The first solid-body ever produced by Fender, with a single pickup and a cutting tone. Paul McCartney picks it up in 1967 during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, for distorted and experimental guitar solos.
The Fender Esquire was the first solid-body guitar ever marketed by Fender, introduced in 1950. A stripped-down but characterful model, it stands apart from the better-known Telecaster for having only one pickup at the bridge. Thanks to this simplicity, the Esquire delivers a direct, sharp, and aggressive tone — perfect for pushing a tube amp into gritty, overdriven territory.
Paul McCartney’s Esquire makes its appearance at Abbey Road Studios in March 1967, during the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sessions. His is a right-handed Sunburst model, modified for left-handed use: reversed strings and a strap button relocated to the upper horn. It was used for the solos in Good Morning Good Morning and Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!, played through a Selmer Thunderbird Twin 50 Mark II amplifier. This rare guitar/amp combination played a key role in shaping the distinctive and experimental sound of those tracks.
The Esquire also appears — likely — on other recordings from the same period, such as Strawberry Fields Forever, Back in the U.S.S.R., Martha My Dear (rhythm guitar), and While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
Although its presence was brief, the Fender Esquire represents yet another shade in the Beatles’ ever-evolving sound, and reflects McCartney’s taste for unconventional solutions.
