The History Of The Fender Telecaster

[@AmericanArtifacts]

Folks! If I'm talking a little too fast for you, you can reduce the playback speed to your liking! thanks for the feedback! I'll try to speak a little slower moving forward.

[@davidallen346]

Pawn Star I'll give you 13 grands for that original 1952 telecaster. Seller Cash ? Sold !

[@nekoth]

You are talking completely fine, the speed is the right one, it'll be too slow if you were talking slower, there is a lot of information and history to deliver!

[@AmericanArtifacts]

@@nekoth thank you! I feel the same way about it.

[@mikeyoung9810]

No mention of the brain tumor (description on the Maverick video) and no comments allowed on it). Just wondering how you are.

[@AmericanArtifacts]

Mike Young I’m all better now Mike! Some great docs got be squared away without surgery! No cancer thankfully and shrunk the tumor down to the size of a BB using some kinda sorcery I don’t understand lol thank you for checking in my friend :)

[@timothycormier3494]

Since I was 12 years old I’ve owned and played les Paul’s, strats, SG, Ibanez, Washburn. Many guitars. I never wanted a telecaster because I viewed it as a country guitar only. Some years ago I started to desire a telecaster sound. In 2019 at 45 years old I finally got my first telecaster. It fit like a glove and plays amazing! I could kick myself for ignoring this guitar for so long. Now with an arsenal of great guitars. I play only one and still no country. The twang from that big single coil with a bunch of gain cuts right through. Great guitar!

[@AmericanArtifacts]

They are great and super versatile! I’ve found as we mature as guitarists, a lot of us tend to end up with the guitars we tried to avoid as kids. Especially if you’re a rock or metal guy, your instincts would tell you to stay away from teles, until you don’t and you wake up one day and own seven of them lol

[@sfedroid]

@@AmericanArtifacts that's definitely it, maturing into it. It took me a long while to get over my, I guess prejudice about Teles and just accept that it's simply a great versatile guitar that has a specific sound that, if you want it, you can't get from any other guitar.

[@RolandMartel-k5e]

@@AmericanArtifactsyou could not have described my history with our favorite instrument any better! And I do have seven of them…all of them very, very special. Thank you

[@germanllanosmusic]

Great video man! Thanks for spending the time!

[@AmericanArtifacts]

German Llanos thanks for watching!

[@peterburi2727]

I have been a Fender man since 63'. I have been through many others too including 6 or 7 Lesters. I still come back to my favorite 25.5" scale and during that time I have always had a Tele on hand. No tuning stability issues, and no detachable headstock issues. I love my Strats too but my first love are my Telecasters. Thank you Leo for tour insight.

[@Fritazozo]

Tack för en bra informativ video! Överväger att slå till på en precis sådan.

[@ronnieking1025]

Iam 70 still playing my 66 Telecaster

[@johnnyx9892]

Am i in the "will"?

[@BruceWang-h4d]

​@@johnnyx9892probably not but I get why you want to.

[@JGerman70]

Wonderful video bro. I'm a music producer (drummer) and that knowledge is golden. Thanks for putting it together!

[@Luthiart]

Gretsch DID NOT file a lawsuit against Fender. They sent a cease and desist letter. A C&D is NOT a lawsuit. Leo Fender and Fred Gretsch were friends, and it was a "gentleman's agreement" that Fender would stop using the name:: "Broadcaster". I wish people would do their research and stop perpetuating this misconception.

[@jhuntosgarage]

Dude, these are excellent! Do more!

[@AmericanArtifacts]

New one coming soon!

[@ricmarquez7726]

The thing is that you can play any guitar in the world and they will never sound like a Telecaster but a Telecaster can sound like all of them

[@AmericanArtifacts]

This is actually true. You can’t make an Ibanez Quack but you can make a Tele Djent.

[@jamescarter8699]

You said it all ! A Telecaster can sound like all the rest and have it's own sound too.

[@mikefromusa6902]

Correct

[@sjlBoise54]

Nice addition to the online history of the original mass-produced electric guitar. Thanks. PS the pace of speech was just fine for me. I read fast and listen fast, too.

[@AmericanArtifacts]

Boom! It’s always nice to interact with a fellow smart person 😆😆

[@jamescarter8699]

Yes all of his speech was the absolute truth. I started playing a fender Telecaster in 1972. And found that it was good for reproducing some 85% of what guitar sounds were on the airwaves.

