Player II Sessions Featuring Julien Baker

Known for her hauntingly confessional songwriting and shimmering, ethereal guitar style, the indie folk artist and Boygenius co-founder Julien Baker has always relied on Telecasters to create her iconic sound. 

According to Baker, “The beautiful thing about a Telecaster is there’s not a formula, there’s not a way a Tele is supposed to sound. It’s not imbuing the player with parameters of style. It’s your most standard — and in a way, your most usable guitar.”

For over 70 years, some of the world’s most innovative musicians have relied on our rugged, elegant and adaptable workhorse to soundtrack every genre of music, from blues to country to punk. Baker explains that it’s the Tele’s versatility and ease of playing that helps inspire an artist to explore their unique sonic vision. “It’s not forcing you to play a certain way or demanding that you execute it with a certain formal skill,” she says. “It’s a blank canvas for you to discover how it’s most comfortable for you to play. I don’t feel like I’m pressing the strings in so hard or like I really have to do a lot of work.”

She sums up her feelings about the Telecaster concisely, saying, “It’s the one.”

Check out Baker’s signature Tele style on this performance of her 2017 single “Funeral Pyre,” featuring the Fender Player II Series. 

Learn more about the Player II Series here.