As Fender celebrates the 75th Anniversary of the Telecaster, they’ve turned to one of the instrument’s most exciting modern masters: Baroness guitarist Gina Gleason. Known for her blistering hybrid-picked leads and Olympic White Tele, Gleason is proving that the world’s first successful solid-body electric guitar is just as at home in sludge and death metal as it is in country.
New Frontiers: Ecliptor and Swedish Death Metal
Gleason revealed she is currently deep into a new project called Ecliptor, a traditional metal band inspired by Swedish death metal.
The Project: Co-founded with her best friend Nick Roskow.
Status: The band has finished tracking drums for their full-length debut and recently played their first live show.
The Challenge: Gleason admits the technicality of the project has pushed her to “sharpen the sword” and practice more than ever.
The Gear: 75th Anniversary Highlights
Participating in the 75th-anniversary campaign, Gleason road-tested the latest models. Her standout? The Liquid Gold American Ultra II.
The Radius: She praised the 10-14” compound radius for its “flat, fast feeling,” similar to her Jackson shred guitars.
The Pickups: The Fastlane pickup paired with noiseless technology provided the clarity needed for high-gain scenarios.
Baroness Rig: Despite the modern upgrades, she still tours with a classic “old-school” setup, including a Fender Princeton, a Bassman, and various fuzz pedals.
The “Otherworldliness” of the Telecaster
Gleason draws a direct line between legendary Tele players and metal icons, finding a shared “magic” in their approach to the fretboard:
“Danny Gatton and Jimmy Bryant possess this otherworldliness that I saw kinship with in the style of Dimebag Darrell and Randy Rhoads. It’s effortless and magic.”
According to Gleason, the Telecaster’s “brightness and brilliance” leave nowhere to hide. Its crisp sound demands a high level of virtuosity, which is why it continues to cut through the dense mixes of Baroness and her new metal ventures.
The Future of Baroness
It has been three years since the release of Stone, and Gleason confirms the band is far from idle:
The Tour: They recently spent a year touring the Red and Blue albums.
New Music: The band has been writing for 18 months and plans to enter the studio around July 2026.
Songwriting Evolution: Gleason credits bandmate John Baizley with teaching her the “value of subtraction”—cutting the fluff to make the impactful parts hit harder.
Verdict: Whether she’s teaching students or tracking “unhinged” death metal riffs, Gina Gleason proves the Telecaster remains a pinnacle of design that transcends genre boundarie