FENDER
TELECASTER
CUST OM
Widely referred to as the ‘72 Custom
due to its date of release, the Telecaster
Custom is a very popular variant of Leo
Fender’s original design. Its primary point
of departure from the standard Tele
arrangement is one of the then-newly
designed Wide Range humbuckers in the
neck position, along with dual volume and
tone controls and a three-way toggle switch.
This whole arrangement was an attempt
by Fender to horn in on Gibson’s fresh
successes among the new wave of hard
rock guitar slingers, who were all wielding
humbucker-equipped Les Pauls and SGs. It
was also an attempt to appease steadfastly
Fender-loving players who (rightly) thought
that the standard Tele neck pickup sucked,
and was pretty much useless for anything
remotely rocking. Sales initially failed to
meet Fender’s high expectations for the
model, however, despite Keith Richards
adopting a black Tele Custom as his main
stage guitar around 1975. By 1981 the
company had discontinued it, but much
like the Thinline, the Telecaster Custom was
eventually revived by Fender Japan, leading
to a strong resurgence in its popularity and a
continuing string of reissues and reboots.
ToneReport.com
15