Fender American Original '60s Telecaster 3 Tone Sunburst

Fender American Original '60s Telecaster 3 Tone Sunburst Overview

The much loved Fender Telecaster, the original workhorse guitar - reliable, functional, and possibly even practical. This model takes the best of its 1964 double-bound Custom incarnation, and adds a few modern updates - the best of both worlds? We certainly think so.

Allowing its true tonal characteristics to ring out, the solid, sturdy, and typically comfortable Alder body features a classic three tone sunburst finish in period correct gloss Nitrocellulose - something which will also allow age and wear to create a distinctively personal guitar. The ‘60s C profile Maple neck is every bit as precise and comfortable as was originally intended, while 21 Vintage Tall frets and a 9.5" radius not only make this American Original Tele feel charismatically familiar, but also extremely playable.

The classic ‘60s Tele spank is in full force here with period correct Fender tone being provided by two Pure Vintage ’64 single coils - within which enamel coated coil wire, cloth covered output wire, fibre bobbins and Alnico V magnets, ensure that the 1960s vibe of these these authentically voiced pickups is much more than just skin deep. Likewise, from the machine heads to jack socket, every piece of hardware stays true to the original.

A legendary instrument, the American Original ‘60s Telecaster is the best way to experience the performance, style and tone that made Fender the foundation of modern music.

What Fender say:

Rather than focusing on specific model years, the American Originals have cherry picked a number of features from across a certain decade and combined this with modern features such as a 9.5" Radius on the Fretboard, and 6105 style Tall Vintage frets for a lower action that won't fret-out on bends. This Vintage Modern approach combines classic old school features like thin skin Nitrocellulose Lacquer and meticulously reproduced period correct pickups with some modern electronics and neck profiles.

One of the most versatile guitars ever created, the Telecaster is easily at home in any genre, thanks to its  flexible sound, alluring style and smooth playing feel. In 1960, we offered rosewood as the standard fingerboard wood and launched the Telecaster Custom, an elegant model with a double-bound body and 3-ply pickguard. The American Original ‘60s Telecaster combines period-accurate sound and style from this electrifying decade with modern, fast-playing feel and pickup switching.

The Pure Vintage ’64 single-coil Telecaster pickups are as period-correct as possible, from the enamel-coated coil wire to the cloth-covered output wires, fiber bobbins and alnico 5 magnets. The bridge pickup’s copper shielding plate adds some zing to your tone, while the pole pieces are staggered for balanced volume between the strings. The mid-‘60s “C”-shaped neck profile gracefully fills the fret hand, while the 9.5”-radius round-lam rosewood fingerboard will feel familiar to any player. Other authentic touches include vintage-tall frets, original-era body radii, vintage- style hardware—including three steel saddles— vintage-style hardshell case and a lacquer finish that not only lets the wood “breathe” naturally with resonant tone, it also wears in a distinctively appealing way.