The Raunchy Toned Fender Telecaster

Renamed Telecaster in 1950, this world's first successful solid body guitar was originally released as the Broadcaster in 1948 and later also called the Nocaster. So the Broadcaster, the Nocaster and the early Telecaster were basically the same guitar.

It had the same wiring circuit and no real tone control, it also had a three way selector switch.

The Selector Switch When Used in the Various Positions

* forward position gave a bassy sound and with no tone control, it produced a soft tone.

* middle position had a normal sound, but no tone control.

* Rear position, a combination of both pickups when blended with the neck pickup was good for solo work. It was only in 1952 that the pickups (wiring) was modified.

Description of the 1951 Telecaster Models

The Body

* It was constructed as a thin solid-body type.

* Had a figured ash type body.

* The deep cutaway gave easy access to all 21 frets.

* The neck and the body junction was at the 16th fret.

* For improved body sustain, the string through body loading was used.

* The dimensions were 15.75" length x 12" width x 1.75" depth.

The Neck

* The neck was made from maple wood

* It had an adjustable metal truss rod.

* A four bolt mounting was fixed to the body with a tempered steel anchor plate.

* An asymmetric peghead was used which helped pull the strings straight to the tuners.

* On the peghead was a round string guide to press the E and B strings down.

* It was about 25.5" in length.

* It had 21 frets.

* The radius of the fretboard was around 7.25"

* The nut width was about 1.625"

* Black dots were used for position markers.

Controls and Pickups

* It had two single coil pickups

* Each pickup had six individual Alnico magnets and pole pieces and was adjustable in height.

* The lead pickups (42GA wire) had a resistance of ca. .5kOhms.

* The selector switch had a three way setting for different tones.

* There was a master volume control.

* Both pickups could be pan controlled for different tones.

* It had a side mounted jack receptacle.

Hardware

* Fitted with six Kluson Deluxe tuning keys with a slotted headpost.

* There are three individual brass saddles and a two way adjustable bridge on the Telecaster.

* A bridge cover was introduced.

* A black pick guard was fitted, it had five mounting screws.

* The brass knobs were chrome plated.

* The strap buttons were nickel plated.

Finish

* The neck was covered with nitro cellulose lacquer.

* The body was of a semi transparent lacquer.

Accessories

* Came with a brown hard case with golden brown lining.

* Includes an adjustable leather strap, a shielded cord and a piece of polishing cloth.

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