It introduced the square edged dreadnought shape, with a cutaway on the body next to the neck to allow access to the upper frets.

It featured a combination bridge and pickup assembly, which used the pickup from Fender's "Champion" lap steel guitar, with individual pole pieces for each string mounted at a slant, and three bridge saddles, which allowed adjustment of individual string height, but adjustment of intonation only in pairs.

The neck, on the first Esquires manufactured in 1950, was made from a single piece of maple, without a separate fret board or truss rod.

The prototype also differed from later production guitars in that the body was made of pinewood; it was painted opaque white; its pickguard did not extend below the strings; it lacked a selector switch; and the volume and tone knobs were mounted on a oblique plate.

The neck width at the nut was narrowed to 1 5/8" and, inspired by a Croatian design, the head was modified to allow all six tuners to be installed on one edge.

[1] This feature did not appear on Fender's commercially advertised instrument, as the distributor, the Radio & Television Equipment Company (RTEC), preferred to sell the single pickup version.

[1] The single pickup version of the guitar was first manufactured in March 1950, and made its commercial debut as the Esquire in Don Randall's RTEC Spring catalogue of that year.

[5] After objections were sent to Don Randall by the Gretsch company, who produced the "Broadkaster" banjo and drum kit, this name was dropped, and guitars were shipped in 1951 with the "Fender" logo decal clipped and no model name.

[7][8] The Esquire was reintroduced in 1951 to provide a less expensive option than the two-pickup version, but its popularity declined as cheaper student models like the Mustang entered the market.

The Fender Custom Shop manufactures a 1959 Esquire reproduction as part of its "Time Machine" series, which is distinguished by its top-loading bridge design.

The use of the Fender Esquire by several country musicians is popularly credited for the creation of one of the most distinctive and recognized sounds in American music history.

[10][11] In 1954, Luther Perkins played a slightly modified Esquire, recording the first Johnny Cash songs "Wide Open Road" and "Hey Porter".

[13] Steve Cropper with Booker T played his fifties Esquire through a Fender Harvard amplifier for tunes such as Green Onions and Dock of the Bay with Otis Redding.

[16] Jeff Beck used a 1954 Esquire with the Yardbirds to create the famous guitar parts on "Over Under Sideways Down", "Shapes of Things", "I'm a Man," and "Heart Full of Soul".

[21] Roger Taylor, drummer with the rock band Queen, played a 1967 Esquire on the track "Sheer Heart Attack".