechanisms exist also, and line the telecasters in the hands of Brad Paisley, among others.

[@maks_0427]

Bruce's guitar is like a combi i believe: it was indeed a esquire neck but a 50s tele body an originally it had 2 output jacks an 5 pick up's, this very guitar was previously used in a studio but when the boss got it, it had only two pick up's left and one output jack. Thats why it is so light, because there is almost no wood under the pickguard

[@phillipholt1073]

I love guitars! There past and present. It is so fascinating and you learn something new each day.

[@wadeguidry6675]

When I was a teenage metal head in the 80s I didn't like Telecasters. I was always a Les Paul guy. I've grown to appreciate the simplicity of Teles and made my own from a kit.

[@kramalerav]

A skilled enough player can make a Telecaster sound like a LP and can djent one like a 7-string.

[@Boabywankenobi]

A joyous series. Very informative. As a tele player myself, the Telecaster Plus of the late 80's/early 90's is my weapon of choice. Especially as they do not make Fender Lace Sensor pick ups any more like they used to.

[@millerfat5405]

Nice video. I learned a lot about the tele. I also learned that you don't blink enough, Keith.

[@DavidLee-rx6uo]

My uncle had a 53 Esquire. He sold it in 1995,when the dealer started to look it over he popped off the black bakelite pick guard there was a rhythm pickup installed but was never wired the wires were stuck in cavity. It was wired as a Esquire but the pickup was sitting thereat must have been a Friday at the factorylol

[@darrellsomers5427]

Yep Monday or friday

[@garyjones7044]

I'd like to see a custom shop reissue

[@terrypussypower]

Perer Addison Eh?

[@9Sheep]

I've heard they've done some this way and for 15 bucks (back then) they would wire the spare coil to make it a Tele. There are some rare Teles with Esquire on a headstock that were made this way.

[@lawrencegenereux8567]

@@garyjones7044 There actually was a custom shop Esquire made years ago that had a pickup mounted beneath the pickguard. It was not visible, but it was wired to the circuitry. It was an Esquire by name, but was more of a "stealth Telecaster" by function. My understanding is it didn't last long in the Fender line.

[@dk2428]

My first 5 guitars were all strat's. It wasn't untill i played a reissue tele in a music shop in Paris that i realised i needed one. Not being able to afford one back then, years later i finished a warmoth tele for a friend...and let me tell you...it was the best guitar i ever played. Anyway...Tnx for the very informative video!

[@fortj3]

Surf green and butterscotch are my favorite Tele colors, although candy apple red looks great.

[@dalepal]

The Fender Telecaster is a truly iconic guitar worthy of learning its history. It’s amazing how many great guitar players of various genres still prefer playing them.

[@thaddeusfields4360]

Glad you mentioned James Burton! Brent Mason is probably my favorite tele player today.

[@surfinwax58]

Where are the instrumentals on the Tele these days? Seldom hear any on country and rock radio.

[@oqsy]

As much as I love all my guitars, the Tele just has something special. I have an old Peavey copy as well as a Fender and I adore both of them. Thanks for the history!

[@docjeffry]

This video is how I discovered Rick Beato's channel. Thank you for the history video...

[@fivewattworld]

I'll let him know. :)

[@jaypetach5598]

This is another great video. Thanks for making it. I actually got to hold a 1949 prototype No-caster at the Songbirds Guitar Museum in Chattanooga. It had a maple neck and it looked like someone had simply used a can of red spray paint to paint it red. There was no pick guard, but it may have originally had one, since there were four screws that could have fastened the pick guard to the body. It had the chrome ashtray bridge pickup cover and chrome cover for the knobs and switch. Another friend of mine who had played with Delaney Bramlett had gotten to play George Harrison's rosewood Tele after George gave it to Delaney.

[@isaiahgendron2332]

If only this video was published 2 days earlier, i would've got a video about my absolute favorite guitars on my birthday. wonderfully informative video! Thanks for all the great content!!!!

[@louhudson1129]

Being young during the rise of the customized floyd mounted super strat and the Van Halen inspired hard rock sound I found the Telecaster an antiquated and ugly eyesore of yesterdays rock era and avoided them during trips to the local guitar shops in my area. I'm not sure when it happened but I started seeing some amazing players of the instrument and found the tone and the style of them begin to grow on me. I only have one Tele and it is not standard. American made, hardtail bridge, bridge mounted humbucker with an S-switch to split it, a tone circuit that is completely turned off when the tone knob is full on, and it is easily my most enjoyable guitar to play. The tone when the humbucker is split is so amazing especially when overdriven just a little. I love it and will be getting a more traditional model in the not so distant future.

[@johnnathancordy]

Just watching this while eating my porridge before bed - fascinating stuff OF!!

[@fivewattworld]

That was my first guitar short history…I don’t blink…not once.

[@superflea72]

it took me over 25 years to find a Tele that fit my hands nicely and join the Tele club! I'd always loved the sound/look of them, but could never find a neck profile that jumped out and said: "play me!" that search ended with my 50's Baja Telecaster, and I am now a mad Tele man...in fact, I sold my Strat, and it's the only Fender I need now. love 'em! :)

[@paultorbert6929]

i was blessed to get a Tele as a gift from a FRIEND.... but i kept my 4 Strats.

