Fender Esquire

The Fender Esquire is the single-pickup predecessor to the Telecaster, introduced in 1950 as one of the first commercially produced solid-body electric guitars. Its lone bridge pickup, wired through a simple three-way switching circuit, produces a raw, focused tone with aggressive treble bite and zero neck-pickup muddiness. Bruce Springsteen's battered Esquire, held together with stickers and attitude, delivered the lean, cutting rhythm tone that drives Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A. The Esquire's simplicity is its strength — one pickup, one volume, pure rock and roll.