The Fender Telecaster Thinline is a
semi-hollow guitar made by the
Fender company. It is a
Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele (), is an electric guitar produced by Fender (company), Fender. Together with its sister model the Fender Esquire, Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successfulLes ...
with body cavities. Designed by German luthier
Roger Rossmeisl in 1968,
it was introduced in 1969 and updated in 1972 by replacing the standard Telecaster pickups with a pair of
Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups, bullet truss-rod and 3-bolt neck.
The
design
A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...
was originally an attempt to reduce the weight of the solid-body Telecaster guitar, which had become ever heavier throughout the 1960s due to the dwindling supply of the light ash wood Fender had formerly used. The
f-hole
A sound hole is an opening in the body of a string instrument, stringed musical instrument, usually the upper Sound board (music), sound board.
Sound holes have different shapes:
* Round in flat-top guitars and traditional bowl-back mandolins;
...
and reshaped pickguard are the most apparent visual clues to its construction.
There have been many different versions of the Telecaster Thinline over the years, although the original two are more recognizable. The 1969 version has two standard single-coil pickups and a mahogany body, while the 1972 version, based on the
Fender Telecaster Deluxe, has two
Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups and a natural swamp ash body. Thinline versions have been made in Mexico and Japan as a part of the Classic Series of guitars and basses, followed by higher-end American-made Factory Special Run (FSR) versions from the
Fender Custom Shop
The Fender Custom Shop is a division of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, housed within its headquarters complex in Corona, California, Corona, Riverside County, California, Riverside County, California. The Fender Custom Shop produces spe ...
in 2005 and 2013.
The Modern Player Telecaster Thinline design was produced in China and featured
P-90 pickups and a mahogany body. While it retained the "Fender Telecaster" name on the headstock, it was not labeled as a Thinline, although the F-hole design and hollow construction makes its heritage obvious.
Squier Thinline Telecasters
Fender's subsidiary company
Squier
Squier is an American brand of electric guitars owned by Fender. The former manufacturing company, established as "V. C. Squier Company" was founded in 1890 by Victor Carroll Squier in Battle Creek, Michigan, producing strings for violins, ban ...
also makes entry level Thinline Telecasters. This includes the Master Series Thinline Telecaster, the Vintage Modified Series Thinline Telecaster, and the Classic Vibe Thinline Telecaster. The Master Series features twin
Duncan Designed P-90 style single coil pickups, 2 volume and 2 tone controls and a 3-position toggle switch. The Vintage Modified Series is more traditional, based around the '69 Fender Thinline, featuring 2
Duncan Designed single coil pickups, 1 volume and 1 tone control with a 3-position toggle switch. The Classic Vibe Thinline Telecaster is also based on the '69 Fender Thinline, but features a mahogany body, and Alnico V single coil pickups. However, in a break from the usual Fender standard, the master series and Vintage Modified Thinline Telecasters both feature the more Gibson-esque shorter 24.75" scale where Fender uses a 25.5" scale.
References
{{Fender Telecaster submodels
Thinline
Semi-acoustic guitars