[@jeffrowlette]

Damn good and extremely informative video! Thank you 💛

[@hardlygrooving4221]

great job man! thanks for the speedrun ;)

[@AmericanArtifacts]

Thanks! glad you could keep up! ;)

[@ryangunwitch-black]

I don't think Gretsch actually filed suit. I'm pretty sure it was just a friendly cease and desist.

[@ranchodelreyband167]

Not even that harsh. This story gets so overdramatized. Just as every Japanese guitar is a "lawsuit' guitar.

[@sfedroid]

It seems crazy to me now but I've played for over 40 years and only just now got a Tele (a very cheap Squier Bullet, made in Indonesia, but remarkable quality for its price - lovely tobacco sunburst, traditional pickup configuration, a superb neck and great quality hardware that's as good as the metalwork on my 88 USA Strat). While I love the Strat, this thing is different; it rings more in a bell-like way and the bridge pickup is a beast, capable of sweetness and snarl you just can't get from a Strat's pickup. I guess it's down to the metal mount, the wider coil and the more extreme angle, but it's a totally different sound and in a lot of ways more usable. Hard to believe that the basic design of the guitar is so unchanged from its origin all those years ago but still completely simple and perfect and versatile. Like some other commenters I'd always kinda written it off as a C'n'W guitar only, but I guess Prince, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Joe Strummer and countless others all knew better. I do now too. Long live the Tele!

[@kelalamusic9258]

My very first Tele was a 50’s model. I can’t recall the year, but it was from the 50’s when I purchased it brand new. Sorry, don’t remember year or cost. But it was beautiful. Blonde with maple neck and maple fret board. If only I still had it. Before I heard people calling the chrome bridge cover an ash tray, that’s exactly what I used it for. 😊

[@johnnyx9892]

It has been said that Leo "borrowed" the headstock design from Paul Bigsby. The design was originally sketched out by guitar legend Merle Travis, and Bigsby built it. When changing strings, Merle liked to lay the guitar on his lap. Having all the pegs on one side made it easier to tune. I heard this story from Thom Bresh (Merle's son).

[@aminahmed2220]

What a fantastic video have a wonderful day ❤😊❤😊❤😊❤😊

[@ricktherrien8235]

I like my American Pro original Telecaster. It’s the first Fender I’ve owned and I just love it. I like the three brass saddles the bone nut and two single coil V-Mod pickups they really add that classic Tele tone and sound. It has become my main guitar and I have never been interested in Fenders due to the hum of the pickups but you can’t get that Tele sound anywhere else so I looked over the hum, got a noise suppressor and Bobs your uncle. End of story!!!!

[@AmericanArtifacts]

Awesome stuff! Yeah that 60hz hum can be annoying but as you found out there’s several work around that are available to hush them up without losing any body.

[@ryanacree]

The B-bender is older than 1996. Fender did make the "Nashville B-Bender" then, but the B-Bender goes back to the 70's I believe. Jimmy Page famously plays one on "All of My Love".

[@AmericanArtifacts]

That’s true but I think they were custom shop only or aftermarket kits / builds by other luthiers.

[@ryanacree]

@@AmericanArtifacts It’s still part of the Telecaster history. Bigsby’s were also attached aftermarket.

[@AmericanArtifacts]

@@ryanacree yeah that’s true

[@ranchodelreyband167]

@@ryanacree The '68 Fender catalog was the first year to offer a Bigsby equipped Tele.

[@televox845]

Thanks. I knew some of these facts but learnt a lot. Did you (or I) miss the Boxer Tele (that's the "2021" name) also known as the Contemporary Telecaster made in mid 80s and the American Standard circa 1988 ?

[@AmericanArtifacts]

So, I must’ve missed that one. Admittedly there are small batch runs and limited edition series etc that I didn’t touch on in this one, because there are genuinely thousands of variations of teles out there some that fender would only run for 6 months or less and then never again, so I left a lot of variants out that do exist based on their significance to the progression of the telecaster line

[@ArtLogins]

My tele has a Gibson Humbucker in the neck.... perfect guitar

[@GuitarguyRichard56]

I'm 52. I have played for years. Just bought a Tele. Oh my my it's good!

