REVEALED: Teles | Rare Historical Photos

“I was watching a Brad Paisley video and saw this contraption attached to his strap: ‘What is going on here?’ I heard of this thing called the B-bender…” How John Osborne fell down the B-bender rabbit hole and came out with a signature Fender Tele

Don’t do the B-bender thing, they told him... He did it anyway. Brent Mason has a lot to answer for

Guitar World · Aug 6

“They had a picture of me up at the NAMM Show but I wasn’t an endorsee! I went to the Fender booth, and they said, ‘We want to give you a deal’”: John 5 is a modern master of the Telecaster – here are his 5 favorite Teles

The stories behind 5’s favorites, featuring the Mötley Crüe guitarist’s custom Ghost and Phantom builds, and a vintage doozy that convinced Fender he should be on the artist roster

Guitar World · Aug 3

“You couldn’t tell the difference between the Squier and the Fender. I played them live, and I couldn’t tell”: John 5 on the Squier Telecaster that competes with Fender

The Tele obsessive has a high bar, but this budget build blew his mind

Guitar World · Jul 10

“He talked to me about fly fishing for two hours and never mentioned a guitar”: Shinedown’s Zach Myers on the “genius” Paul Reed Smith, his forthcoming signature model – and THAT relic’d pink Silver Sky

Myers says he caught so much heat for his distressed hot pink John Mayer Silver Sky that he joked with his tech that he was going to torch it onstage

MusicRadar · Jul 16, 2025

“I said, ‘You can’t make a guitar as good as my old one.’ They tried and it wasn’t great”: Vince Gill’s 1953 Telecaster is one of the most coveted Teles of all time – but the Eagles guitarist turned down Fender’s offer to make a signature recreation

Gill wasn’t convinced about the concept of a signature version of his iconic Blackguard, but Fender insisted on making a prototype – which was later lost in a flood

Guitar World · May 8, 2025

“Was smoking Hendrix’s Strat my wildest studio experience? Oh, certainly not! We always went full tilt. There was never a dull day!” Steve Cradock on his star-studded session with Paul McCartney, SGs vs Teles – and the joint he laced with Hendrix’s guitar

The Paul Weller and Ocean Colour Scene guitarist hints at high times in the band’s studio history, and he’s looking forward to going back to track their first album in “freaking years”

Guitar World · Nov 20, 2024

“Stevie Wonder told me I needed to do 5 hours a day to get good at piano”: Super-producer Raphael Saadiq on taking advice from a legend, his love of Teles and creating musical history with Beyoncé and D’Angelo

“I guess we were sort of playing a game to see who could get the furthest behind without getting off beat,” says Saadiq of the recording of D’Angelo’s Lady

MusicRadar · Apr 22, 2024

“You could do anything with a Telecaster”: Joe Bonamassa shares his Telecaster tone tips and tricks – with the help of an exceptionally rare vintage model

JoBo breaks down the secret sound of vintage Fender Teles and more in his latest tonal deep dive, which focuses on “one of the best tools you could ever buy”

Guitar World · Nov 3, 2023