Johnny Marr’s Roger Giffin Telecater (Green)

This was likely the first Telecaster-style guitar Johnny Marr ever purchased. Before owning it, he regularly borrowed a Telecaster from The Smiths’ producer, John Porter, which inspired him to search for one of his own.

Quite quickly, I was lucky enough to acquire a few different guitars, but I made it my business to get a Tele. That’s why Angie knew I needed one. The green one I used mostly on Meat Is Murder – Nowhere Fast and the title track.

Johnny Marr for GuitarWorld

Eventually, Porter found a Telecaster he thought would suit Marr perfectly, as it had a similar neck profile to the one he used to lend him (more on that guitar here: 1955 Fender Telecaster). However, Johnny found the guitar too heavy for regular gigging, though it did see some use during the Meat Is Murder sessions.

I found a Tele with a very similar neck profile for Johnny I think Roger made it It was green sunburst and a great player – Johnny used it for a bit but thought that it was a bit too heavy for gigging.

John Porter

Specs

Unfortunately, most of the guitar’s specs are unknown. It was built by famed guitar luthier Roger Giffin, and based on the photos, seems to feature a quilted maple top, finished in a dark green sunburst.

Even though the guitar is obviously not a Fender, for some reason it does have a Fender logo on the headstock. This could mean that it was either put there to make it look like a Fender (unlikely), or that the neck itself is actually from a genuine Fender Telecaster.

It’s also evident from the newer photos of the guitar that the original black and white humbucker was replaced with an all-black one.