LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Fender: Fender Tele
built 632 days ago
The first true Fender electric guitar was the Esquire. The Esquire was then followed by the now famous Telecaster. The Telecaster (which was originally called the Broadcaster) came on the market in 1950, and Fender has never stopped production of this world-famous model. It has a two pickups and a three position switch, which allows the player to use the front pickup, the rear pickup, or both. The solid-body design of the Telecaster helped to reduce the feedback that archtops produce at high volumes... allowing rock and roll to be even louder.
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One of the main points about Fender guitars at this time is they were really a no frills guitar. The body was basically a piece of wood and wasn't hand carved like say the Gibson Archtops were. They had only what they needed and this was to keep the price down as low as possible. The original Telecaster sold for under $200 dollars which was a lot at the time.
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Fall 1965 to late 1970's: Fender had tuners made for them with a big "F" stamped in the back cover. Tuner buttons were chrome plated plastic. Note models such as the Jazzmaster and Jaquar (1966) and the Musicmaster family (fall 1965) got these tuners before Strats and Teles (late 1967/1968).
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For over 50 years, Fender® has lead the way in guitar design. Leo Fender's early designs set a standard that is still light years ahead. Although the Telecaster® and the Stratocaster® have evolved to 21st century tone machines, the heart of Leo's inventions still beats through.
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[One] one of the classic Fender guitars is the Stratocaster. The Stratocaster, or "Strat" as it is often referred to, was developed shortly after the introduction of the Telecaster. There are legions of loyal Strat fans as well, and it is an extremely popular model for players who employ the use of a vibrato or tremolo arm. Additionally, Strats have three pickups, which allow for an even greater ability to fine tune the guitar's sound.
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From 1950 to 1953 Fender used a guitar-shaped hard case for the Tele and Pbass nicknamed the "thermometer" case, due to it's unique thermometer shape. This case had a brown covering with a brown plush lining. The case had a bulb shape at the peghead.
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Fender Tele