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As Fender is celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Telecaster (and Precision Bass) with a series of new limited editions, we are offering a public service. We’re going to try to prevent pub arguments, band rehearsal debates and all manner of Fender Telecaster misinformation.
Yes, the Fender company filed patents covering its initial solidbody guitar design in 1946 and 1948. Prototypes began appearing as early as 1949. Fender exhibited a one-pickup, single-cutaway solidbody—the Esquire—at the 1950 NAMM show, and a two-pickup version appeared later that year.
But it wasn’t a Telecaster.
Dubbed the Broadcaster, the name ran afoul of Gretsch’s long-standing Broadkaster drum kit, and in perhaps the kinder and gentler business environment of the ’50s, Fred Gretsch did not sue Leo Fender. He merely requested a name change, and Fender swiftly complied. For a time, the Telecaster officially had no name at all. (Ever the penny pincher, Leo simply removed “Broadcaster” from the headstock decals.)
Fender’s resident sales and marketing mastermind Don Randall is credited with naming the briefly anonymous guitar (unofficially a “Nocaster”) the Telecaster in 1951.
So, there you go. The Fender Telecaster is legitimately 75 years old in 2026. You can get the full story in "The History of the Fender Telecaster" by Guitar Center’s George Van Wagner. (Please consider donating a share of any bets you win due to this information to the Guitar Center Music Foundation.)
Actually, everyone is a winner—well, at least everyone who loves guitars and basses—because Fender is releasing 75th Anniversary editions of not just the Telecaster, but also for its shared birthday buddy, the Fender Precision Bass.
“At Fender, we never miss an opportunity to celebrate an anniversary,” says Fender Director of Product Management Allen Abbassi. “And whenever we do, we celebrate the genius of Fender’s design by releasing limited versions with special pickups, finishes and other features. We offer vintage-style nods to the platform, as well as some cool, modified versions—which is what we’ve done for the 75th Anniversaries of the Telecaster and P Bass.”
As a multi-generational brand that consistently refreshes its classic models, it’s remarkable there are any modifications that haven’t already been done to the Tele and P Bass over the years. We wondered about Fender’s general strategy to avoid having its products frozen in time, as well as how the 75th Anniversary designs were specifically discussed and developed.
“We think deeply about the anniversary designs, because we don’t want to repeat ourselves over and over,” says Abbassi. “Leo himself was always tinkering. He was never satisfied with his own designs, and he was constantly morphing and changing them during his lifetime. So, while we’re very proud and protective of his original designs—and we still make tons of guitars that are exactly like that today—it’s really fun for us to juxtapose models bearing the original designs with versions that are very forward thinking. We also want to serve what I feel are the three batches of players who buy Fender instruments. There are players who want 100% vintage specs, players who want more modern, high-performance specs and players who are ‘in between,’ who want a classic look but with just a few contemporary spec upgrades, such as a flat radius or bigger frets.
“I think you can clearly see this approach in the 75th anniversary series, because there are the high-performance American Ultra II Telecaster, the vintage-styled Vintera Road Worn 1951 Tele and American Vintage II 1951 P Bass, and the American Professional II Custom Telecaster, American Professional II PJ Bass and Player II Precision Bass that offer aspects of classic and contemporary Fenders.”
Table of Contents
Quick Chart of Fender 75th Anniversary Models
Unveiling the Fender 75th Anniversary Telecasters and P Basses
75 Years of Low-End Majesty
Celebrating the Diamond Anniversary
Quick Chart of Fender 75th Anniversary Models
|
Model |
Body |
Neck |
Fingerboard |
Frets |
Pickups |
Price* |
|
Alder |
Maple, Modern C |
Maple, 9.5" radius |
22 Medium Jumbo |
TV Jones TV Classic |
$1,999.99 |
|
|
Alder |
Maple, Deep C |
Maple, 9.5" radius |
22 Medium Jumbo |
75th Anniversary V-Mod II |
$2,799.99 |
|
|
Alder |
Maple, Modern D |
Ebony, 10"–14" radius |
22 Medium Jumbo |
75th Anniversary Fastlane/75th Anniversary Ultra II Noiseless Tele |
$2,999.99 |
|
|
Alder |
Maple, Modern C |
Slab rosewood, 9.5" radius |
22 Medium Jumbo |
75th Anniversary Thunderbolt Tele |
$849.99–1,099.99 |
|
|
Ash |
Maple, U shape |
Maple, 7.25" radius |
21 Vintage Tall |
Pure Vintage ’51 Tele |
$1,899.99 |
|
|
Alder |
Maple, C shape |
Maple, 9.5" radius |
20 Medium Jumbo |
75th Anniversary V-Mod II Single-Coil Jazz/V-Mod II Split Single-Coil Precision |
$2,599.99–$2,699.99 |
|
|
Ash |
Maple, U shape |
Maple, 7.25" radius |
20 Vintage Tall |
75th Anniversary ’51 Single-Coil |
$2,799.99–$2,899.99
|
|
|
Alder |
Maple, Modern C |
Rosewood, 9.5" radius |
20 Medium Jumbo |
75th Anniversary Thunderbolt Player Precision |
$849.99–$1,099.99 |
Pricing as of March 2026*
Unveiling the Fender 75th Anniversary Telecasters and P Basses
Paraphrasing the chant from The Wizard of Oz: “Teles and P Basses and diamond anniversaries! Oh my!” But there are no lions, tigers or bears to fear here—just a fun, fabulous and tone-terrific crew of homages to iconic, 75-year-old Fenders.
