G.E. Smith Telecaster

I never paid much attention to G.E. Smith until early this year. He was the leader of the Saturday Night Live band and he was in some concert videos I had, but I hadn’t focused on him.

My loss!

I was starting to research the history of Leo Fender and came across this YouTube video (link above) where Mr. Smith talks about his signature Fender Telecaster. It’s a twenty-minute video, but Mr. Smith is smart, articulate and he knows what he’s talking about. He’s also pretty musical! He really has command of his instrument, as you’ll see if you watch the video. So watch it!

I’d never owned a Tele before, but this video got me wanting one. Since I have way too many guitars and basses already, I decided to use my way-too-ample spare time to research the various iterations of the Telecaster since 1950 or so; they started as the Esquire, then Broadcaster, then no official name for a while (now called No-Casters) and finally Telecaster. TV was just becoming available then and that name was a natural.

The Telecaster I put together, after countless hours of research and comparisons, is now my pride and joy. It has the big boat-hull-shaped solid-maple 7-1/4″ radius neck of the original Teles and, unlike most modern instruments, has a nitrocellulose-lacquer finish on the neck and body. The body is ash wood, so the guitar weighs a ton but is resonant with amazing sustain. I decided on gold-plated hardware simply because I had never had that on a guitar before. After researching a component of the Tele, I’d order exactly what I decided on from wherever in the world I could find it. Took me a few months to get it all together.

I like it:

I keep fiddling with this Tele I built (people call these “parts-casters”) and I just tonight ordered, with the help and advice of two talented and knowledgeable buddies (thanks, Slim and Don!) new pickups for it. It’s the guitar I love to play the most and it demands more of me than my other guitars do. Yet, it makes me a better player.

Go figure! Thanks, G.E. Smith, for your enthusiasm and knowledge.