“Fender needed something to bring them into more modern times”: How Jim Root’s radical signature Telecaster updated a Fender mainstay for the 21st century

Jim Root holding up his Fender Telecaster signature.

Jim Root has looked back on the development of his game-changing Fender signature guitar, and discussed why it was such a monumental launch for both him and the company.

Ever since Fender’s flagship Telecaster became the world’s first mass-produced solidbody electric guitar almost three-quarters of a century ago, the design has remained relatively constant.