Way back in January when we arrived in California for Winter NAMM 2011 a bleary-eyed mess of jetlag and Christmas excess, day one of the show proved to be an unexpected treat for Tele-addicts. Over on the Fender stand there were 12 amazing ‘Tele-bration’ Telecasters celebrating the 60th anniversary of the solidbody that started it all, with one instrument in particular capturing our imagination.

With Fender’s Custom Shop La Cabronita Especial proving to be out of the reach of mere mortals and kick-starting a homebrew build-your-own explosion, it was only a matter of time before the company released a (comparatively) more affordable alternative. The Tele-bration Cabronita Telecaster may be limited edition, and its 22-fret neck isn’t every guitarist’s cup of Earl Grey, but the combination of TV Jones Filtertrons and a slab alder body flies as close to tone heaven as anything we’ve heard in a long, long time.

From Luther Perkins to Malcolm Young and Billy Gibbons via a simple twist of the volume knob, in a year when beautiful recreations of guitars played by Kurt Cobain and George Harrison have lead us into temptation, the Cabronita Telecaster provides discerning players with the raw material not ju st to channel killer guitar sounds of yore but also to forge their own signature sonic identity. What price a mass-produced version from Fender Mexico in 2012? Our fingers are well and truly crossed.

BUY: Fender Cabronita Telecaster currently available from Andertons Music Co. | Thomann | Coda Music | WoodBrass | Wembley Drum Centre