Pictured: Fender 75th Anniversary Player II Telecaster in Diamond Dust Sparkle
Fender 75th Anniversary American Professional Classic Cabronita Telecaster
“The 75th Anniversary American Professional Classic Cabronita is a perennial fan favorite variant of a Tele,” says Abbassi. “It shows the versatility of the platform, because it looks unlike any other Tele we make. It was born in the Fender Custom Shop, and one of the key highlights of the 75th Anniversary American Professional Classic version are the two TV Jones pickups. They sound wonderful—chime-y and bright with a bite. They are very fun to play. You get just one volume knob and a pickup selector, but you can still get myriad tones out of this thing. I see the model as delivering simple, muscular elegance.”
Shop Now: Fender 75th Anniversary American Professional Classic Cabronita Telecaster in Candy Apple Red
In addition to their sophisticated yet playful mid-century modern design, Cabronitas are renowned for their colorful finishes, and the 75th Anniversary models are keeping up with the tradition.
“We chose two popular vintage colors, Ice Blue Metallic and Candy Apple Red,” says Abbassi. “I think the colors look beautiful against the white Cabronita Telecaster pickguard.”
Fender 75th Anniversary American Professional II Custom Telecaster
The 75th Anniversary American Professional II Custom Telecaster beams uptown class with a double-bound body, gold-plated hardware (including locking gold tuners) and a compensated 3-saddle brass bridge.
“I’m a big fan of in-between players,” says Abbassi. “By that, I mean I love vintage-style and high-performance models, but I especially appreciate guitars that have the classic Fender look with a few contemporary upgrades under the hood. The 75th Anniversary V-Mod II pickups on this model just blew me with added warmth, clarity and expressiveness. This Tele also has a Deep C neck, which is slightly thicker than our average neck. I think a lot of players prefer a girthier neck. It’s also hard to beat the upscale, classy look of a double-bound Custom Tele.”
Shop Now: Fender 75th Anniversary American Professional II Custom Telecaster in 2-Color Sunburst
Fender 75th Anniversary American Ultra II Telecaster
If any of the 75th Anniversary models prove a Telecaster doesn’t have to be permanently duct-taped to the Eisenhower era, it’s the 75th Anniversary American Ultra II Telecaster. From way up in the nosebleed section of your favorite arena, the Ultra II looks like any classic Telecaster—even when shown on a concert’s mammoth video screen.
It’s a different story when you hold it in your hands.
While the American Ultra would be a blast for guitarists of any skill level to play, it’s clearly optimized for ferocious types who unleash extreme performance techniques. The sculptured body contours and tapered neck heel promise tremendous comfort and access to the highest frets. The 10"–14" compound radius fingerboard is shred approved, as are the rolled edges and the neck’s Modern D profile.
“For the 75th Anniversary American Ultra II Telecaster, I think it’s fair to say we were focusing on players that are technically oriented,” explains Abbassi. “These guitarists tend to be very spec savvy, and they’ve spent years narrowing down their demands—like compound radius fingerboards, special switching, bigger frets, Noiseless pickups and the like. They not only expect guitar technology to move forward, they are actively pushing for it. For example, this guitar pairs a 75th Anniversary Noiseless single-coil in the neck position with a 75th Anniversary Fastlane humbucker at the bridge, so a player can get crystalline cleans, snappy Tele twang and beefy growls—all without a hint of hum. Then, the dual S-1 switches unlock unprecedented tonal versatility. The Volume knob S-1 puts the pickups in series for even more sonic options, while the Tone knob S-1 cleverly engages series/parallel mode for the humbucker. Overall, this is a wonderful example of how far the Tele has come while still remaining a Telecaster.”
