1967 Fender Telecaster Electric Guitar

Overview: This rocker of an old Tele must have plenty of stories trapped inside. It's been in the same family since it was almost new and has been played in local rock bands ever since. It has a history of minor mods, of course, and in its current configuration it has an original bridge pickup mixed with a period (patent no) Gibson humbucker at the neck. Much is original but much is changed, too.

Interesting features: It's a strange guitar, with "SPECIAL" markered-in the neck pocket and (seemingly) stamped on the back of the heel, though that's faded. Considering some of the wear marks around the bridge base, it almost looks like it may have had a Fender-style factory Bigsby and bridge plate fit, though I can't find any obvious mounting holes for the Bigsby on the top (though said holes would be under the grunge on the top). The current bridge is a late-'70s or '80-style all-brass unit with 6 individual saddles. There are cut-off studs of some sort riding under the bridge plate and corroded/stuck in place. I considered removing them. The neck pickup is fit into the original pickguard with a surround that's too deep for balancing the pickup outputs and so I have it cranked down below the lip of the surround. I also considered just replacing the pickguard, but that hurts! It's just a little on the rawk side of the looks department as-is!

Repairs included: Sarah gave it a level/dress of the frets and a setup. I had to rewind the bridge pickup as the coil was damaged. I gave it 7500 turns and it definitely does that '60s Tele thing. The neck pickup just needed "flipping" so the poles were in the right place. The "interior" pictures are from when we first opened it up. The original wiring harness was working just fine. I cleaned a lot of surface grunge off from the "big old ugly parts" of the finish -- we're talking melted-in hair from rugs or straps or the inside of a case or something -- and, while it's not going to win any beauty contests, at least the finish no longer feels gross. It just feels textured in these areas... like an old car dashboard! Anyhow, it's playing bang-on and sounds a treat and is ready to go.

• Weight: 6 lbs 15 oz
• Scale length: 25 1/2"
• Nut width: 1 5/8"
• Neck shape: slim-medium C
• Board radius: 7 1/4"
• Depth at first fret: 7/8"
• Depth at seventh fret: 29/32"
• Body width: 12 1/2"
• Body depth: 1 3/4"
• Body wood: alder
• Bridge: replacement brass/6-saddle
• Fretboard: maple
• Neck wood: maple
• Pickups: 1x Gibson humbucker (period), 1x original bridge single coil (rewound)
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16” overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 46w-10
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium/lower

Condition notes: As noted, the bridge is not original. The neck pickup was swapped (early-on) for a same-period Gibson humbucker (pat no style). There are random studs that were cut and left in the body under the bridge plate. The original bridge pickup needed a rewind and that's done. The nut appears to be a replacement. The pickguard appears to be original. There's, of course, extra material cut out of the body below the pickguard to fit the humbucker. The finish has lots of wear and tear and strange marks here and there throughout the body. The neck is in a lot better shape but has its own wear. Look a the pics!

It comes with: It has a non-original, '80s-style hard case.

Consignor tag: TMAB