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Old 12-04-2011, 11:52 PM
jomaynor jomaynor is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wade Hampton View Post
Well, I've never been an electric guitar guy, so I could be mistaken, but I don't recall that ever being a production model for Fender. My understanding of it was that it was a prototype that Fender gave to Harrison, but it never went on sale to the general public.

The R&D luthiers at these large scale guitar manufacturers tend to build a lot more one-off prototypes that never go into production than most players realize - the prototypes get built essentially as talking points for the staff management meetings, where they get passed around and played and discussed and debated. Most never get to the next step of becoming part of the product line, simply because it costs money to tool up for something different, and to promote it to the public.

Particularly if they get displayed at trade shows like the NAMM show but don't generate enough interest.

So most guitar factories I've visited have got quite a few prototypes laying around. They often get given away or sold at a discount to performers and other friends of the company.

Anyway, if I'm wrong and that rosewood Telecaster DID go into production for a while, I'm sure someone with a better knowledge of the Fender product line will set me straight. But my impression is that it was a one-off.


Wade Hampton Miller

Wade, I recall seeing a rosewood Tele in the Sweetwater catalog 3 or 4 years ago, so Fender makes runs of them from time to time.

FWIW, the late Delaney Bramlett's family has the original guitar (unless they've sold it), which was a gift from George to Delaney back in 1970-71 when George sat in with Eric Clapton and Delaney and Bonnie and Friends.

There used to be a really smokin' Japanese TV YouTube clip of George and this band playing Coming Home live somewhere in the UK, with Delaney playing the rosewood Tele. The clip was notable for the lineup, and for the superb playing. Notable, also, for how wired everyone looked!

PS: I checked to see if the clip of Coming Home was still up, and while the audio of the performance is still up, the video isn't - it just shows stills. This clip of Clapton singing I Don't Know Why has both the audio and video of the same performance with George, who can also be seen in the Poor Elijah clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEYC1...eature=related

Last edited by jomaynor; 12-05-2011 at 12:28 AM.
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