1951 Fender "Nocaster" - Blonde
1951 Fender "Nocaster" - Blonde

1951 Fender "Nocaster" - Blonde

Serial number 0390

In mid-February of 1951, the Gretsch Company contacted Fender to point out that the guitar’s name was very similar to its Broadkaster drum set. Gretsch requested “immediate assurance” that Fender would abandon the name. Fender complied, and the guitar continued to be produced without a name until September of that year, when “Telecaster” began appearing on the decal.

The features special to Nocasters and early Teles include closed-shell Kluson Deluxe tuners with no protruding shafts on the side (they were open-shell by 1952), a maple headstock plug (all were walnut by ’52), back string ferrules that weren’t in a straight line (they were straightened by ’51), a pickup Blend control (this became a Tone control by ’52), and slot-head screws (which became Phillips screws by ’54). A black pickguard was used until late ’54, and an ash body with a see-through blonde finish remained standard through the ’70s.

Items in the Dave Rogers Collection are not for sale.

Dave Rogers Collection

Preserving Guitar History

blurb about collection