Within the a long time since Leo Fender rechristened his Broadcaster because the Telecaster in 1951, actually lots of of Tele and Tele-adjacent fashions have rolled off of manufacturing facility strains. For any lovers of that seminal slab of wooden and wire – particularly these for whom the upscaling of the world’s easiest electrical guitar has simply been an excessive amount of – Fender created the American Classic II 1951 Blackguard Telecaster.

Your intro to the previous begins with the substantial really feel of a U-shaped neck, the arc of a 7.25″ radius, and the heft of the ash physique. That is your dad’s guitar, child – when you can’t deal with it, don’t contact. From prime to backside Fender aimed to honor 1951 specs, starting with the slender, straight headstock, single-line Fender Deluxe tuners, and a round string-tree. Classic tall frets and dot markers run down the one-piece maple neck, which is hooked up with a four-bolt (flatheads!) neck plate. Neck and physique are completed with a glossed nitrocellulose lacquer. Behind the famed five-screw black pickguard (white didn’t turn into customary till ’55), the bridge meeting makes use of three brass-barrel saddles. Every guitar’s serial quantity is stamped into the tailpiece, and the traditional ashtray pickup cowl is included.

The only-coils in authentic ’51 Teles are generally characterised as hotter or fuller than later fashions, and Fender has voiced its Pure Classic pickups to be year-specific. We discovered that each the bridge (7.15k) and neck (7.8k) stuffed out among the decrease mids behind the Telecaster’s signature brightness and backed up these snappy assaults with muscle. Resonance between the ash physique and that honkin’ large neck contributes to the woody fullness. It’s value noting that the “darkish” or “blackguard” tone related to early Telecasters is attributable to their vintage-style wiring scheme – notably, the neck place was pre-set to a bassy sound and had no Tone management – versus the pickups themselves. Participant preferences finally gave method to extra tonal management; a.okay.a. modern-style wiring, which is used on this AV II mannequin.

The white paint end is equally anachronistic, and out there solely on a restricted run. Sticklers for one hundred pc historic accuracy can order the guitar in Butterscotch Blonde and rewire the switching for classic inflexibility. – Wealthy Maloof

This text initially appeared in VG’s July 2025 situation. All copyrights are by the creator and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.