Shop Now: Fender 75th Anniversary American Ultra II Telecaster in Liquid Gold
On the visual impact, I had assumed some genius art director at Fender had proposed something like, “Hey, the 1951 Tele had a Butterscotch Blonde finish. Why don’t we take that hue and supercharge it to show how a Telecaster might appear far into the future while still revering its past?” I mean, look how the Liquid Gold finish does just that—transforming a stark but beautiful ’50s color into a sparkling, galaxy-hopping beam of glory and optimism. Well, I was wrong. But the truth is pretty awesome, nonetheless.
“We’re always looking for new colors—even back to the 1950s when Fender adopted many of the rich shades used by the auto industry,” says Abbassi. “But there was no group discussion about what the finish on the 75th Anniversary American Ultra II Telecaster should look like. Our Senior Engineer of Paint came up with Liquid Gold all on his own. He showed it to us with a bunch of options for new paints. When we saw the beautiful metallic flake and the prism-like depth of the color, we instantly fell in love with it. Only then did the light bulb go on, and we realized, ‘Oh my. This is the perfect sister to a vintage yellow Telecaster.’”
Fender 75th Anniversary Player II Telecaster
The 75th Anniversary Player II Telecaster keeps the sparkle vibe going, although it zooms over to the silver display cases of the jewelry shop.
“We know people love a nice deep sparkle,” says Abbassi, “and this one has some of the biggest and deepest flake we’ve ever used. We called this finish Diamond Dust Sparkle, and we loved how it kind of harkens back to the sparkle on the Fender guitars of country players in the days of yore—like Buck Owens.”
Shop Now: Fender 75th Anniversary Player II Telecaster in Diamond Dust Sparkle
The Fender 75th Anniversary Player II Telecaster is another model tailored to what Abbassi has called “in-between” players. It’s not an extreme machine like the 75th Anniversary American Ultra II Telecaster or a vintage-commemorating instrument, such as the 75th Anniversary Vintera Road Worn 1951 Telecaster. The Player II is definitely a “player,” however, as it offers a comfortable Modern C-shaped maple neck, a slightly curved 9.5" radius fingerboard with rolled edges and medium-jumbo frets. And there’s also a not-so-secret weapon in the package.
“We designed some new pickups for this model,” reveals Abbassi. “They're called Thunderbolt pickups, and the key thing about them is they have larger diameter polepieces that produce a bigger, punchier sound. They're fantastic-sounding pickups—expressive while also being a little bit more aggressive. They’re really fun to play.”
Fender 75th Anniversary Vintera Road Worn 1951 Telecaster
The Fender 75th Anniversary Vintera Road Worn 1951 Telecaster is basically a spec-correct version of the guitar that changed the world 75 years ago. As guitarist Angela Petrilli said during her demo on Guitar Center’s YouTube channel: “The Vintera Road Worn 1951 Tele has some really cool vintage mojo.”
Although it wasn’t built in the Fender factory in 1951, this 75th Anniversary model is chock-full of vintage authenticity. It features a chunky, early ’50s U-shaped neck, vintage tall frets, Pure Vintage 1951 Tele pickups (Alnico III) and a vintage-style 3-saddle bridge with barrel-brass saddles.
Shop Now: Fender 75th Anniversary Vintera Road Worn 1951 Telecaster in Butterscotch Blonde
But Fender decided not to “relic” the 75th Anniversary Vintera Road Worn 1951 Telecaster as if it had been beaten and bashed around through seven decades of tough gigs. It’s Road Worn, but not worn out.
“It’s a semi-gloss lacquer, and we gave it some light checking and small dings,” says Abbassi. “Checking is something that happens on lacquer over time. It's inevitable. But we decided to avoid simulating a guitar where a player might have sweat all over the thing and rubbed the finish off down to the wood.
“Our goal was ‘tasteful aging,’ as if the guitar was used, but well-cared-for, so someone would have the opportunity to put their individual wear on the body—to make it their own. In fact, that was something we learned from player feedback—lots of players asked for a Road Worn finish that was less intense. So, we experimented and came up with this new version of our Road Worn finish. We’re going to continue to use this recipe because it’s so cool. It’s going to be really fun to wear it in yourself.”
