THE STORY BEHIND THE AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL CLASSIC HOTSHOT TELECASTER

In the early ’80s an ambitious and intellectually curious luthier in Nashville had a wild idea: What if he built a Telecaster that featured a third pickup?

Modding Telecasters has been a favorite pastime of adventurous players practically since the guitar was introduced 75 years ago, but no one had ever really tried the 3-pickup approach before. The basic construction involved adding a carefully placed Stratocaster single-coil in the middle position and a 5-way selector switch. The end result was a remarkable instrument capable of Tele twang, Strat quack and “out of phase” sounds, plus everything in between. An entirely new world of sonic possibilities was opened.

A few Music City legends really took to this novel invention at the time, most notably Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and Brent Mason, all of whom made the instrument their own and something that subsequently became coveted by guitarists everywhere. Everyone wanted one. Why? According to Eugene Edwards, lead guitarist for Dwight Yoakam and Fender Play instructor, “A country player wants to be able to do double stop and triple stop bends to emulate a steel guitar, but Strats with a floating bridge don’t hold tuning when you do that, unless you block the bridge. So, it became easier to just put Stratocaster pickups and wirings on a Telecaster that has a stationary bridge.”

To help give guitarists the enhanced tone and structural stability they rely on, we’ve designed the American Professional Classic HotShot Telecaster, our latest 3-pickup Tele marvel ready to handle the demands of even the most challenging players.

Crafted out of alder and available in a range of custom-faded, signature finishes, the HotShot Tele is ready to stand out on any stage. It includes a satin-finished, modern "C"-shaped neck with a 9.5"-radius fingerboard and medium jumbo frets for incredible feel, fast fretting and easy bending. It also comes equipped with vintage-style hardware and staggered ClassicGear™ tuners, merging our traditional aesthetics with modern precision. Perhaps most crucially, it comes loaded with vintage-inspired Coastline™ '63 Telecaster and '57 Stratocaster pickups that deliver depth, punch and sparkle, plus a 5-way selector switch for massive tonal versatility. It’s an exceptionally playable, professional-grade instrument that has all of the soul of a golden-era Fender with thoughtful upgrades that are ideal for today’s player.

Learn more about the American Professional Classic HotShot Telecaster (and grab one for yourself) here.