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Post subject: Identify Telecaster
Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 9:09 am
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Hi there

Can someone identify this Tele? Year and origin? These are the only photos that I have (btw that case is not from that guitar). I think was bought in the late 70's or early 80's and has a brass nut.

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Post subject: Re: Identify Telecaster
Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 5:16 pm
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Well, for starters ....

I suspect the bridge on that Tele is not stock.
If we went solely by appearances that would be a pretty old guitar.
Old enough to have very likely come with a 3-saddle bridge.
Do you know if it's a "relic"?
I'm guessing it might be.
The case looks much newer than the guitar and the forearm wear looks perhaps a little bit contrived.
Then again, what do I know?

For a more articulate answer you would need to remove the neck and post pics of the neck pocket, the neck heel and the back of the headstock.

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Post subject: Re: Identify Telecaster
Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 5:41 pm
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Thanks for the reply! It is not a relic and that case is not from that guitar.

I think it may be an early japanese tele because it has a black plastic behind the neck plate (don't have a picture and don't have the guitar with me) but I can't find any pictures of other early japanese teles with the same bridge, bridge pickup or brass nut. Has Fender at some point produced guitars with a brass nut like that? It can at least dictate the date.


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Post subject: Re: Identify Telecaster
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2018 12:38 am
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Again, without good resolution pix of the neck pocket, neck heel and the back of the headstock there really is not much info anyone can glean.
I suggest you disassemble the guitar and capture some good images.
Don't worry, it will all go back together without any damage.
Failing that, you'll be limited to the speculation of guessers.

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Post subject: Re: Identify Telecaster
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2018 12:42 am
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BMW-KTM wrote:
I suggest you disassemble the guitar and capture some good images.
Failing that, you'll be limited to the speculation of guessers.

Agreed 100 %.


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Post subject: Re: Identify Telecaster
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:41 am
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jmattis wrote:
BMW-KTM wrote:
I suggest you disassemble the guitar and capture some good images.
Failing that, you'll be limited to the speculation of guessers.

Agreed 100 %.


Ditto

Otherwise I find the guitar very confusing.
Plastic behind the neck plate is never a good start.
Searching through my books the logo and tuners look 68/69 spec with an extra butterfly added.

But I am just a "guesser" ;-)

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Post subject: Re: Identify Telecaster
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2018 5:10 am
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I was hoping someone who had seen/owned a tele with similar specs could say something but I do agree with you.
I will have the chance to take better pictures and post them here but only in a few months maybe.

Thank you all for your help.


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Post subject: Re: Identify Telecaster
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:17 pm
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John Sims wrote:
jmattis wrote:
BMW-KTM wrote:
I suggest you disassemble the guitar and capture some good images.
Failing that, you'll be limited to the speculation of guessers.

Agreed 100 %.
Ditto

Otherwise I find the guitar very confusing.
Plastic behind the neck plate is never a good start.
Searching through my books the logo and tuners look 68/69 spec with an extra butterfly added.

But I am just a "guesser" ;-)
Same same.
The tuning knobs look too clean to be on those pegs/bushings.
The neck/logo is CBS-era (not likely Japanese), the paint looks to be old nitro
The bridge is post-CBS (FMIC) design, and like the tuners, too "clean" given the condition of the rest of the guitar.
I don't think Fender ever produced a Tele with a brass nut.
I agree that the plastic under the neck plate is not a good sign.

So "guessing":
Best case, you have an authentic '68 to '75 CBS Tele that has been "upgraded" and/or repaired.

Brass nuts were a common modification in the '70s and '80s.
It's not unheard of for a plastic plate to be added under the neck plate... I considered that on a couple of my guitars but resisted.
Extra string tree? Another mod that's not uncommon, and Fender used two some years.
On the tuners, the knobs aren't directly replaceable (pressed onto the shaft). Those old "F" tuners were not known for being particularly good, someone may have intended to upgrade them to modern "F" tuners, and when they found that the new bushings didn't fit the neck, and the new tuners didn't fit the old bushings, they swapped what parts they could, leaving the original pegs and bushings. Alternatively, they used steel wool and white vinegar to "age" the posts and bushings on a new set of tuners... both would be unlikely????
The bridge would not have been an upgrade that would have been out of question. The block saddles were popular, and aftermarket block saddle upgrades were available in the '70s. A lot of people would have replaced that bridge without giving it a 2nd thought. Some people didn't care for the "ashtray" bridge design.

Worst case, you have a Partscaster with a CBS neck.

Either way... it's got mojo. If it plays and sounds good, enjoy it.

Try to remember that in the '70s, old guitars were simply "old guitars". I have a couple of 20+ year old G&Ls and Epiphones and a 30 year old Kramer that I don't think of as being valuable vintage guitars.
In the '70s, a '57 Strat was less than 20 years old, and Fenders were "budget" guitars compared to Gibson.
The Fender models from '68 to '80 were not thought of as "vintage" or of any particular value until foreign collectors cleaned out the market of pre-CBS models and drove prices out of reach of Working Joe over the last 20 years.
In the 80s, nobody gave a 2nd thought to modifications that might "hurt the value", and they generally didn't save the original parts. My '78 Strat got a set of DiMarzio SDS-1 pickups... one of the originals found its way into a Hondo H-1 (major modification), and I have no clue where the other two went. I replaced my Fender Zamak saddles with brass saddles... pitched the Fender saddles. I put a Tele style string tree on it.

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