[@donknotts5625]

You can actually blend on those early. A match stick in between the 2nd and 3rd pos will give a blend

[@JamesWalshBristolKids]

Interesting Fun Fact: "the Little Bastard" ( Cabronita) was the nickname actor James Dean had given his silver sports race car. While it wasn't technically seen in any movies, actor James Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder could be the most iconic, and cursed car Hollywood has ever seen...Dean had raced in several races around California. He was driving near Cholame, California, in the Porche 550 when he was struck by a truck driver "who didn't see him" and passed away in September 1955. He was only 24 years old. Maybe Fender should have a James Dean Cabronita 550 model ?

[@PaisleyPatchouli]

Nah, they should just do a CARBON-ITA like this guy pronounces it, and build it out of carbon fiber... ;)

[@s.geo.7639]

Good breakdown. Thanks

[@gabrieltoneguitars9365]

Telecaster's Rule!

[@AmericanArtifacts]

Gabrieltone Guitars oh I love mine! I have a 79 standard.

[@markconner6078]

Wow good info, but what's your record for speed talking?

[@AmericanArtifacts]

Oh brotha I can go WAY faster lol

[@salort2934]

It should be “Cabroncita” to say it correctly.

[@GuitarIv69]

Leo got it right from the start. I own 3 Telecasters, a Harley Benton, a Jim Root Mexi Model and a 75th Anniversary Commemorative Tele. I love all of them. And I don't play country 🙃

[@Odyss-d2p]

If you aren't doing it with a telecaster the problem is not the machine. It's the operator.

[@joosboer1030]

You’re flashing through the pictures too fast and can’t get a good look at anything

[@AmericanArtifacts]

oh you don't have a pause button on your youtube videos? two vertical lines?

[@BobHolland1949]

I miss my 1951 Esquire. I paid $100.00 w/original case & sales receipt from original owner. Sadly I sold it in 1978 for $600.00. My biggest mistake in guitar.

[@Mandobird1]

I think Gretsch is still family owned. Fender is in charge of manufacturing, marketing, and distribution.

[@AmericanArtifacts]

That's true! The Gretsch family does still own the rights to the name, but that's all they own the rights to. They essentially make a royalty percentage off the guitars that have their name on them.

[@Mandobird1]

@@AmericanArtifacts Either way, they are great guitars.

[@AmericanArtifacts]

@@Mandobird1 agreed

[@dennismcqueen725]

@@AmericanArtifacts I think people are confusing Gretsch and Guild guitars. Fender also controls Guild.

[@ricmarquez7726]

Fender got it right with Telecasters no other guitar sounds like a Tele even though Les Paul's try

[@AmericanArtifacts]

I like them both, I prefer the tele over the LP for most things, but I do own both. I’m a big fan of the LP jr. because it’s a flat slab of wood like a tee.

[@ricmarquez7726]

@@AmericanArtifacts right I hear you I got my Epiphone LPs to got to have that chunky sound

[@AmericanArtifacts]

ric marquez no doubt friend! Keep playin!

[@ricmarquez7726]

@@AmericanArtifacts you too give us the meat and potatoes but I'll still keep the fried rice you guys all take care

[@manology4077]

Awesome!

[@AmericanArtifacts]

Thanks!

[@TomandTheBrokenHearts]

Fender didn’t purchase Gretsch. They just produce them under a licensing and marketing agreement.

[@yvl3176]

Telecasters are the daddies, but still strats are better

[@AmericanArtifacts]

I like em both! I have both lol

[@sfedroid]

Thing is though, sometimes you need a Tele sound that a Strat can't give you. And then there's no substitute for the real thing.

[@AmericanArtifacts]

@@sfedroid BINGO - Teles can Stratocaster, but Strats can't Tele.

[@Kushalien51_nv]

🔥 Good to know!

[@joshuajohnson2216]

If I don't have and don't own a Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster, I'm gonna be angry like the Hulk. You don't like me when I'm angry!!!!

[@nicholasbstone]

Ford=Gibson and Chevy=Fender

[@AmericanArtifacts]

Ooof idk about this one… I’ll agree on the fact that chevys like fenders are cheaper and easier to build modify and put into use due to tons of readily available and interchangeable parts. In terms of quality I’d have to disagree. Fords and Chevys made after 1990 are pretty equal in the sense that they’re kinda built to be disposable IMO. But prior to the 90s Chevy manufacturing quality is a big reason why there are so many parts available, because they would break often. Of course there’s caveats and all the Chevy guys are gonna come for me but generally speaking old fords were built better, and with generally higher quality components than old chevys, where I feel Fenders are and always have been more sturdy instruments than their Gibson counterparts.

