Fender’s recent 75th Anniversary Telecaster launch bonanza spanned five new models across five product ranges – so you’d be forgiven for glossing over the spec. Anniversary guitars are typically new finishes, commemorative neck plates, shiny headstock decals… You know the drill. But one of these models plays host to one of the most significant developments for Fender Telecasters in decades.
The 75th Anniversary American Ultra II Telecaster has stealthily introduced Fender’s first-ever in-house rail humbucker, the Fastlane – ie, a single coil-sized humbucker that doesn’t change the look of the instrument.
“We’ve been experimenting with our own single-spaced humbucker design for quite some time,” says Allen Abbassi, Director of Product for Fender Electric Guitars.
“Over the last year and a half, we’ve been intensifying our efforts and finally hit upon a recipe that we loved. Serendipitously, this coincided with the development of our 75th Anniversary Telecaster collection and we thought it was the perfect opportunity.”
Named after their distinctive magnetic bars, high-output rail (or blade) pickups have been around for decades, and aim to deliver a more consistent string-to-string response compared with individual pole pieces.
Classics such as the DiMarzio Chopper and Seymour Duncan Hot Rails – as featured in Fender’s own Soul Power Stratocaster for Tom Morello – are ubiquitous in the modding scene. But as Abbassi tells it, Fender didn’t look to other manufacturers when it voiced its own design.
“We wanted to design a single-spaced humbucker that sounded great both clean and dirty, had fantastic note-to-note string clarity and was punchy enough to sound and feel like a great humbucker. We think we hit it out of the park.”
On the Ultra II Telecaster, the Fastlane is paired with a noiseless single coil and S-1 switching: a push button on the Volume control runs both pickups in series, while hitting the switch in the Tone control flips the Fastlane from series to parallel for “a bit of single coil flavor with more top-end and tighter lows” that still bucks the hum.
Life in the Fastlane
But if rail pickups have been around for an age, why does any of this matter? Because of what it means for the shape of Telecasters to come – and not just $2k+ anniversary models.
“This is just the beginning,” says Abbassi. “There will be lots more new Fastlane pickup designs in the future.”
Telecasters are the great equalizers. They find their way into every genre, and a humbucker in the bridge, paired with a single in the neck, all while keeping the classic aesthetic… Well, that would be a mighty versatile stock guitar – and perhaps the closest thing we get to a reissue of the Jonny Greenwood-favored HS model, the Telecaster Plus.
An off-the-shelf Fastlane configuration that spans multiple price points could push heavier crowds yet further towards the Telecaster – and be welcome news for Strat fans who don’t like a full-fat humbucker crowding up their scratchplate.
None of this is reinventing the wheel. But for a company steadfastly rooted in tradition, it’s a notable shift, particularly as Fender Japan innovator Edward ‘Bud’ Cole has taken the reins at the top of the company on a global level.
The Fastlane’s release also coincides with another significant Fender development – its own take on the B-Bender, debuted via John Osborne’s signature Telecaster. And there are more innovations coming down the pike very soon, says Abbassi.
“Nothing is off the table for future development as we are constantly looking for ways to innovate, create better tone and enhance playability – just like Leo – from bridges, to pickups, to electronics and more. We’ve got a bunch of new innovations cooking and several of them will launch this year…”
- For more information on the 75th Anniversary American Ultra II Telecaster, head to Fender.com.
