Imagine someone at Fender unearthing a long-lost prototype that Leo Fender was working on in the years after the launch of the Telecaster on his way to designing the Stratocaster. That, in a nutshell, is the concept the Telstar conjures up for us.

A few modern touches include a 9 1/2" radius, 22 fret flame maple neck, a Tele bridge pickup in place of a Strat's bridge pickup (strengthening the weak spot on a Strat), beautifully installed 6105 stainless frets, a custom made Mann bridge/tremolo which incorporates 3 compensated brass Tele saddles (very cool), and perhaps the most mind warping feature - a 10-way, yes 10-way, Free-Way switch.

This Free-Way switch is one of the coolest things we've encountered in a very long time. It maintains the look of a traditional Strat 5-way switch while expanding your tonal possibilities in the easiest way possible - in each of the 5 positions you can either push the switch down towards the floor for normal Strat operation, or, click it up towards you for 5 additional options. No push/pull knob to contend with, no mini toggle to navigate....simple & effective access to 10 sounds in total.

Having seen Gene's original Telstar design we knew this was a model that not only needed to exist, but one that needed to be more widely available. Fender fans, you'll find a ton to love here. Gibson players that can't decide on a Strat or a Tele? This is your guitar.