My Guitar Story: Jimmy Bowskill’s 1966 Fender Telecaster

Southern boogie may not be a genre that’s usually associated with Canadian rock music, but The Sheepdogs, hailing from Saskatoon, are proving that music knows no bounds. Indeed, the quintet are now considered one of the foremost southern rock bands in the world, thanks in part to the slick playing of Jimmy Bowskill.

In the latest installment of My Guitar Story, the Ontario-born guitar player discusses his number one guitar, a beaten-up 1966 Fender Telecaster. Purchased around a decade ago, Bowskill was inspired to buy a mid-60s Telecaster due to the influence of his Dad’s close friend. Discovered in a classified ad in Canada, he contacted the seller immediately and his father collected the instrument outside a Walmart. Bowskill says the seller’s uncle was a well-respected jazz guitarist throughout the late 20th century, and used this guitar as his main instrument.

Initially the guitar had a non-original five-saddle bridge, which has been replaced with a 50s Telecaster bridge and a Bardon Danny Gatton T-Style signature pickup in the bridge position. The neck pickup has also been replaced, due to the original dying during a gig. In its place is a Squier Telecaster pickup from a friend’s guitar that he used in high-school. Interestingly, this instrument has mid-60s wiring, which means you never hear both pickups in parallel.

This is Jimmy Bowskill’s guitar story.

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