75 Years of Low-End Majesty
“The Fender Precision Bass was every bit as groundbreaking as the Telecaster, and it’s hard to believe they were both released in 1951,” relates Abbassi. “Back then, bass players in bands basically only had one choice of instrument—an upright bass. Fretless upright basses were unwieldy and heavy, they required extraordinary accuracy due to the lack of frets, and they were not loud enough to compete with the emerging trend of louder electric instruments and drums. When Fender released the Precision Bass in 1951, it solved all those problems.”
Not surprisingly, the Precision Bass became one of the most influential instruments in history. Its imprint on all modern music is huge, and certain genres (hard rock, funk, punk, metal, etc.) can credit the P Bass with their very being, as they wouldn’t have happened with an upright bass. In fact, legendary producer Quincy Jones called the Fender Bass “the one technological breakthrough that changed music forever.”
Like the 75th Anniversary Telecaster collection, Fender is releasing 75th Anniversary Precision Bass models that showcase the timeless tone, inimitable style and versatility of the instrument.
Pictured: Fender 75th Anniversary American Vintage II 1951 Precision Bass in Butterscotch Blonde
Fender 75th Anniversary American Professional II PJ Bass
The 75th Anniversary American Professional II PJ Bass is like a black-tie version of the 1951 original. With such an elegant and sophisticated look, you could pull it from the backseat of a Bentley—sans case—and no one would accuse you of sullying an upscale party.
Shop Now: Fender 75th Anniversary American Professional II PJ Bass in 2-Color Sunburst
“We really dressed up this model with gold hardware and a beautiful flame maple top finished in a two-color sunburst,” explains Abbassi. “We also loaded this bass with a set of 75th Anniversary V-Mod II split-coil Precision Bass and Jazz Bass pickups. We juiced the thump and clarity on this set, so you get a really wide range of tones that cover all of your desired P and J sounds. In addition, this bass has all the great features of the core American Professional series: HiMass Vintage Bridge, lightweight paddle keys with tapered shafts, 9.5"-radius rosewood fingerboard with rolled edges and graphite support rods to stabilize the neck. There’s also a 75th Anniversary neck plate.”
Fender 75th Anniversary American Vintage II 1951 Precision Bass
“Of course, we had to include a faithful reproduction of the very first version of the P Bass—the 75th Anniversary American Vintage II 1951 Precision Bass says Abbassi. “This model is an incredibly cool version of the Precision, with a large Tele-like headstock, slab-ash double-cutaway body—Fender’s first—and an oversized pickguard. The neck is a very chunky U shape, and the bridge is a 2-saddle affair with era-appropriate fiber saddles. Another distinctive trait of these early Precisions was the single-coil pickup. Our 75th Anniversary American Vintage II 1951 single-coil captures the essence of that early P Bass warmth and thump with vintage-correct, cloth-covered wire and alnico magnets. The bass is strung with flatwound strings and finished in a classic blonde nitrocellulose lacquer finish to complete the look.”
Shop Now: Fender 75th Anniversary American Vintage II 1951 Precision Bass in Butterscotch Blonde
Fender 75th Anniversary Player II Precision Bass
“We chose to give the anniversary treatment to one of our best-selling Precisions—the Player II,” says Abbassi. “The 75th Anniversary Player II Precision Bass sports the same gorgeous Diamond Dust Sparkle finish as the 75th Anniversary Player II Telecaster. The large flake in that paint catches the light and shimmers like you wouldn’t believe. We also gave this P Bass a huge-sounding Thunderbolt Split-Coil Precision pickup. The magnets of this new design have a wider diameter, which gives the bass a little extra punch and output.”
Shop Now: Fender 75th Anniversary Player II Precision Bass in Diamond Dust Sparkle
Celebrating the Diamond Anniversary
The 75th Anniversary Telecasters and Precision Basses represent auspicious touchstones in the development of Fender instruments. Indeed, each model could be viewed as a collector’s item best left in its case and locked away in a spare closet. Abbassi is hoping that’s not the situation here—at least for the majority of the series.
Left to Right: Fender 75th Anniversary American Ultra II Telecaster, Vintera Road Worn 1951 Telecaster and American Professional II PJ Bass
“These guitars and basses are designed to be played,” he says. “They are meant to inspire. Some people definitely buy our limited-edition instruments to save and resell, or cherish as occasionally played treasures. But my hope is the majority of players will bring the 75th Anniversary models on stage and into the studio, because they are all incredibly beautiful, they’re a joy to play and they sound amazing.”