2006 Fender Classic Telecaster 69 Thinline (MIM)
THE GUITARCHIVE – This Made-in-Mexico 2006 Fender Classic Telecaster 69 Thinline was in excellent to like-new condition. It sold quick because it’s such a fantastic guitar, but we wanted to show it off here for posterity. Between tones and looks, this guitar has it all.
The Telecaster: Practically King
Leo’s guitar was reintroduced to the market as the Telecaster, and he began to mass produce them from his shop in Fullerton, California. The Telecaster was a practical, pragmatic machine made for the playing musician. It was plain and workmanlike. A block of wood for a body. A removable neck. And completely rethought hardware that was easily repaired by someone with limited skill and knowledge. The instrument was completely unimaginable at the time of its release and branded Leo as the “Henry Ford of electric guitars.”
Upon seeing the Telecaster, Mr. Gretsch famously quipped, “It’s a paddle.” And as simple as the design was, the look captured the imagination of guitarists immediately and has done so ever since. The guitar was quickly adopted by the cowboy players who backed up the Western music stars. And it was adopted by everyone else too, because you could turn it up as loud as the amp would push it, and it would not feedback. This changed music forever, which just kept getting louder from there, with the guitar in the driver seat.
Guitarists of every stripe have come to love the Telecaster for its elegant simplicity and for its dry bite and twangy punch. Its fierce and sharp sound is immediately recognizable. The sound has helped define the sound of modern country music for sure. But Keith Richards and The Boss famously rocked their Telecasters as well. And indy rockers are equally as likely to be playing a Telecaster. Even jazz players appreciate the Telecaster – due to its versatility of sounds.
The Telecaster is still today one of the best selling guitars in the world. Countless designs have copied the Telecaster, so much so that the shape is now a common noun referred to as a “T-Shape” guitar. Guitar makers of all kinds make T-shape models (all of which are just some slight variation on Leo’s original design). As it’s been said by so many that it’s surely a cliche at this point – Leo got it right from the beginning.