[@morais99]

Best guitar ever. Perfect original design.

[@michaelcullen5955]

One of the best youtube channels right now, love all these videos.

[@fivewattworld]

Thanks Michael!

[@glenjo0]

I still have my '72 Tele, and you're going to have to pry it out of my cold dead hands!

[@alexcr5276]

Thanks for making this video! I own a Fender Squier Tele Custom, and from the moment I picked it up on the store I knew it was a very special piece of wood and wires. One day I will get a classic Fender Tele, you can count on that.

[@TheDocRitchie]

joe strummer's telecaster was a sunburst that he sprayed black. as did wilko johnson - one of the best tele players!

[@davidjonorato3554]

Great job Keith!! Can't wait for more in the future! Glad I could help..👍🏻

[@fivewattworld]

Thanks so much Dave! Coming from you that means a lot.

[@pierheadjump]

David J Onorato, I’m a follower of Rick & Keith. I just bought a G&L ASAT Limited Edition Ash, Indonesian built, Have yet to pick it up. Hope you see this & I gotta ask: Do new guitars like this need much of a setup? Thanks, & best regards. ⚓️

[@cindymanning9849]

. . .just HAD TO watch this one after being captivated by Keith's cool, concise, and comprehensive history of the Les Paul. Thanks again, Mr. Williams!

[@drewhillenburg2268]

Really enjoying the gear-history videos, great work, keep them coming

[@kenster007]

Got a ton of guitars, the tele is the one that ends up in my hands.

[@jimhouse9961]

Same

[@michaelworse6034]

Yeah Bro ...always . It's kinda funny .

[@GravyHucker]

Great video! I appreciate the research and time you put in to make this series.

[@jackbyrd4921]

Keith I really love these videos that you do on the history of guitars and amplifiers. There are so many different kinds of guitars and amplifiers out there to talk about and seemingly so little time to do so, keep up the good work!

[@Aero360Aviation]

Great video. As someone who has spent quite a bit of time on band-mates' Telecasters, and who plays a Tele Deluxe, I can attest to the excellence of these machines/works of art. But I did not know much of this history!

[@mragunathan1627]

You are like the younger version of George Gruhn with your precise delivery and encyclopedic knowledge lol. Thank you for your great content, i love it.

[@lastofthe4horsemen279]

Great Short history Keith. A Short history of Laney would be cool.Kustom would be fun also I think the Kustom guy lost the company in a card game.Anyway love 5 watt world

[@realdaneben6512]

the first seconds of this video are just awesome...that pick, that tube, that distortion - epic.

[@acesofsound1013]

Thank you very much for this very enjoyable and well researched piece of work!

[@hearpalhere]

Awesome video, I definitely learned quite a bit and the inclusion of awesome Tele players was really cool too. Fender really got a good design right from the beginning.

[@Chemcaster]

This was a great watch, as always! Really interesting bit about the Boadcaster/Nocaster/Telecaster naming sequence!

[@diogenio]

This is a fabulously researched and presented history. I cannot begin to thank you enough for sharing your work with us. I learned far more than I ever imagined.

[@MrMelodynelson]

you better believe what the man is saying with that killer look

[@bassmangotdbluz3547]

I love Telecasters and Tele players. I had 16th side tow seats for Keith Richards "The New Barbarians tour" after his Heroin bust in Canada. I grew up around DC and at age 17 I first saw and met Muddy Waters at The Cellar Door with Johnny Winter and Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin. In those days I saw Danny Gatton at least 50 times with various bands/situations. I also saw Roy Buchanan at least a dozen times. At half of those RB shows Gatton was in the audience. In 1987-88 I saw Albert Collins 23 times at Antone's in Austin on weeknights for a $5 cover with the House Band: Tony Shannon or Sarah Brown on Bass, Chris Leighton on Drums, Reese Wynans on Keyboards, Derek O'Brien on Guitar and Mark Kazanoff on Sax... so you see, I really do love Tele players like no others.

[@fivewattworld]

My God! That's a testimonial all right. Love that you got to see Gatton and RB. Wish I could say that.

[@auntjenifer7774]

I'm sure you already know but that's the band that turned out to be double trouble with Stevie Ray Vaughn😉

[@goodun6081]

Bassman, congratulations for having seen all those great shows. We truly hate you! Just kidding of course. I never got to see Danny play, I had tickets to see him on the Cruising Deuces tour, but he canceled the Torah because he said he was too old to go out on the road and you didn't like being away from his family. And a few months later he was dead. I did see Roy Buchanan a couple of months before he died, playing with a pickup band in a small Club. Sadly, his playing was lousy, and he looked terrible.

[@DMEB]

My tele is my favorite instrument. Very interesting and concise video. Thank you.

[@paulsharp6559]

I’ve played fender telecaster for over 50 years and I still have one today. Along with my three bold neck fender Stratocaster. I love fender guitars and always will.

[@mikepj1025]

Thank you so much for this video. Really enjoyed it. So much information I was not aware of.

