Fender 1951 Nocaster and Player II land in Australian stores
Fender has released a 75th Anniversary 1951 Nocaster reissue alongside new Player II series guitars in the Australian market. The Nocaster pays homage to the historical 'in-between' model produced briefly after the Broadcaster and before the Telecaster.
Why it matters
This release serves as a significant cultural touchstone for musicians and collectors interested in the history of electric guitar manufacturing.
The guitar Fender shipped in 1951 with a blank headstock is back, and now on Australian shop floors. The 75th Anniversary American Vintage II 1951 Nocaster leads a four-model expansion of Fender’s 75th Anniversary Collection, and as of August the reissue and three Player II models have landed in local stock for immediate purchase.
Fender’s first mass-produced solidbody guitar arrived in 1950 as the Broadcaster, the instrument that would soon become the Telecaster and reshape the electric guitar. The name didn’t last long. Gretsch pointed out that it already sold a Broadkaster drum kit, so Fender clipped the Broadcaster decal off its headstocks and kept shipping guitars with no model name at all until the new Telecaster decals arrived in 1951. Those in-between guitars picked up the nickname Nocaster years later, and that’s what this reissue recreates.
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