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Post subject: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 5:16 pm
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Location: Coastal Bend, Tx.
Well, by some strange luck I had a winning bid at a recent auction; my bid was pre-auction over the internet, before the live auction . I will sometime in the near future receive what I believe is a relatively un-played 1983 pre-US Standard model Telecaster w/ top loader bridge, L style saddles, rosewood fret board in 3TSB w/ a George Strait autograph on the pickguard.
It needs a little TLC and a new pickguard from the auction picture.
I have never even touched a Tele, l am anxious. I will surely post some pics when it arrives.
As far as I know George wasn't really an electric player. In fact if you happen upon a pic of him playing one, pls post it.

TBC


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Post subject: Re: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 6:23 am
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sfceric64 wrote:
Well, by some strange luck I had a winning bid at a recent auction; my bid was pre-auction over the internet, before the live auction . I will sometime in the near future receive what I believe is a relatively un-played 1983 pre-US Standard model Telecaster w/ top loader bridge, L style saddles, rosewood fret board in 3TSB w/ a George Strait autograph on the pickguard.
It needs a little TLC and a new pickguard from the auction picture.
I have never even touched a Tele, l am anxious. I will surely post some pics when it arrives.
As far as I know George wasn't really an electric player. In fact if you happen upon a pic of him playing one, pls post it.

TBC

Very cool! I can't wait to see the pictures... 8)
As far as King George playing a Tele, I'd be extremely surprised. He barely played the acoustic strapped across his shoulder (it seemed to be more of a security blanket/stage prop), much less an electric...but I may be wrong, and I'd be glad to find out that he did/does occasionally dabble on the electrified side.

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Post subject: Re: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 8:09 am
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Image
The auction house picture.


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Post subject: Re: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 6:42 pm
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Congrats! looks practically unplayed!

8)

T2

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Post subject: Re: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 3:44 am
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sfceric64 wrote:
Image
The auction house picture.

8)

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Good Vibes To Y'all!
Blues, Rock and Outlaw Country
Texas Roadhouse Music at It's Finest...


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Post subject: Re: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:47 pm
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Well it arrived today about 17:30, gave it the once over and it definitely needs some TLC all around but in very good original condition. 8lbs 5/8oz not as heavy as I thought it might be and dang that headstock seems tiny. I'll start the breakdown and cleaning tomorrow. Gonna take a few before and after shots that I'll post after cleaning.

Frets need polished, some minor wear at the top three frets
Fretboard needs a little cleaning and oil
Gonna lube the truss nut
Electronics need a good cleaning, everything moves but kinda sticky
Output needs measured
Need to get a new scratch plate
Body has some minor swirls and a couple spots that are sticky, should cleanup and polish easily


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Post subject: Re: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 7:05 am
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Congrats on your windfall!

I'm not much of a country music fan so my info could easily be outdated but to the best of my knowledge George Strait plays acoustic guitars only.
Being a guitar guy my eyes pick up on certain things, like what other guys are playing.
I've seen him play a Gibson, a Collings and a number of Taylors.

That doesn't preclude him from autographing whatever merchandise they put in front of him for a "giveaway."
Who is Ron?
Is that you?

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Post subject: Re: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 9:37 am
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Thanks.
He's definitely not known as an electric player, I've never seen one is his hands. He played mostly Taylor when he was still playing shows. I saw him once at the Houston livestock show and rodeo, in the early 80's. He quit touring several years ago, still makes an appearance now and then. I enjoy rock/blues/country, he is country royalty(especially here in Texas). I bought the guitar primarily for its originality. The guitar has the users manual with the data page filled in; purchased 1/11/85 @ H&H music in Houston. I'm gonna send an email to see if they have a record of the sale, doubt it but its worth a try. It would be really cool if he was the original owner. He keeps a boat down near where I live and fishes a few tournaments, so if our paths cross I'll ask who Ron is.

Eric


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Post subject: Re: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 6:37 pm
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Got to the Fret polishing today and general measurements. Ran into an issue w/ one of the neck pickup height adjustment screws, broken off flush with the bottom of the route. Everything else was cleaned up. Here are some before pics. I'll wait to post the after pics until I get the screw out and replaced and a new pic guard.

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The neck date is 11 Aug 1983
The pots are dated March 83
I couldn't find a date on the body.
I didn't meter the pups, got frustrated w/ the screw but the guitar is definitely all original.
Unfortunately I don't have the tools to unscrew the screw, so I'll take it in to town to get it fixed. CBS, sure used some crap wire-very brittle/stiff. I think I will probably get a new control panel/pots/wiring harness and a new set of pups to use w/ the guitar.


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Post subject: Re: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 12:10 pm
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Nice score fceric64!!
I played an '83 Standard USA Tele for years until it needed fret work at the top of the neck and basically became unplayable.
The '83-'84 Fender guitars are the last of the "Dan Smith era" guitars which ran from '83-'84, before the employee buyout, when Fender was going to move all guitar production to Japan.

Personally, I love the '83-'84 top-loader bridge, with Fender/Schaller Elite Saddles, both in design aesthetics and function, although they can rust and pit with heavy playing.
When these guitars were new, there was a lot of disinformation among players that bottom-loaders had better sound because body vibration was transferred to the strings, which is complete rubbish, even though this Guitar Myth continues to find some support among players today.
Don't forget to put a small drop of thin penetrating oil on your bridge saddle adjustment screws, or roll them between your fingers with some Vaseline.

