FENDER CHRISSIE HYNDE TELECASTER £1249

Is this 60s model finish the real deal?

- Jonathan Horsley

The Fender Chrissie Hynde Telecaster is a Mexican made replica of the 1965 model that The Pretenders vocalist/ guitarist picked up in New York City at the turn of the 1980s.

To match Hynde’s number one electric guitar, the 2021 model arrives in a Faded Ice Blue Metallic Road Worn lacquer finish. It looks the part, showing subtle checking and lived-in grime on the Road Worn hardware – most notably on the ferrules on the rear of the guitar, and the chrome mirror pickguard has some city miles on it. With the tuners and the knurled control knobs looking brand new, the effect doesn’t quite come off, but mismatched hardware on a gently aged guitar is a little like a bad haircut; nothing that time won’t fix.