Just look at this beauty — the Fender Limited Edition Parallel Universe Jazz Tele combines the vibrant sound of Jazzmaster pickups and the smooth warble of a Jazzmaster/Jaguar tremolo with the iconic look and feel of a Telecaster. And it's awesome. A pair of Pure Vintage '65 Jazzmaster single-coil pickups offers open, wide-ranging tonality. The floating tremolo is paired with a Jazzmaster/Jaguar bridge with nickel-plated brass Mustang saddles, ready for liquid-smooth bends and flutters. Combine sweet looks and eminent playability with distinctive tonality, and you've got the Fender Limited Edition Parallel Universe Jazz Tele.

Addictive playability

Fender's Parallel Universe guitars are unique combinations of classic Fender guitars that we never knew we wanted at Music Experience, and we already know we'll be sad to see these Limited Edition guitars go. You probably didn't wake up this morning thinking, "I'd sure love the sound of a Jazzmaster with the body of a Telecaster," but once you get it in your hands and plug into your favorite amplifier, you'll understand the genius of it.

Wrong, but it's right

If you had a clean sheet of paper and the ability to create a hybrid guitar splicing together the DNA of two of Fender's most iconic models, a Stratocaster and Telecaster mashup would be a good place to start. That's exactly what the minds behind Fender product development did with the new Strat-Tele Hybrid, the first offering in the limited-edition Parallel Universe Collection. Boasting the unmistakable body of a Telecaster and timeless Stratocaster accoutrements, this guitar truly melds two time-tested instruments.

"It's everything you'd want in a Strat tone," said guitarist Todd Wisenbaker, who plays with Ryan Adams, after he got to put the Strat-Tele Hybrid through the paces. "It was obviously, when I plugged it in, a Strat pickup, the best tone there is. "It's kind of wrong, but it's right. It's cool!"

The "wrong-but-right" ethos runs through the entire Parallel Universe Collection, which will see a new guitar and bass model released each month throughout the rest of 2018. "We wanted to do something fresh and different, something exciting and interesting to consumers that wasn't just a typical Strat or Tele," Fender Senior Product Development Manager of Electric Guitars and Basses Allen Abbassi said. "We've mixed and matched different models in the past, and this is still very much in Fender's wheelhouse."

The Parallel Universe Strat-Tele Hybrid was initially inspired by a limited run of similar models produced by Fender Senior Master Builder and Custom Shop Director Chris Fleming in 2006. Fender has also placed three pickups in a Telecaster in the past, like the Nashville Tele. This version features professional touches like three Custom Shop '69 Aged Strat pickups, Stratocaster controls (single volume, two tone controls and a five-way switch), a Strat synchronized tremolo bridge, a lacquer finish and comfortable contours.

"These use the best of the best parts we have," said Fender Vice President of Fender Electric Guitars and Basses Product Development Joey Brasler. "Whatever premium specs we had at our disposal, we used. We spared nothing." With the Strat-Tele Hybrid combining the beloved specs of two of Fender's legendary guitars into one, don't be surprised if more Telecaster players come over to the Stratocaster side of the road soon. "There are Strat people and Tele people, and we wanted to give a Tele guy a Strat," Brasler said with a laugh. "Some people just aren't comfortable on a Stratocaster, so this is an opportunity to expand their palette."