Fender Telecaster Deluxe

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Fender Telecaster Deluxe

Manufacturer	Fender
Period	1972 — 1981, 2004 - present
Construction
Body type	Solid
Neck joint	Bolt-on
Woods
Body	Alder or Ash
Neck	Maple
Fretboard	Maple
Hardware
Bridge	Vintage Style Strat Strings-Through-Body Hardtail Bridge
Pickup(s)	2 Fender Wide Range humbuckers
Colors available
Classic Series: Black, 3-Color Sunburst, Walnut Other colours may be available

The Fender Telecaster Deluxe is a solid-body electric guitar originally produced from 1972 to 1981, and since re-issued by Fender in 2004 as the '72 Telecaster Deluxe.

1 History
2 Features
3 Similar guitars
4 Players
5 External links

[edit] History

The popularity of heavy rock in the late 1960s led Fender to re-think its strategy of exclusively using single-coil pickups, as these were not perceived as being as suitable for the thick sound and extended sustain favoured by heavy rock guitarists as a double-coil humbucking pickup. Consequently, Fender hired former Gibson employee Seth Lover, the inventor of the humbucker, to design a humbucking pickup for use in a number of Fender guitars. The result was a pickup known as the Wide Range humbucker, and it was used in a variety of different Fender models including the Deluxe, Custom, and Thinline Telecasters. The Deluxe, originally conceived as the top-of-the-line model in the Telecaster series, was the last of these to be released, in late 1972.

The "humbucker" Telecasters failed to draw potential customers away from competition like Gibson's Les Paul model, and the Telecaster Deluxe was discontinued in 1981. However, in 2004 Fender decided to re-issue the Deluxe, probably in response to the belated popularity of the original 70s version.

[edit] Features

1977 Fender Telecaster Deluxe

The Deluxe is unique amongst Telecasters in that the neck has an enlarged headstock - the same 21-fret neck was used by Fender Stratocaster models manufactured in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. The neck also features the "Micro-Tilt" angle adjustment device located in the heel of the neck, similar to other Fender models of the period.

The body shape was similar to other Telecaster models of the era, with one minor difference - a "belly cut" contour similar to that featured on all Stratocasters was added to the back of the guitar. The Deluxe also had the same "glitch" in its shape as the other Telecasters - a slightly less-pronounced curve where the upper bout meets the neck joint, compared to earlier (and later) Telecasters. This was attributed to more modern routing machines installed in the production line at the time. The 2004 re-issue differs from the original in that it does not have the 70s "notchless" body style.

The Deluxe features 2 Seth Lover-designed "Wide Range" humbuckers with "Cunife" (Copper/Nickel/Ferrite) magnetised pole-pieces. The pickups were wound with approximately 10,000 turns of copper wire, yielding a very high output of 13 kΩ (compared to a standard Gibson P.A.F. humbucker average output of 9 kΩ). The 2004 re-issue version of the pickup, while looking almost identical, is constructed entirely different from the original 1970s versions - it features a bar magnet underneath the (non-magnetised) pole-pieces. It is in fact an ordinary humbucker placed in the larger casing, and the gap is filled with cloth. This is one important reason the re-issue Deluxe sounds very different from the original guitars. Another reason is the use of 250K volume pots, while the original used 1 MEG pots. Using 250K pots on very hot humbuckers make them sound dark and muddy. Original Wide Range Humbuckers are fat sounding, but they always retain clarity. The same reissue pickups are used for the 1972 Custom Telecaster Reissue.

Most Deluxes produced have a "hard-tail" fixed bridge, although for the first couple of years of production a vibrato bridge could be ordered with the guitar - this was the same bridge used on most Stratocasters. As this was not a standard option, models with the vibrato bridge are quite rare.

The volume/tone knobs used on the early Deluxes were very similar to those used on Fender's "Blackface" range of amplifiers, however in the mid 1970s these were replaced with black knobs identical to those used on the Stratocaster.

[edit] Similar guitars

The Telecaster Deluxe is very similar to another Fender model sold in the 1970s - the Telecaster Custom. The Custom can be differentiated from the Deluxe by its use of the "classic Tele"-style neck & headstock, as well as the "ashtray" bridge and single-coil slanted bridge pickup also used by all other Telecaster models. The Custom was also available with a rosewood fretboard, whereas the Deluxe was only available with maple. Keith Richards has often used a Telecaster Custom on-stage, particularly during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The Telecaster Thinline also featured a version with two "Wide Range" humbuckers, however in most other respects this was quite a different guitar from the Deluxe.

Electronically, the Tele Deluxe also resembles the Gibson Les Paul - they both have dual humbucking pickups, an upper-bout mounted 3-way pickup selector switch, and independent volume/tone controller for each pickup.