The 1951 Original Brings Back The True Esquire® Tone Leo Fender Intended
Back in the late 1940s and very early 1950s, Leo Fender created many early versions of what would become today's Telecaster®. While the Telecaster® has evolved in so many ways, especially from that early "snakehead" model, the early pickup that was first used was a mainstay - at least at first. The pickup was wound to about 9.0k in many respects and yielded a much hotter and twangier tone that yielded a mean lead tone when driven with overdrive a sweet hot vintage tube amp. For some, it was too hot. So, Leo compromised sometime in the mid early 1950s and started winding pickups closer to the 5.5-6.0k range. Perhaps, one consistency through it all was the Alnico III magnets...