Leo Fender couldn’t have foreseen John 5 when the first Telecaster rolled off the line 75 years ago. But since going public in the late-’90s as the chalk-faced sideman for Marilyn Manson, the Michigan-born shredder has been arguably the heavy mob’s greatest ambassador for the model.
As 5’s career has twisted and turned – from early shifts with David Lee Roth, Manson and Rob Zombie to his solo career and recent stunt-guitar duties for Mötley Crüe – his appreciation of the Tele has evolved in lockstep.
Scan 5’s rack through the years and you’ll find a musician plainly in love with the Tele foundation but constantly pushing the envelope. From his paddle-headed, Bigsby-fitted custom curio of the post-millennium, and early Fender and Squier J5 signature models, all the way to 2023’s top-dollar Ghost and recent lava lamp-inspired models few modern players have done more to keep this ancient design so eye-poppingly relevant.
Now, choosing just a fistful of favorite Teles from his personal arsenal is a challenge that 5 gladly takes up for Guitar World.
“It’s funny,” he says. “I have different guitars, like Les Pauls and things like that. But aside from the Tele, I don’t know what I would play. I try to think about it, and I really don’t know! Maybe a Strat? [Laughs]
“It’s so strange because when you’ve done something a certain way your whole life, it’s so weird to think, ‘What would it be like?’ It’s so hard to think about because I’ve always played a Telecaster.”
2022 Fender Custom John 5 Ghost Tele
My Ghost is Number 1. It was put together when Fender did a collaboration with [NYC skateboarding and streetwear brand] Supreme.
I thought, “This guitar is strikingly beautiful. I want to do a guitar like this.” That’s where we came up with it, and it’s by far my favorite. I even named a record after it! [2025’s Ghost] I feel safe with the Ghost. I know I’m not gonna have problems live or in a studio. It’ll stay in tune and sound and feel great.
It’s like when you’re getting on an airplane, and you’re like, “I don’t know about this,” but then you get on a really nice one, a beautiful double-decker, and you think, “This is gonna be amazing.” [Laughs] That’s how it is with the Ghost! I travel with it everywhere. In fact, I’m driving home right now from Joshua Tree, and I have my Ghost in the back seat. So yeah, it’s important.
2025 Fender Custom Tele, aka “The Phantom”
Number 2 is the Phantom. That’s my 100-percent Number 1 guitar with Mötley Crüe. It’s just a monster. It sounds and feels so good. It’s got this beautiful cutaway and this contour, and a Floyd Rose, of course.
Fender Custom Shop Tele, aka “Goldie”
Goldie’s been on a zillion recordings, and it’s one of those special guitars. I’ve played it so much, so I’m always worried about getting him re-painted or re-fretted or something. So whenever it’s time for a really major re-fret, I just retire it and search for another. I got Goldie after I stopped using my black-and-chrome Telecaster.
I wanted a gold Tele, but I wanted the Shoreline Gold Fender used in the ’60s when they used car paint on guitars. Alex Perez [at Fender] found that paint – and it’s still the real paint – and now Goldie has chipped so much that you can see the wood.
When it was put together, we did a kill switch for the first time – that guitar was an epiphany for me; it changed my life. I played it until it wasn’t safe to play anymore because I don’t want anything to happen to it. It’s on so many records and was used at countless shows.
2003 Fender J5 Telecaster
I had this black Tele with a chrome pickguard for so long, 13 or 14 years. I used it forever. It was just that amazing connection you have with an instrument. I really enjoyed playing that guitar, and it’s when I knew I wanted a beefed-up Telecaster.
When it came down to how it would look, I was thinking of a beautiful Harley-Davidson motorcycle that’d shine up strong
I was thinking, “I really love this sound,” and when it came down to how it would look, I was thinking of a beautiful Harley-Davidson motorcycle that’d shine up strong. I would see chrome and black and think they look just gorgeous together. When it all came together, it had this double binding because I love the ’60s Teles that had that, and I thought, “This is beautiful.”
This was before the kill switch, so it was an early Tele for me. I played it on everything, a lot with Marilyn Mason and Rob Zombie. It was a monster guitar that could also do jazz and country. Squier did a version of that guitar and Goldie.
In fact, they were closing their doors, and I’m proud of the fact that they kept open for another year because they had so many orders for those two guitars. You couldn’t tell the difference between the Squier and the Fender. I played the Squiers live, and I couldn’t tell because they were so well done. If you find one, grab it!
1990s Fender ’52 Telecaster
I used this ’52 reissue through my David Lee Roth and Rob Halford eras. It’s exactly like a ’52. It was just that magical thing where you walk into a Guitar Center, which I did in Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard, and said, “Let’s just look at the Teles.” This was before I was endorsed by Fender. I saw this Tele and thought, “This is incredible.”
I took it off the shelf, bought it, put a stack pickup in it and that was it. I played it forever, and I still do. It’s the guitar that really got me endorsed with Fender because I’d play it so much that they had a picture of me playing it and put it up at the NAMM Show.
It was this big display with all their other endorsees – but I wasn’t an endorsee! [Laughs] I went to the Fender booth, and they said, “We want to give you an endorsement deal.” I was like, “Yes!”
- This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.