[@jhardycarroll]

Fantastic piece of history. Perfect amount of detail here. I was surprised you left out David Gilmour's Broadcaster he used on Wish You Were Here and The Wall. Also, I know Steve Morse's 1967 Frankencaster is definitely non-stock, yet super interesting. Mike Stern played a Tele with a Boradcaste neck he got from Danny Gatton (who got it from Roy Buchanan). Thanks for putting Waylon in here, too.

[@SamB-fv6su]

Super informative review of the Tele ! Excellent!

[@Last_one_before_I_go]

Have a 2003 Highway 1 I rescued from obscurity in the Guitar Center used section. What a deal then, and I'm considering trimming down the herd to keep it as my only 6-string electric. After some TLC it's become such an easy player.

[@dangreenwood]

Loved the delivery of this, very interesting. Thank you for sharing

[@musicaparasaborear]

I’m a fan of the short history! Great Job, man!

[@Late20sSkateboarder]

Great content and an ever greater soul patch. Largest one I’ve ever seen

[@paultorbert6929]

back in the day they called em a Freedom Patch..... something Flanders wouldnt have the balls for..... and something every Tele player should grow at least once in a lifetime......! i have one.

[@paultorbert6929]

@Perer Addison - Ned Flanders, not the People of Flanders..... i Love Belgium and Abbey Ale from Belgium (Chimay, blue label one).............

[@andreaschlapek780]

Always great to watch your videos!

[@tele1953]

Thanks, enjoyed your piece on the Tele. I've played one since I was 14 years old and knew much of what you spoke of but there was still lots I just learned....

[@rickthomas393]

Great job! Accompanying photos were well done 👍🏻.

[@fivewattworld]

Thanks Rick!

[@edwardroberts2946]

I have 15 telecasters and love all of them . Great background information, to a great guitar.

[@chrislestermusic]

Edward Roberts I have 7 so you have me beat. Well done!

[@auntjenifer7774]

I love Telecaster, probably more than any other in my stable, but I gotta ask, at what point does it become a addiction,7-8 Tele's ? There's only a small amount of pickup combos that are used in Tele's, so how do you do ?

[@surfinwax58]

Will play a Fender Telecaster for food!

[@chrislestermusic]

aunt jenifer I built mine so they were super cheap and I have different pickup combos in them. Humbuckers, mini buckers, P90, single could, etc.

[@torahwarrior2442]

I guess you wont be watching the new GAS videos

[@rioace3953]

Just a shout to your channel for trying to help weekend warriors like me find their bedroom level gears, 10 hours ago i finally get to hear the tone ive been physically chasing after 2 full years of searching, one grand in gears, 2000 miles of travels, more sterlings spent on bus & train fares than on gears, months worth of forums and videos, and maybe a week worth of sound testing, to settle with 1967 Tele pickups copy, 30 watt SS Laney combo, and one Mooer micro amp pedal for sound and a 1959 Telecaster custom bound copy for the look. Eureka!

[@talister106]

After waiting thirty years for my first Tele , bought the Ultra and 70th Anni. Broadcaster months apart to make up for lost time.

[@ipuya]

Rolling stone Magazine- "Are you selling the 1955 Fender Esquire, on the cover of About Face, that you’ve dubbed “The Workmate”? David Gilmour - "The Workmate isn’t going. I’m afraid I couldn’t do it."

[@jaysjams1517]

Leo and George eventually got back together and formed G&L Guitars. I own a G&L ASAT Classic Semi-Hollow Bluesboy. I have owned several G&L ASAT Classics over the years and they are fine guitars. Leo did not do much to change from from the original Telecaster design. The only things that come to mind is the headstock and the saddles on the bridge.

[@fivewattworld]

I really like the G&L guitars. I have friends that swear by theirs. Thanks for watching Jason.

[@waterwoodguitars6871]

Keith, I love all of your videos! I’ve only discovered them somewhat recently, which has been nice during this time we’re all living in. I’ve watched them as I’ve had time between projects at the house and they’re all wonderful. I’m learning all kind of things I didn’t know about the instrument I love most. Thank you for your contribution to the guitar world, we all appreciate what you’re doing.

[@fivewattworld]

Welcome to five watt world man! Glad you found your way here and you’re digging it.

[@geraldwest3428]

Excellent short history....thank you very much!

[@bobcabo4509]

George Harrison received his Rosewood Tele in Jan 1969 during sessions for the Let It Be album. He also used it for most of Abbey Road. However....Magical Mystery Tour was recorded in 1967. George used his Strat and Epi Casino.

[@mike1967sam]

You know what Frank Zappa, the Great Frank Zappa, said to a young Steve Vai who was auditioning for him - "I hear Linda Ronstadt is looking for a guitarist." Seems like Clarence White overheard him and went running.

[@_left_eye]

I love the approach to telling these stories!

[@Jacksonkellyfreak]

Something so simple can do so much. They're not flamey or burst finished, or even figured. But even still they're such beautiful guitars that are at home anywhere you play them. I love mine.

[@CFOlsen]

Jacksonkellyfreak - Not just great tone, but durable as hell!