We hinted about it back in October, but now it’s official: Fender has announced its Andy Summers Tribute Telecaster, a replica of Summers’ heavily-modified ’61 Tele, which he apparently bought in the ’70s for a staggering $200 ;)
The guitar will be produced in a limited run of just 250 instruments, the first of which is expected to be played by Summers when the Police reunite for next week’s Grammy Awards (Feb 11.)
The Andy Summers Tribute Telecaster will feature the same mods as the original, including a “ferocious” humbucker at the neck, a body-mounted bridge pickup, a mini-toggle phase switch, pre-amp with mini-toggle on/off switch, rear-mounted overdrive unit (with controller knob below the standard volume & tone controls,) soft bridge pieces (brass,) and a set of Schaller tuners.
The guitar will also sport an alder body, maple neck, and meticulously recreated nicks, dings, and scratches to match Summers’ incredibly lived-in instrument.
The photos above show a comparison of the original Telecaster (right, from Andy Summers’ website,) and the new Fender Andy Summers Tribute Tele (left, photo by Takashi Sato.) There’s no telling what the price will be like on this baby, but at just 250 units I think we can assume it will be safely out of range for mere mortals and starving artists.
Damn…
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February 7th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Here we go again with the replicas. Man, if you were rich you could develop quite the replica collection these days.
I wonder what Summers cut of the sale is… probably pretty good.
February 7th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Yeah, it’s an interesting craze, and one that I doubt will be going away any time soon…
When I voiced my misgivings about the $24,000 ‘Blackie’ Strat I got some pretty incredulous responses… people were just about ready to hand over their first-born to get a replica of Clapton’s guitar.
I don’t get it at all, though I have to admit that I love the aesthetics of the Andy Summers Tele… it just looks so comfortable and worn-in.
February 7th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
That is a funny thing eh… despite it being all beat up, your first impression is it probably sounds and plays amazingly well.
January 9th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
If I had the money……. I would snatch it up in a instant. First of you can’t buy this guitar, it’s pretty heavily modified, second , it’s an exact replica of his guitar, down to the crack in the bridge. All of these little details give this guitar it’s tone. As for me, the best reason to own it is simple…….It’s Andy Summers.
May 18th, 2010 at 5:00 am
I was a big fan of the Police and baggered Fender for a few years about building an, “Andy Summers Telecaster.” I’m glad they finally did it, but the price. I built my own for about $1000. I realy wish Fender would start producing an Andy Summers Tele model like they do with the Eric Clapton Strat. I would buy one.
May 18th, 2010 at 8:08 am
I here ya. A nice, decently priced Andy Summers Artist model tele would be awesome. This is one of those things that seems like a no-brainer to me, but hey, maybe Fender has a better idea of what will truly sell.