(slow guitar music)
- Hey, this is Masa Franek.
In this video, I'm gonna be showing you
the American Original '70s Telecaster Custom.
This is the newest addition to the American Original line,
and as you can see, it's got some very unique features.
In the 1970s, we had artists we were seeing
like Mike Bloomfield, Albert Collins, and Keith Richards.
They were bringing in modified telecasters,
a lot of times with humbuckers.
When Seth Lover was brought into Fender in the '70s,
it became his mission to make a pickup for us,
which was uniquely Fender,
but also made from unique materials.
This hasn't been available for the past 40 years, until now.
In the beginning of the video,
you heard me playing straight
into a '68 Custom Princeton Reverb.
The volume was somewhere around four
to give you a little more overdrive.
We'll get into the details of the guitar, but first,
let me take you through all three positions on a clean tone.
(smooth guitar music)
Back to the biggest eye-catcher of this guitar,
let's talk about the wide range humbucking pickup.
It famously uses a Cunife magnet,
which is a mix of copper, nickel, and iron.
These were commonly found in speedometers and tachometers,
but were really favored because they could be turned
into metal parts or threaded.
As a magnet, Cunife is not that strong.
It's actually similar to Alnico 3.
When Seth Lover came onto the team,
his original humbucking design was still under patent.
This forced him to make an all-new design,
which included this common magnet at the time.
It was using 12 Cunife pole pieces due to the threading.
It allowed for it to be uniquely installed into the pickup,
and visually, Fender chose
to use an oversized humbucking design with 3+3 offset
for the exposed pole pieces.
Many over the years have tried to recreate this pickup,
but without Cunife, it doesn't quite make the cut.
This magnet adds to the deep,
rich bass and the sparkling trebles on it.
After taking apart old pickups and examining the magnets,
we've actually recreated this pickup true to spec,
and now is offered for the first time in 40 years
in the American Original '70s Telecaster Custom.
Now let's get to the rest of the features.
The current model I'm holding is in Mocha,
but it's also available in 3-Color Sunburst
and Vintage Blonde.
This has a lacquer finish over an older body.
It's using a '70s telecaster pickup in the bridge
in the wide range that we've been talking about.
With the enlarged guard, the room has been used
to make an independent volume and tone
for each pickup that's controlled
by a three-way toggle switch.
And on the neck, we've got a medium C-shaped neck,
21 vintage tall frets, and then a 9 1/2 inch radius
that's slightly flatter, allowing for bends.
(hard rock music)
Let's add in some pedals to hear some new sounds
with this guitar.
I've got a Santa Ana Overdrive for the overdriven tones,
and a Marine Layer Reverb for the reverb.
Let's check it out.
(hard rock music)
There it is.
Another great addition to the American Original line.
If I didn't mention it before,
this one comes with a vintage style hard shell case.
If you have any other questions, go to Fender.com,
and stay tuned for more videos.
We'll see ya.
(bluesy rock music)