“It was like, ‘Here’s what we need.’ They said, ‘But you have to use Fender parts.’ I said, ‘Alright, I’ll see you guys later’”: Steve Morse on why his ill-fated Fender signature guitar never got off the ground

Steve Morse playing his Fender FrankenTele in the 1970s.

Steve Morse and Ernie Ball Music Man’s partnership is one of the guitar world’s most enduring, spanning back to a chance encounter between the pair at a NAMM show in the 1980s.

In fact, the Dixie Dregs and Deep Purple electric guitar legend was the first player to receive a signature guitar from the company.