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Fender’s new Masterbuilt Joe Strummer Telecaster is a punk-lover’s dream come true – but comes with a hefty price tag
“It is one of the harder guitars I have ever had to replicate,” said Fender Custom Shop Senior Masterbuilder Paul Waller.
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Fender has unveiled the Masterbuilt Joe Strummer Telecaster, a recreation of The Clash frontman’s famed 1966 axe that’s sure to set your punk-loving heart ablaze.
“Meticulously crafted” by Fender Custom Shop Senior Masterbuilder Paul Waller, the new limited edition electric pays homage to the indomitable spirit of the punk icon, capturing every gritty detail and raw edge that defined Strummer’s revolutionary sound.
The Strummer Telecaster delivers both the looks and feel of a road-tested piece of punk rock history. Featuring a two-piece select alder body, mid-‘60s “C” profile neck and round-laminated rosewood fingerboard, the instrument mirrors the features found on highly sought after 1960s Fender guitars.
For fans of Strummer’s raw tones, the axe comes loaded with a pair of Josefina Campos hand-wound ’67 Telecaster pickups, hooked up to a modern Tele wiring circuit, with a three-way switch, volume and tone. Players also get 21 Jescar Vintage frets, a set of Schaller M6 mini tuners, a brass nut, and a six-saddle string-through-body Telecaster bridge with steel barrel saddles.
The guitar is then finished in a Super Heavy Relic Aged Black over Three-Color Sunburst lacquer – including a matching painted pickguard – with all the wear and tear from decades of touring perfectly recreated from top to bottom.
“Building a guitar like this is both rewarding and difficult,” says Paul Waller of the new Strummer Tele. “It is one of the harder guitars I have ever had to replicate. The details are massive, between the stickers, all the layers of paint. We have three different layers, so originally it started as a sunburst and then the pickguard was left on and then a grey primer and then a black top coat went on the guitar, and then years of playing it, and not wiping it down, and letting it kind of corrode into what it fabulously looks like today.”
Given the details, it’s no wonder the guitar commands a hefty $20,000 price tag. Though alongside the Telecaster, buyers will also receive a replica touring case, a limited edition Joe Strummer Strap and certificate of authenticity.
Learn more at Fender.