FENDER JOE STRUMMER

THE LATE CLASH FRONTMAN AND PUNK ICON GETS A NEW SIGNATURE MODEL FROM THE BIG F

Let’s go all the way back to 2007 – five years after Joe Strummer, legendary frontman of punk icons The Clash, passed away. In the world of guitars, ‘ageing’, ‘relics’ and ‘road wear’ were still relatively new terms, and guitar brands were dividing opinion by dedicating teams of people to unleash fury on brand new guitars by beating them up, creating rusted hardware and applying secret chemicals to create discolouration and patina finishes. In most cases, it cost a bomb too, setting internet forums ablaze with outrage. Fender’s Joe Strummer Telecaster bucked this trend slightly – at least in hindsight – by offering a Mexican-made Tele based on Joe’s ’66 original for circa £850, complete with an impressively-aged finish bringing the ‘ripped jeans’ option to the masses.

Now, somehow 20 years has passed since Joe Strummer died, and to tie-in with the release of Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years boxset, Fender has once again issued its tribute to one of the UK’S best-loved musical exports of all-time. Joining the affordable 2021 signature Joe Strummer Campfire electro-acoustic, as well as the more costly Custom Shop Esquire, the new Fender Joe Strummer Telecaster offers Strummer fans a mid-point model.

Once again, it’s based on the 1966 Tele that Joe Strummer picked up in 1975 for a laughable £120 (although that’s the equivalent of about £1,400 in today’s money). Joe’s guitar started out with a Three-color Sunburst finish, until it was resprayed (including the scratchplate) first with a layer of grey primer and finally with the black top coat. This accounts for the multiple layers of paint you can see from the Road Worn nitrocellulose finish on Fender’s re‑make.

Under the paint, it’s an alder body, and the neck is traditional maple, again finished in nitro and suitably worn to a satin, played-in feel. Here, it’s carved to a period-correct Mid-60s C-shape, with the truss rod adjustment at the body end. It’s fitted with a vintage-style 7.25-inch-radius, 21-fret rosewood fingerboard.

The electronics are as we’d expect from a Tele too, with a pair of single coils wired to a three-way switch, but in this case those Tele pickups have been voiced as Custom Joe Strummer models which are only available in this guitar. Hardware-wise, everything is vintage-style too – the frets are smaller, the bridge is a six-saddle model and the tuners, control plate and knobs have all undergone the Road Worn process to make them appropriate to the rest of the guitar.

The Fender Joe Strummer Telecaster ships with a vintage-style hardcase, and is priced at £1649.

Stuart Williams

You might have already noticed our interview with Lamb of God this issue (p28). Between us speaking with Mark and this mag hurtling toward the printer, Gibson took to social media to announce that Morton – a long time user of Gibsonowned Mesa/boogie amps - will be switching to playing the US giant’s Les Pauls on Lamb of God’s upcoming tour. Morton was pictured with a Les Paul Standard and Epiphone Les Paul Custom, and fans can buy upgraded tickets giving them the chance to win an Epiphone Les Paul at every show.