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The very first solid-body electric guitar offered by Fender in 1950 was the Esquire. With an elegant single-cutaway silhouette, adjustable 3-saddle bridge and a lone, repurposed lap-steel pickup in the bridge position – the Esquire laid the groundwork for all solidbody electric guitars to follow and foreshadowed its more famous sibling, the Telecaster.
Like the earliest Esquire models, the 70th Anniversary Esquire features a pine body – a lightweight wood known for punchy and complex tone – and upgrades it with our roasting treatment, greatly improving the resonance of the body. Other features include a lacquer finish, thick “U”-shaped neck, Tim Shaw-designed Esquire bridge pickup – inspired by an original ’50 Esquire from Songbirds Museum in Chattanooga, TN - special anniversary neck plate and tweed case.
Production of the 70th Anniversary Esquire will be limited to 2020 only.
The 1951 Broadcaster decal was removed from the headstock due to a legal action by Gretsch Drums, who already had a trademarked line of drum kits with the same name. Leo, the father of invention, immediately had his assembly line people snip the Broadcaster model name from the existing stock of headstock decals, leaving Fender as the only branding. Fewer than 500 so-called “Nocaster” guitars were produced in the first half of 1951, until Fender had come up with a suitable replacement model name. In a nod to the new age of television, the Telecaster made its debut in mid 1951, and the rest, as they say, is history.
| Top Material: | Roasted Pine |
|---|---|
| Side Material: | Roasted Pine |
| Back Material: |
Roasted Pine |
| Neck Material: |
Roasted Pine |
| Fingerboard Material: | |
| Nut Material: | Bone |
| Neck Shape: | Thick U |
| Radius: | 7.25" |
| Number of Frets: | 21, Narrow Tall |
| Scale Length: | 25.5" |
| Nut Width: | 1.650" |
| Bridge/Tailpiece: | 3-Saddle American Vintage Strings-through body with Steel Saddles |
| Tuners: | Vintage Style |
| Body Shape: | Esquire Telecaster |
| Left/Right Handed: | Right-handed |
| Height: | |
| Weight: | |
| Neck Pickup: | |
| Bridge Pickup: | Tim Shaw Designed Esquire Single-coil |
| Middle Pickup: | |
| UPC Code: |
