Fender recently announced that they’re discontinuing the American Vintage line and replacing it with the American Original series. An updated version of the American Vintage series, the American Original guitars feature a modern fingerboard radius, narrow, tall frets along with features such as vintage-voiced pickups and a nitrocellulose finish. The series includes Stratocasters, Jazzmasters, Jaguars, and, of course, Telecasters, as well as new Jazz and Precision basses.
The Telecaster is especially interesting to me because it brings back the double-bound body from the ’62 American Vintage Reissue that was discontinued several years ago. I think a double-bound Tele looks great, so this is a welcome addition in my opinion.
Here are the details of the new American Original 60s Telecaster from Fender:
The American Original ’60s Telecaster combines period-accurate sound and style from this electrifying decade with modern, fast-playing feel and pickup switching. The Pure Vintage ’64 single-coil Telecaster pickups are as period-correct as possible, from the enamel-coated coil wire to the cloth-covered output wires, fiber bobbins and alnico 5 magnets. The bridge pickup’s copper shielding plate adds some zing to your tone, while the pole pieces are staggered for balanced volume between the strings. The mid-’60s C-shaped neck profile gracefully fills the fret hand, while the 9.5″-radius round-lam rosewood fingerboard will feel familiar to any player.
Other authentic touches include vintage-tall frets, original-era body radii, vintage-style hardware—including three steel saddles—vintage-style hardshell case and a lacquer finish that not only lets the wood breathe naturally with resonant tone, it also wears in a distinctively appealing way.A legendary instrument, the American Original ’60s Telecaster is the best way to experience the performance, style and tone that made Fender the foundation of modern music.
If you have 48 minutes to spare, the folks at Andertons have a pretty good overview of the entire American Original series: