GOLD STANDARD

The sharply styled Squier Tele that graces this month’s cover belongs to a two-pronged 40th Anniversary range specially designed to commemorate four decades of affordable tone. Its official moniker is the Gold Edition 40th Anniversary Telecaster and its deft styling includes a few features not commonly found on workaday Teles, including a bound fingerboard with block inlays, gold anodised aluminium pickguard and an engraved anniversary neckplate.

Its amplified tone comes courtesy of Fender-designed Alnico V pickups, while the 21-fret maple neck is topped with an Indian laurel fingerboard, a tonewood that’s now widely used by Fender as a substitute for rosewood. The latter features a 241mm (9.5inch) radius that offers an ideal middle ground between vintage and modern, flatter-radius fingerboards.

The Gold Edition 40th Anniversary Tele comes in high-gloss Black as pictured here or an equally arresting Sherwood Green with the same gold hardware and appointments. The Gold Edition range also includes similarly styled Stratocaster, Jazzmaster, Precision Bass and Jazz Bass siblings, so check them all out if you like the vibe of this Tele.

If you find the Gold range not quite classic enough, however, Fender is also releasing a 40th Anniversary Vintage Edition range featuring heritage-inspired electrics with a twist, including Satin Sonic Blue, Satin Sea Foam Green and Satin Wide 2-Color Sunburst Stratocasters, plus Telecasters clad in Satin Vintage Blonde, Satin Mocha and Satin Dakota Red finishes, among other commemorative six-string and bass models.