Fender Telecaster Custom

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
<h3>Original model (1959-1972)</h3>
<p>In 1958, Fender sought to add a more ornate version of the Telecaster to its lineup.  The brand added binding to the body and offered a sunburst finish and rosewood fretboard as options, but otherwise maintained the original's core design.  Fender debuted their new guitar model as the "Telecaster Custom" at the 1959 <a href="/facts/NAMM/ENy017Pu">NAMM</a> Convention.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
</p><p>By the late 1960s, however, the popularity of single-coil pickups began to wane as rock music became heavier and guitarists increasingly favored <a href="/facts/Humbucker/uMNVfccg">humbucker</a> pickups popularized by <a href="/facts/Gibson_(guitar_company)/0LDC3Qen">Gibson</a>'s guitars.  Fender responded by hiring <a href="/facts/P.A.F._(pickup)/vh7Wcnq9">P.A.F.</a> creator and former Gibson employee <a href="/facts/Seth_Lover/HFJX8w1s">Seth Lover</a> to design what would become Fender's <a href="/facts/Fender_Wide_Range/CUHT5VoV">Wide Range</a> humbucker, which first appeared in the brand's semi-hollowbody <a href="/facts/Fender_Telecaster_Thinline/deg11TjW">Thinline</a> model in 1971.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
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<h3>Redesign (1972-1981)</h3>
<p>A popular modification of the Telecaster, especially among rock guitarists, was to route the body and alter the pickguard to accept a Gibson humbucker in the neck position, something popularized by Keith Richards with his own Telecaster, Micawber.  Fender chose to replicate this mod with a revised Telecaster Custom model, using a Wide Range in the neck position and adding separate volume and tone controls for each pickup, along with a three-position toggle for pickup selection on the guitar's upper bout.  This brought the Telecaster design closer to that of Gibson's popular <a href="/facts/Gibson_Les_Paul/tzdzrLBo">Les Paul</a> model.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a>
</p><p>Fender launched their new Telecaster Custom in 1972 alongside the similar <a href="/facts/Telecaster_Deluxe/PYrgT1gA">Telecaster Deluxe</a>, which sported Wide Range humbuckers in both positions—making it even more similar to the Les Paul—and had a larger, CBS-era Stratocaster-style headstock.  Few well-known players of the time picked up on the Custom, although <a href="/facts/Keith_Richards/2KfBSNAA">Keith Richards</a> (who used one as his main guitar from 1975 until 1983) and <a href="/facts/Peter_Buck/sM6wVgYx">Peter Buck</a> in the early years of <a href="/facts/R.E.M./vshQTmmg">R.E.M.</a> were fans.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a>
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<h3>Reissues</h3>
<p>Like the Deluxe, the Custom was subject to renewed interest among guitarists beginning in the 1990s.  Fender Japan was the first to release a reissue of the Custom. Following the Japanese re-issue, Fender moved production to its <a href="/facts/Ensenada%2c_Baja_California/aDq4UQHR">Ensenada</a> facility in <a href="/facts/Mexico/IT5bwhdh">Mexico</a>. The higher-end Factory Special Run (FSR) editions of the guitar are made at the U.S.-based <a href="/facts/Fender_Custom_Shop/SnVIguRI">Fender Custom Shop</a>.  Both the Mexican and the Japanese versions featured a reissued version of the Fender Wide Range humbucking pickup, each of which differs fundamentally in construction from the original and results in a darker-sounding reissue pickup.
</p><p>In 2010, the Fender Custom Shop released a limited issue of thirty '72 Telecaster Custom relics models, although substantial differences from the original remained. Fender released the American Vintage reissue '72 Telecaster Custom the following year, replicating the original '72 design features such as the three-bolt neck and the classic look, with improved construction and quality.
</p><p><a href="/facts/Squier/2kJT7l1B">Squier</a> also has a Telecaster Custom model as part of their Vintage Modified series.  It is essentially an affordable hybrid design that takes features from both the Telecaster Custom and Telecaster Deluxe.  The Squier Telecaster Custom II uses two <a href="/facts/Seymour_Duncan/BwS66wAz">Seymour Duncan</a>-designed <a href="/facts/P-90/N8JLxAj6">P-90</a> pickups instead of humbuckers.
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<h2 id="notes">Notes</h2>

<ul><li>Carter, Walter (2008). <i>Classic electrics : a visual history of great guitars</i>. London. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-906002-19-0. <a href="/facts/OCLC_(identifier)/Yqad8waq">OCLC</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/209597061">209597061</a>.{{cite book}}:  CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"History of the Telecaster Deluxe | Fender Guitars". <a href="https://www.fender.com/articles/gear/absolute-power-the-telecaster-deluxe" target="_blank">https://www.fender.com/articles/gear/absolute-power-the-telecaster-deluxe</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Hunter, Dave. "Played by Keith Richards and Peter Buck, Fender's Humbucker-Loaded Telecaster Custom is a CBS Classic". guitarplayer.com. Guitar Player. Retrieved 6 February 2025. <a href="https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/fender-telecaster-custom-1970s-version-2" target="_blank">https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/fender-telecaster-custom-1970s-version-2</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Hunter, Dave. "Played by Keith Richards and Peter Buck, Fender's Humbucker-Loaded Telecaster Custom is a CBS Classic". guitarplayer.com. Guitar Player. Retrieved 6 February 2025. <a href="https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/fender-telecaster-custom-1970s-version-2" target="_blank">https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/fender-telecaster-custom-1970s-version-2</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Hunter, Dave. "Played by Keith Richards and Peter Buck, Fender's Humbucker-Loaded Telecaster Custom is a CBS Classic". guitarplayer.com. Guitar Player. Retrieved 6 February 2025. <a href="https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/fender-telecaster-custom-1970s-version-2" target="_blank">https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/fender-telecaster-custom-1970s-version-2</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Hunter, Dave. "Played by Keith Richards and Peter Buck, Fender's Humbucker-Loaded Telecaster Custom is a CBS Classic". guitarplayer.com. Guitar Player. Retrieved 6 February 2025. <a href="https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/fender-telecaster-custom-1970s-version-2" target="_blank">https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/fender-telecaster-custom-1970s-version-2</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>Hunter, Dave. "Played by Keith Richards and Peter Buck, Fender's Humbucker-Loaded Telecaster Custom is a CBS Classic". guitarplayer.com. Guitar Player. Retrieved 6 February 2025. <a href="https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/fender-telecaster-custom-1970s-version-2" target="_blank">https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/fender-telecaster-custom-1970s-version-2</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>Hunter, Dave. "Played by Keith Richards and Peter Buck, Fender's Humbucker-Loaded Telecaster Custom is a CBS Classic". guitarplayer.com. Guitar Player. Retrieved 6 February 2025. <a href="https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/fender-telecaster-custom-1970s-version-2" target="_blank">https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/fender-telecaster-custom-1970s-version-2</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Fender Telecaster Custom open-in-new

Fender Telecaster Custom