The Esquire represents ground zero for Leo Fender's genius, and, simply ground zero for solid-body electric guitars.

Why We Love This

So many of Leo's original design ideas are present - the body shape, bolt-on neck, 6 inline tuners, individually adjustable saddles, height adjustable pickup...all the things we take for granted came together on this groundbreaking guitar.

Single pickup guitars possess a magic, for lack of a better word, that 2 and 3 pickup guitars simply don't have. "Yeah, but I can't do as much with just one pickup. I have to have a neck pickup!" We respectfully disagree. The simplicity an Esquire offers is precisely where the magic lies - ie, in your hands and ears. It's very, very similar to playing a great acoustic guitar - just louder of course. Want it brighter? Pick by the saddles. Warmer? Pick by the neck...roll the volume down a touch, use the 3-way switch to access additional tones (yes, it still uses a 3-way!). Lots to do, folks, but it's up to you the player to make it happen.

Eastern White Pine body, Aged Nocaster Blonde finish, 7.25-9.5" compound radius....To our hands, a 7.25" radius is part of the Fender magic, while the 9.5" higher up on the fingerboard insures easy bending. Perfect!

The Fender Custom Shop has always produced killer instruments, but we have to say, they are at the top of their game these days. This is a phenomenal guitar, period.