The Painted Player Guitar Co.

Deluxe Edition

Fender Squier 50’s Classic Vibe Telecaster – £1,299

Crafted using Fender Squier’s fabulous 50’s Classic Vibe Telecaster, featuring vintage design aesthetics, the guitar features a Gibson USA neck humbucker and custom made Strat / Tele bridge unit just like the original - making this is an excellent combination of Fender’s build quality, Gibson’s tone and The Painted Player’s attention to detail.

 

Supreme Edition

Fender Mexican Custom Shop “Baja” Telecaster – £1,699

A custom shop designed instrument that offer one the best playing experiences on the market, the Supreme Edition “Chicago” tribute telecaster is crafted using a 50’s profiled Telecaster, modified with a Gibson USA Humbucker and featuring all the classic Terry Kath details to create an excellent option for the more die-hard fan of vintage-accurate aesthetics. This model is available with or without the original “Baja” S1 switch, which is removed as standard but makes for an interesting variant on traditional tone.

 

Ultimate Edition

Fender American Vintage 52’ Re-issue Telecaster – (contact us)

The ideal choice for paying tribute to Kath’s original Telecaster, this Ultimate Edition incorporates the best of the best, a combination of Fender’s top-end equipment and parts offering effortless performance from the moment you pick her up.

A too often unsung guitar hero, Terry Kath, one of the founding members and original lead guitarist of the iconic rock band “Chicago” is revered and respected for his incredible skill and the ‘Ray Charles’ inspired vocal tones that gave the band something so unique that it set them apart in a see of traditional rock bands of the period. Kath himself was an explorer, he dabbled with various guitars and effects units over the years and had a strong relationship with the Gibson Les Paul “Professional” in the late 60’s but it was his love-affair with a heavily modified Butterscotch Blonde Fender Telecaster that would become his best loved and most celebrated guitar.

Having been a fan of the Fender Stratocaster for some years, the trade-in for the Telecaster gave Kath everything he wanted from a guitar, a more comfortable neck profile and the ‘twang’ of the bridge pickup but also tapped into his love of experimentation. As Telecasters all featured traditional 3-saddle bridges at the time he acquired it, he took it upon himself to cut the ashtray unit in half and fit a Fender Stratocaster bridge in place of the original 3-saddle section – removing the tremolo block and Hardtail mounting the bridge to give him 6-saddles for full intonation and versatility. After drilling and separately mounting the ashtray pickup ‘surround’, the original scratchplate was discarded and a Gibson USA Humbucker routed for and fitted in the neck position, combining the best of both Fender and Gibson in the one guitar – an approach later adopted by Keith Richards in his “Micawber” Telecaster.

With the Telecaster’s modifications complete, Kath (who actually founded the Pignose Amplifier company along with the other members of “Chicago”) then adorned the guitar with everything that had a special place in his heart, including a Maico motorcycle sticker, Chicago Blackhawks sticker and 25 Pignose Amplifier stickers along with the ‘press-outs’ for each one! It gave the guitar not only a striking visual dynamic but injected his personality into and instrument that would come to define tracks such as “25 or 6 to 4” – arguably Kath’s finest hour and featuring some of the most potent musicianship ever committed to a record since Clapton’s solo from “Deserted Cities of the Heart”.

Realised in incredible detail with reproduction stickers, VOS light relic finish and custom Strat / Tele bridge unit and all the trimmings, the Terry Kath “Chicago” Tribute telecaster is a celebration of the life and work of a musician that has influenced a generation of guitarists and continues to endure as one of the best in the business – own it now and feel the power.