Fender
Telecaster®
Telecaster,
Broadcaster, NoCaster, Tele Custom, Tele Thinline,
Rosewood Tele.
Collectibility Rating: 1950's models: B+, 1960's
models: C+.
October
1950 Broadcaster specs:
- Ash
body with Butterscotch Blond finish.
- Maple
one piece neck, all with truss rods.
- Round
button string tree (1st month models don't have
one).
- Silver
"spaghetti" peghead decal with black trim.
- Flat
pole pickup in treble position.
- Chrome
covered pickup in neck position.
- Black
fiber pickguard, clear coated with lacquer.
- Serial
number on bridge plate.
- Round
Daka-Ware switch tip.
- Steel
bridge saddles till November 1950, then brass with
flat bottoms.
- Body
date in neck pocket.
- All
screws have slot heads.
- Most
Broadcasters bodies do not have the diagonal wire
route between the neck pickup and the control cavity.
This route was added to allow easier drilling and
mounting of the neck pickup's wire to the control
cavity.
February
1951 "NoCaster" specs:
- Fender
decal with "Broadcaster" cut off.
Summer
1951 Telecaster specs:
- After
all cut "NoCaster" decals used, "Telecaster" decals
appear. Still a silver "spaghetti" logo with black
trim.
- Gradual
use of phillips head screws replaces slot head screws
(this change was not complete till 1953).
Late
1952 Telecaster specs:
- Wiring
changes on Tele. Now instead of the last knob being
a "blend", it is a tone knob.
Spring
1954 Telecaster specs:
- Serial
number on neck plate.
Summer
1954 Telecaster specs:
- White
Blond finish replaces butterscotch finish.
- White
single layer vinyl pickguard replaces black pickguard.
- Bridge
saddles change from brass to small steel smooth
saddles.
Mid
1955 Telecaste specs:
- Staggered
pole pickup magnets replace the previous "flat pole"
pickup in the treble position.
- Daka-Ware
"Top Hat" style switch tip replaces round tip.
- Sunburst
finish available.
- Body
date moved from neck pocket to under lead pickup
(late 1955).
Mid
1956 Telecaster specs:
- String
tree changes from round button to "butterfly" clip.
- String
tree moved closer to the nut, roughly in alignment
with the A-string tuning post.
- Peghead
decal position changes to between the nut and the
string tree (rather than next to the G-string tuning
post).
1958
Telecaster specs:
- Bridge
saddles change from smooth to threaded saddles.
- Strings
anchor at bridge ("top loading") instead of going
thru the body (late 1958).
Mid
1959 Telecaster specs:
- Slab
Rosewood fingerboard.
- Single
layer thick white pickguard (custom color Teles
used 3 layer celluloid mint green pickguard).
- Number
of pickguard screws increases from five to eight.
- "Custom
Telecaster" introduced with body binding, sunburst
finish, and 3 layer celluloid mint green pickguard.
The first few models have a peghead logo the same
as a regular Telecaster. Then a gold spaghetti peghead
decal reads "Custom Telecaster" (not Telecaster
Custom!), with the model name lettering slightly
bolder than a regular Telecaster.
- "Custom
Esquire" introduced, just like the Custom Telecaster
(but with one pickup). Same decal specs as Custom
Telecaster.
1960
Telecaster specs:
- Strings
anchor thru the body again.
Late
1961 Telecaster specs:
- Patent
numbers 2,573,254 and 2,784,631 added to peghead
decal, and DES number 164,227.
Mid
1962 Telecaster specs:
- Veneer
Rosewood fingerboard instead of the previous "slab"
style.
1963
Telecaster specs:
- 3
layer celluloid mint green pickguard on all models.
- Telecasters
were offered with a mahogany body and a translucent
red finish. Not very many were produced, and this
option is only seen in 1963/1964.
Fall
1964 Telecaster specs:
- Pearl
fingerboard dots replace "clay" dots.
- White
plastic three layer pickguard.
- The
Custom Telecaster peghead decal changed to the gold
"transition" style decal with patent numbers 2,573,254
and 2,784,631 and DES number 164,227.
Late
1965 Telecaster specs:
- Gold
Fender "transition" decal, thicker than previous
"spaghetti" logo. Two patent numbers of 2,573,254
and 3,143,028 (the DES number is dropped).
- Maple
fingerboard available as an option (black dots).
Late
1967 Telecaster specs:
- Black
Fender decal with gold trim with the two patent
numbers moved under the "Fender" part of the decal.
- "F"
style tuning gears replaces Kluson-Deluxe gears.
- Polyester
thick finish replaces nitrocellulose lacquer.
- String
ferrules on back now stick out, no longer flush.
1968
Telecaster specs:
- Pink
paisley and blue floral finishes available 1968
& 1969 only.
- Tele
Thinline was introduced (late-1968).
- On
Custom Telecasters the peghead decal changes to
a regular Telecaster style decal (the "Custom Telecaster"
designation is dropped).
1969
Telecaster specs:
- Maple
necks went back to the "one piece" construction.
- Rosewood
necks now how a contrasting "skunk strip" on the
back of the neck (Fender wanted to use just one
truss rod construction system!).
- The
diagonal body route between the neck pickup and
the control cavity is suspended.
Still
in production today in several different forms.
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