Creating the EOB Sustainer Stratocaster and Brad Paisley Road Worn Telecaster

To say Fender’s artist roster is big is an understatement — so many legendary guitarists have performed or recorded with Fender guitars that it’s impossible to count. But recently, Fender celebrated the addition of two of the most famous names in their respective genres to that lauded list of icons: Brad Paisley and Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien. And what better way to commemorate the occasion than with two signature-model electric guitars that radiate each player’s immediately identifiable personality.

Since the early 1990s, Ed O’Brien and Radiohead have been changing the accepted norms in electric guitar tone. Whether a fan of the band’s early album rock leanings or the more spacious sounds of later records, you’ve definitely been taken by O’Brien’s ability to lean on a bevy of effects pedals, coaxing otherworldly ambience from his 6-string. Years ago, O’Brien literally dreamed up a Stratocaster outfitted with a sustainer pickup to achieve many of those tones. And it was that dream that birthed the Ed O’Brien Fender EOB Sustainer Stratocaster.

Brad Paisley, on the other hand, is a big believer in the power of great, traditional country music. His guitar-to-amp style tones have defined the sound of Fender’s Telecaster for nearly 20 years, while they have driven one chart-topping hit after another. Like O’Brien, Paisley is passionate about his guitar tone and chooses Fender guitars to deliver it. The Fender Brad Paisley Road Worn Telecaster rises from this devotion to the simplicity of his sound and gear. “It’s basically a cutting board with a neck on it,” explains Paisley. But considering the adoration this Tele has garnered around Sweetwater, we think it’s a lot more.

Both signature models are incredibly popular guitars at Sweetwater and are attracting players as diverse as the artists’ music. We reached out to the Senior Vice President of Fender Products, Justin Norvell, who worked hand in hand with both artists to realize these fantastic instruments. Here he tells us about creating these guitars and working with two players who share Fender’s passion for discovery and tone and who can’t wait to see what players like you create with their guitars.

Both artists have been playing Fender guitars for years. How did Fender begin working with them?

Years ago, we did a Johnny Marr Jaguar. And our relationship with Johnny is what led to our people beginning to work with Ed and Radiohead. He actually had a dream about a guitar that could do what several guitars in his collection were doing, but at one time.

We’ve been working in different capacities with Brad Paisley and his camp for quite some time. Through all of that, we started talking about an artist model with him.

Tell me about the process in designing the EOB Sustainer Stratocaster.

Ed had a Custom Shop Eric Clapton guitar that he was using on the road, he was using EBow on some tracks, and he had a different sustaining guitar. He just wanted to be able to pull all of these elements together with the feel that he likes on his Eric Clapton model. And that’s what we set out to do.

He came out to California to work on prototypes, and we drove down to Ensenada and spent a couple days there. It was very, very hands on. We were talking about music history and different instruments we’ve owned, and really understanding everything behind what he’s looking for, where his inspiration lies, and what sounds. We made several prototypes over a period of two years while they were making A Moon Shaped Pool album. It was used on several of the tracks on that album. It got to the point where we hit on the formula where it was exactly what he was looking for.

Ed’s a very unique player. Were there any challenges or discoveries along the way?

I think the most challenging thing that we did was finding the set of pickups that would balance and work best with the Sustainer but still supply the tone that he was looking for. That was something we went back and forth on for probably a year.

It’s interesting because he’s not a typical lead guitar player. He embodies a more textural, atmospheric usage of guitar. He speaks more to guitar’s role in a lot of modern music. So I think it’s a really compelling instrument from that standpoint. It’s not just hotter pickups and bigger frets. It’s really an instrument that will make you play differently and unlock some tones and sounds that you probably wouldn’t get otherwise.

What inspired the Brad Paisley Road Worn Telecaster?

He’s one of those guitarists — like many of us — where he doesn’t have just one main guitar, you know. He has all of these different tools for different uses. He had one guitar he liked the “V” neck on. He liked the finish on his silver sparkle one. And he has a super lightweight one that his friend Bill Crook had made him from paulownia. So we said, let’s pull together a greatest-hits package of some of your favorite features and specs into one guitar.

He was on tour and testing prototypes on the road. And he was in the studio working on his new record while shooting out pickups, which helped us dial in pickup tones. We went back and forth a half dozen times before we settled on something everyone was happy with.

Wasn’t the bridge-position ’64 Tele single-coil pickup custom-wound for Brad’s signature model?

Yes. Tim Shaw, who works for us out of Nashville and has been in the pickup business since the early ’80s [designed it for Brad]. He’s worked with Bill Lawrence, he’s worked with Gibson, and now he’s been with Fender for the last 20-some years. If someone describes what they’re looking for in very esoteric terms and ethereal descriptors, he’s like, “Ok. I know what you want.” And I think he nailed it on his first try.

The other thing that we did that’s very interesting on that model, to make sure that it’s lightweight, it has a paulownia core, which is a very lightweight wood. But paulownia is porous, so it doesn’t hold screws real well. So we made an interlocking puzzle of spruce and paulownia, because a lot of areas need more support for better tonal transfer. That really creates something unique for this model.

Were both artists very involved in the design of their instruments?

Ed and Brad were two of the most humble, laid-back, and nice people that you could meet. And they were both super engaged and caring while having a clear vision of what they wanted. Every single thing on those guitars had to meet muster with them. They were both super hands on. It really was a dialog that they wanted to see through. It wasn’t just the first couple meetings and they handed it off. Both of their techs were also involved. Even through the marketing and videos. Everything was very, very hands on.

We don’t push or steer artists. It’s their muse. They’re putting their name on it. We just take the journey with them and follow it all the way down to where we find they are happy. We usually come out the other side of these things having learned some things ourselves.

What does Fender have coming up that players can be looking forward to?

There’s always stuff in the hopper. We’re always working on instruments with artists. That’s what we do. Think about Leo Fender back in the ’50s. He was asking artists what they thought, what they liked, what they didn’t like. The Strat evolved because Bill Carson said his Tele was digging in his ribs and it hurt his arm. And that’s how the body contours were born.

Being in the guitar-making business is a completely different thing than being in the musical performance or studio environment business. And when you bring those things together, you usually end up with an elevated version of our products.

For a company with such a rich history, Fender always seems to be pushing forward.

We don’t like to drive [looking] in the rearview mirror and think of ourselves as a historical stewarding company. We really want to make sure that we’re keeping our ear to the ground, staying musically relevant, and making the best version of these tools for people to be creative and make music.

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