FENDER
TELECASTER
DELUXE
The last of Fender’s early-‘70s experiments
in humbucker-equipped rockers is the
Tele Deluxe, introduced in 1973 and
summarily discontinued in 1981. With the
Deluxe, Fender finally went whole hog on
the humbucker train, putting one of Seth
Lover’s distinctively fat, yet bright, Wide
Range pickups in both neck and bridge
positions, controlled by a three-way toggle
with dual volume and tone knobs just like
the Custom. Since the model was being
touted as the flagship of the Telecaster
line at the time, Fender also added a few
other slick upgrades, including a big,
Strat-style ‘70s headstock and Strat-style
body contours for added comfort. Two
bridge options were also offered, a string-
through-body hardtail, and a Strat-inspired
Synchronized Tremolo, the latter of which
was only offered during the first two years
of production. This vibrato-equipped
model is quite rare. Though the Deluxe had
been long discontinued, by the ‘90s it was
experiencing a resurgence in popularity.
Fender tends to take notice of these things,
eventually, and reissued the guitar in 2004
to much acclaim. The Tele Deluxe has been
with us ever since in various incarnations.
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TONE TALK //
A Player’s Field Guide to Tele Variants