Here's a picture of the beautiful '83-'84 top-loader, Fender/Schaller, Elite Telecaster bridge, that is mocked up on a guitar I put together.

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The 12" radius maple fretboard neck on my '83 tele, appears to be quarter sawn, and is the only Fender neck that I have ever had, that never needed a truss rod adjustment.
My '83 Tele neck is completely stable!!

After acquiring other Fender Telecasters and playing them, I grew not to like the huge '83-84 jumbo frets, which is a personal taste, which may not bother you.
And if your pickups are original, I would recommend replacing them with modern pickups, as in my opinion, the '83 pickups suck.

Another interesting fact about my cream colored '83 Tele shown below, is that when you opened the case, the guitar finish always smelled like sweet vanilla (probably a carcinogen, LOL!) .
Being that your guitar is a natural finish, I would be interested to know if you get that smell when you open the case??

The electronics and wiring on your '83 Tele looks to be original.
Here is the electronics on my '83 Tele.

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These guitars came with shielding paint and an a ground conducting metal strip from the electronics cavity to the face of the guitar at the top plate screw to provide an additional ground to the control plate, as shown on both of our guitars.
Never remove or loosen the paint covered grounding screw in the guitar body, or you will likely eliminate the grounding paint from shielding your electronics.

These guitars also had the large gray rubber insulating sheaths that cover the pickup wires that run to the switch, as shown in both of our pictures.
My '83 Tele came with a .001K capacitor on the volume control, which would probably serve as some form of treble enhancement, which was either removed from your guitar, or was never on your guitar.

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I don't think that it was unusual for Fender to have slight variations in production guitars in that era.
That capacitor may have been left off your guitar to save money, or just because Fender ran out of these capacitors on the day your guitar was made at the old Fullerton, California, Fender plant.

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As you can see, I replaced the single ply white pickguard with a three ply along the way and mounted the replacement neck pickup in the pickguard in modern fashion.

Good luck with your Tele!!
Please comment on any of my observations.


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Post subject: Re: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 9:15 pm
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Thanks, I appreciate the input; I have read your other posts from the past in my search for more information about the year/model and appreciate the confirmation via pics of the wiring harness. That volume pot treble bleed may have been something they added later or were experimenting with.
It does seem to be a "mutant child" of the original Telecaster line at least to Tony Bacon. Like you, I find the guitar a rarity, not many survived the 80's in their original form.

I think the bridge has been overlooked and underrated for the intonation screws used, a "fine thread" which helps dial in the intonation. The cast metal saddles were design genius, that was poorly executed due to Fender financial troubles.

The only non-original thing about my guitar is the pick guard. I plan on going back to the one ply white, wasn't sure what the original was until today.

I checked the electronics today, the pickups are 7.84N and 7.93B however the pots(200ohm or less) & cap(.0174) are weak and the switch contacts are so-so. The ground system is as you pointed out excellent.

The most interesting thing I found today was that my fretboard is a "slab type" and not a round laminate but thinner than the 59's. I took other neck measurements also that were interesting, nut width 1 11/16" and .825" thick at the 1st fret (thin-ish) and 2.06" and .854" at the 12th. The guitar appears to be more played than I originally suspected; the frets measured .075 x .100. The guitar came with old strings that I cautiously tuned to pitch, the tuners held fine and the intonation was nearly perfect. The only thing that will take some getting used to for me will be the thick glossy feeling on the neck.

Your blonde is sweet looking!! and smells like vanilla. I haven't sniffed mine, but since you mentioned it I will take notice the neck time I open the case.


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Post subject: Re: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 3:52 pm
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Well, I finally got everything ordered that I felt I needed w/ the exception of new pickups. A little hesitant to order new pickups w/o hearing the old ones w/ new electrical components installed 1st. Gonna try an keep it as built but add a treble bleed circuit. I couldn't find a stock 1 ply 8-hole pickguard w/ routing mounted neck PU, so I'll have to drill a 5-hole. Should have everything by next Tuesday.


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Post subject: Re: NGD 1st Tele
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:09 pm
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Location: Coastal Bend, Tx.
Well, I finally finished the TLC.
I decided to keep it all original and do the repair to the neck pickup screw myself. It took a while to do but only cost me $5 and a few hours of time(tight space to work in) not counting the glue set time. I did clean/polish the body but decided not to sand any poly layers off to fix the one lightly bruised area. I went w/ a 1 ply pick guard but after researching the current blue book, Gruhn's guide and Tony Bacon's Tele book; I believe the pickguard should be the 3 ply w/b/w that was signed. So the only non original pieces are the N-pup screws and tubing(the springs didn't fit over the replacement screws).
I wasn't able to get any original data from the H&H store....
I'll add a completed pic Friday and start looking around for a tele rebuild project for a player.
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My camera skills aint up to par.....tried to show the slab finger board.
The neck plays very nice, but the neck pickup and pots are pretty bad.
Replaced the Pots/Caps/Switch and added a treble bleed, its a keeper and a fine playing guitar w/ the original Pups


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