The Fender Telecaster Thinline is a semi-hollow guitar made by the Fender company. It is a Telecaster with body cavities. Designed by German luthier Roger Rossmeisl in 1968, it was introduced in 1969 and updated in 1972 by replacing the standard Telecaster pickups with a pair of Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups, bullet truss-rod and 3-bolt neck.
The design was originally an attempt to reduce the weight of the solid-body Telecaster guitar, which had become ever heavier throughout the 1960s due to the dwindling supply of the light ash wood Fender had formerly used. The f-hole and reshaped pickguard are the most apparent visual clues to its construction.
There have been many different versions of the Telecaster Thinline over the years, although the original two are more recognizable. The 1969 version has two standard Telecaster pickups and a mahogany body, while the 1972 version, based on the Fender Telecaster Deluxe, yields two Fender Wide Range pickups and a natural swamp ash body