T-Style Electric Guitars

T-Style Guitars

The Telecaster was presented by Fender in 1950 and is deemed to be the first mass produced solid-body e-guitar. Besides the Stratocaster and the Les Paul, the Telecaster is one of the guitar design classics.

Originally the Telecaster was mostly used for country music by artists like Jimmy Bryant because of its signature sound. But eventually the Telecaster found its way into rock music and is well liked by players like Keith Richards, who almost exclusively plays Tele or Jimi Page (Led Zepplin) who likes to use it for recordings. For instance, the solo on “Stairway to Heaven” was played with a Telecaster.

In modern rock music there are a bunch of Tele enthusiasts such as Johnny Buckland (Coldplay), El Hefe (No FX) or James Root Slipknot.

The Telecaster usually consists of a body made of ash or alder with a bolted on maple neck. Its sound is direct and punchy. The signature trademark of the Telecaster is the famous “Twang” that is slightly reminiscent of the sound of a Lapsteel guitar or a banjo. The Telecaster has a unique sound spectrum that is viable for various genres and its wiry, mid-range sound prevails easily in a band context.