The Fender American Vintage 72 Telecaster recreates a version of the Telecaster built from 1972 to 1981, a major change from the Tele Custom introduced in 1959. For 1959 with the introduction of Rosewood fingerboards, Fender introduced an ‘upmarket’ Telecaster Custom, with the new Rosewood board and a body with binding around the top and back. The rest of the guitar was standard Telecaster. However, by 1972, Fender Marketing was feeling pressured because of its close association with thin and bright single coil pickups, while Gibson was almost synonymous with fat sounding humbuckers.