Fender 70th Anniversary Esquire 2-Tone Sunburst

The Solidbody Electric Guitar That Started It All

The Fender 70th Anniversary Esquire celebrates the rare, iconic instrument that would be the progenitor of all solidbody electric guitars to follow. In the mid 1940s, Leo Fender was working to develop a solidbody electric that would not only be easy to mass produce and repair; it would also be painless for working guitarists to transport and maintain. By 1949, Fender had a prototype — an electric Spanish guitar that borrowed from the solidbody pedal steel guitars he and other manufacturers had been making.

A simple instrument with a bolt-on neck and one single-coil pickup mounted in the bridge plate, the Esquire hit the market in early 1950. There were issues (notably, neck twisting, as it had no truss rod), and only about 50 Esquires were made before the model was replaced in the October of that year with the Broadcaster, a 2-pickup version that included a truss rod. Of course, the Fender 70th Anniversary Esquire includes a truss rod — along with premium tonewoods, a Tim Shaw Designed pickup, and flawless craftsmanship by Fender’s top luthiers in Corona, CA.