Is a Billie Eilish signature Fender Telecaster set to follow the pop phenom’s just-announced ukulele?
Speculation mounts over custom Thinline Tele played by brother FINNEAS during NPR Tiny Desk Concert
Fender made headlines yesterday after announcing a signature model for one of the most talked-about musicians in the world, the Billie Eilish signature ukulele.
In the wake of the news, fans have noted it wasn’t the first Fender model to feature Eilish’s ‘blohsh’ symbol – that accolade would actually go to a Thinline Telecaster played by her brother and chief collaborator, Finneas O'Connell (aka FINNEAS) on an NPR Tiny Desk Concert uploaded on August 26.
Besides the ‘blohsh’ symbols, the guitar features a black-painted Tele headstock (just like the uke), gray pearloid scratchplate, and what appear to be Fender noiseless single coils (note the ’lil Fender logo on the bridge pickup).
As for whether we’ll see Eilish herself brandishing the Tele, we’ll have to wait and see. But if the ukulele is a success, we wouldn’t rule out seeing this model hitting the shelves in the next year or so.
Fender’s collaboration with Eilish already extends deeper than the uke, with the addition of six Eilish songs to its Fender Play learning platform earlier this year.
We’ll keep you posted on any further developments, but for now, enjoy the Tele’s sweet, sweet tones in this stripped-back performance…
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Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade's experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.