Fender introduced the American Deluxe series in 1998 to offer just what the name suggests: upscale, American-made versions of the standard Teles and Strats – in essence, custom guitars without the Custom Shop price – or exclusivity.

The regular Telecaster in the American Deluxe series featured a bound alder body, six-saddle bridge, pearloid pickguard, abalone fingerboard dots and “Noiseless” pickups.

Otherwise the American Deluxe retained the same basic look – pickguard shape, control plate, pickup configuration, etc. – as a traditional Telecaster.

Not so with the QMT and FMT that Fender introduced in 2004, in which Fender did away with the pickguard and mounted the controls directly onto the top. Although most of the models in the series featured new Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups, the QMT and FMT opted for the extra power of a pair of “Enforcer” humbucking pickups.