Before the Telecaster and the short-lived Broadcaster, there was the Esquire: Fender's first production solid-body electric guitar. The original Esquire came out in 1950 and was produced with either one or two pickups. Apart from standardizing the two pickup layout, the Broadcaster also introduced a truss rod into the neck when it premiered in autumn of that same year. No Esquires were produced from September 1950 to January 1951, when the model was reintroduced as a single pickup counterpart to the Telecaster. By the mid-'50s, the Esquire designed had changed to include a white celluloid pickguard instead of black bakelite. Staggered height pickup poles were also introduced in 1955. 

Years of Production: 1950 - 1970

Body Style: Single cutaway solidbody

Wood Composition: Ash, one-piece Maple neck

Design Elements:  One single-coil pickup, white celluloid pickguard, volume and tone controls, 25 1/2-inch scale length, string thur-body

Finish Specifications: Blond was a standard finish for the Esquire.

1959 marks the first year that the Esquire (and basically all Fender instruments) moved over a rosewood fretboard. You'll find both maple and slab rosewood fretboards on this page.