Prior to the introduction of the Broadcaster in October 1950, the Esquire was the first guitar offered by the fledgling Fender company. These were offered in single or double pickup configurations. Re-introduced by the company in 1951, the Esquire represented a more cost effective alternative to the Broadcaster/Telecaster.

This guitar is in truly excellent shape. The original blonde finish has retained its original brightness with very little fading. There are the expected minor bumps and knocks with the finish worn through in a couple of places on the sides, but the overall look is very clean and unfaded. Interestingly, this particular example has always remained an Esquire from day one and has never been converted to a Tele, which is pretty rare!

The neck too looks good. The lacquer has retained its gloss and has escaped any real damage. The fretboard too exhibits no real wear and the frets have plenty of life left in them.

Electronically, the original pickup looks (and sounds) exactly as it should. The pots, caps, and selector switch are all in their correct esquire configuration. The pots date to 9th week of 1962, the neck date is March 1962 (interestingly, the very first month the started stamping neck dates) and serial number puts it early/mid ‘62.

The pickguard has been modified ever so slightly with the corners around the bridge being re shaped to allow comfortable fitment of the ash tray bridge cover and for some reason the ‘Esquire’ part of the logo has been scraped off with a fingernail. Maybe the owner really wanted a No Caster…!

The guitar comes with its original Brown Tolex Fender hardshell case which is in just as nice condition as the guitar is in.

This guitar certainly has plenty to offer sonically. The guitar feels so light and each position of the selector switch yields such wonderfully usable tones, making you question if you’d ever need a neck pickup ever again. Never harsh but with plenty of bite, this guitar is any to play.

Not a common sight here at ATB but fans of the Esquire will not be disappointed with this one…