Recently, one of our customers came by with a 1960 Fender Esquire Custom.  His dad, the previous owner, had passed the Esquire on to his son, as sometimes happens in good families.

Fender introduced the Esquire, a fairly plain guitar, in 1950.  It was sort of the lowest common denominator instrument for the time.   One single-coil pickup with flush poles, a three-position selector switch, a white pickguard, maple neck, and a black finish.  Over the years, other modifications crept in, such as the occasional second pickup, a blond finish, and staggered pickup poles.

Wait a minute, here... One single-coil pickup with flush poles, a three-position selector switch....You may ask, "Why in the world would a guitar that has only one pickup need a three-position switch?".  Glad you asked.  Since there were no multiple pickups to switch between, and Fender was using the same control plate as on the Telecasters, the three-position switch was used as a tone switch.  With the switch all the way forward, the signal passed through extra capacitors that rolled off the top end of the frequencies.  In the middle position, the tone knob was active, and allowed for a wide range of tone manipulation.  With the switch all the way to the rear, the tone controls were bypassed entirely, producing a bright, hot lead sound.

In the summer of 1959, Fender produced the Esquire Custom, as seen here, with a sunburst finish, an alder body (instead of ash), bound top and back, and a rosewood fretboard.  The Custom version was produced until 1970, when the Esquire model was retired from the Fender lineup.

Our thanks to the owner for letting us grace our website with his fine ride.