[@ranchodelreyband167]

Gretsch NEVER sued Fender. This is an old tale. Simple research in one Google search will come up with the facts. Also, there's this article at reverb that says. Gretsch, "politely suggested that Fender change the guitar’s name, and Fender gladly complied."

[@egrono1]

Leo Fender sold the company in 1965 to CBS. He was not there in 1967.

[@AmericanArtifacts]

I don't think I said that he was. I think I said Fender modified the circuitry in 1967

[@Chris_the_Dingo]

He sold to CBS in 1965, but returned to Fender in an advisory role for several years afterwards.

[@NoNameNo.5]

I still love em, especially blondes.

[@AmericanArtifacts]

They're pretty great for everything honestly

[@blackcopper8760]

The telecaster is the best for all rhythms players.

[@jpalberthoward9]

Tweed amp and a Tele Like peanut butter and jelly

[@riffjohnson22]

Is your talk tempo song fast because you want people to tune out??!!!!! I had to

[@AmericanArtifacts]

And yet here you are, contributing to the algorithm that deposits money into my bank account monthly… weird flex homie weird flex lol

[@thaddeusfields4360]

Gretsch sent a letter; did not file suit.

[@ogarcia515]

Talked too fast. What's the hurry?

[@AmericanArtifacts]

I don’t see your video covering this topic on your channel

[@Jacob-hj2fd]

@@AmericanArtifactshe is right, but it’s ok. The videos is awesome, really well explained. I enjoyed it!! 🌟 😀

[@jackhopkins4679]

You talk about telecasters and dont mention Buck Owens

[@V_Dgt]

argh! damn fast slideshow 😠

[@AmericanArtifacts]

Waaaaah 😭 (hey man you can tap the little gear in the corner and slow the playback speed down to your liking)

[@yannicktrudel5150]

Nocaster all the way big udge neck !!

[@AmericanArtifacts]

the do have a big ol baseball bat of a neck lol

[@gstube1]

Cab ro nita🎉 easy

[@nicholasnelson4971]

You seriously got all of your information from a narrative book almost word for word. Site (GUITAR FAMILY TREES the history of the wolds most iconic guitars. By Terry Burrows Foreword by Zakk Wilde) I believe they call this lyble.

[@AmericanArtifacts]

I do not ever claim to have authored any of the information in any of the videos on my channel bud. I write a script for them using various sources from the internet, namely Wikipedia - I’m just a voice accompanied by a slideshow telling the story. Where I’m from it’s called reading. Nobody accuses or thinks less of teachers in schools for teaching from the history book. You should chill a little guy.

[@XieYie-d2b]

going way too fast

[@AmericanArtifacts]

@@XieYie-d2b you can slow the speed down.

[@matthewbeebe344]

Wow this has some serious inaccuracies and either bad reading, poor spelling and no pronunciations.

[@AmericanArtifacts]

What’s the link to your video covering the topic?

[@ChasingTone666]

This would’ve been so much more interesting and easy to watch if the guy wasn’t trying to speed through it. my God slow down and just let us absorb the information you’re giving us it’s not a race

[@AmericanArtifacts]

You can slow the playback down to your liking by clicking the little Gear on the video. Or just listen harder. idk

[@ChasingTone666]

@@AmericanArtifacts I know that everybody knows that it would just be nice if somebody would learn to slow down and speak like a human instead of a Computer

[@AmericanArtifacts]

@@ChasingTone666 Sorry dude, Is there anything else about myself that I should also change to better suit your tender sensibilities? Or am I free to carry on living my life as is?

[@manology4077]

What a Crybaby Karen LMAO

[@AmericanArtifacts]

@@manology4077 Yeah they all seem to find my channel too lol

[@brucechavez9535]

You're talking so fast, Sir...WTF !

[@gitlee]

true it is like the sun of two machine guns .......to fast

[@AmericanArtifacts]

listen harder dummys

[@felixleiva8689]

To much faster the way to talk.....breathe friend....

[@AmericanArtifacts]

Breathing fine thanks

[@PeterDad60]

You talked too fast, kind of ruining an otherwise solid presentation.

[@PeterDad60]

Fixed it by reducing playback to 3/4 speed!

[@carlosabrego7987]

Nothing regarding the Mexican who made the guitars Tadeo Gomez ??