The Guitar That changed it all.

A brief history of the Fender Esquire,Broadcaster,Telecaster electric guitar.

Although each of these guitars ,the Esquire,Broadcaster,Nocaster and The Telecaster were all different guitars in their own rights we can combine each of them into one grouping for historical lineage sakes.

The beginning, setting the world on its ear.

Conceived as a Spanish electric guitar the Esquire debuted at the July 1950 Namm show,even though it did not set the world on fire and was met with some resistance it is the first in the solid body electric guitar lineup from that little company from California that would eventually start a revolution. It came as a bolt on neck,flat body and 1 pickup, although a 2 pickup version of the Esquire was offered and produced in limited quantities.At first these guitars were produced without a truss rod as it has been quoted that Leo Fender did not think the guitar needed one due to the hard maple construction of the neck.This was later revisited and addressed and the following guitars would all have a truss rod installed into them.

 Later in the Fall of 1950 a regular production 2 pickup version of Fender's Electric Spanish guitar was produced as a standard order item and officially named the Broadcaster, ( even though special order 2 pickup versions of the Esquire were available by special order) . These guitars differed from the original versions with a truss rod and a "skunk stripe" of wood on the back of the neck where the truss rod was placed during production, it has been noted in other publications that several of these "skunk Stripes" are of maple and blend in with the back of the neck almost invisibly.For approximately 6 months these guitars were produced under the Broadcaster name until The Gretsch Mfg. Co. requested that Fender drop the name as they (Gretsch) had a trademark on the name ,although spelled slightly differently. Fender agreed and began clipping the "Broadcaster" off the headstock stickers ,thus the "Nocaster" came into existence, although not an official designation, the term "Nocaster" has been applied to these guitars by collectors and players alike.The "no name " or "Nocasters" were produced without a name on the headstock until approximately September of 1951. From this a new model name was introduced )after a careful trademark search) and the  "Telecaster" name was born and was introduced on models appearing side by side with the later "Nocasters" on the production line untill the old clipped decals finally  ran out,( Leo hated waste).

As early as April 1951 ,less than a year from conception the Spanish electric guitar offered by Fender had already undergone some substantial changes.From no truss rod to a truss rod installed , from 1 pickup to 2 pickup versions ,from production ( although not many) from pine wood to the use of ash as the body wood.The earliest models had no string tree either.

At the July 1951 NAMM show the new Telecaster and it's older brother the Esquire were both displayed at the Fender booth and well The fender company never looked back.Even though the basic construction of this grandfather of electric solidbody guitar has remained almost the same throughout it's 60 year history some change have occurred,some subtle and some not so subtle.
The following is just a few of the noted changes that our beloved Telecaster has undergone through the years.

From 1950 to 1964. 

These are commonly referred to as the pre CBS years or the Leo years.

Finish goes from white washed pine bodies to the more common yellow or butterscotch ash bodied guitars. These also have a black pick guard ,hence the nickname of "blackguard Tele's".

A blended circuitry gave way to a tone control in mid 1952 .The form fit case was replaced with the "poodle " case.

1954 black guards are replaced with the single ply white guard,brass saddles replaced with steel saddles.The yellow or butterscotch finish became a cremier color,the serial numbers were moved from the bridge to the neck plate and the "tweed" case was introduced.
Late in 1955 saw the staggered pole pieces in Fenders pickups introduced and about this time the switchtip was changed as well as the control knob(s) profile.
1958  saw less pronounced neck profiles.
1958 -1959 also introduced the "top load" bridge introduced although it only lasted approximately a year.
In 1959 it is generally accepted that "rosewood" fingerboards appeared on the maple neck blanks on Fender guitars. These also will undergo changes in size,shape as the year(s) progress.
Later in 1959 tweed cases gave way to brown tolex,then white in 1963 and later black in 1965.
Alder bodies appear in the "custom" in late 1959.

After Leo,1965 to 1984.

The CBS years.

The "L" series neck plates give way ti the "F' plates.
In 1967 the old circuitry was replaced ,The logo changed to the Black logo.
The Thinline models were introduced in 1967.
Poly finishes were the standard in the 1970's.3 bolt necks introduced,Larger headstocks.
Body shapes became incorrect due to "modern" production techniques.

Post CBS

After CBS sold it's stake in Fender changes gradually happened for the better, a more period correct ( and correct period) Telecaster was produced an continues to be produced to this day, Yes it's only been around 60 years has undergone changes ,but all in all it "The Telecaster" is still in retrospect the guitar all of us grew up with. From it's inception it's a guitar than can be changed and refined in some ways but still retains its' look ,feel and twang, many copies have been produced by variuos makers but to coin a phrase I once heard" It's hard to make a better guitar than the one(s) Leo Fender and company first designed". That pretty much sums it all up for me, The guitars that Leo and company put into our hands are still the yardstick in which all other guitar are measured by.
I hope you learned something with this article.It is not meant to be all inclusive by no means and is for your reading enjoyment. Many sources are available on the Telecaser and Fender guitars and include some of the facts I have mentioned ( as there can only be so many facts cited) . It is not the intention of me to give these facts as first hand knowledge but rather a culmination of facts that I have learned over the years any coincidence to any other articles is just that ,coincidence.
So may all your days be memorable,all your friends stay true and all your riffs be killer.
Happy New Year to all from Greg's Guitars and The Vintage Guitar News and Views.