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Post subject: Help me ID this tele!
Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:17 pm
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Got this tele the other day and i cant find much info about it..by the serial number i know its a 95 or 96 and its made in japan and thats about all i know so help! Sorry the pics are so large

Image

Image


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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:59 pm
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you got a fake american deluxe tele

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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 12:14 am
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VGStrato47 wrote:
you got a fake american deluxe tele


Well than that just makes it a normal MIJ tele thats been modded?


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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 4:19 am
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With those saddle positions, the intonation has got to be bad.

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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 9:29 am
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I wanna know how that Tele plays in tune with the bridge saddles set up the way they are!!!!! What the F%#$!!!


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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 1:03 pm
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yeah yeah i know..i thought the same thing when i first seen it but other dude that had it before me had it like that and took these pics when i first got it i have fixed it since then and now it plays amazing


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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:45 pm
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How much did you pay for it? i hope not a lot!


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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 8:48 pm
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Traded an old Ibanez S470 i had


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Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 11:11 am
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I think that's simply a MIJ '50s Telecaster that someone has added a
middle pickup to, and obviously installed three aftermarket pickups.

From the curve of the frets, that looks to me like a 7.25" radius. I'm only
going by eye, obviously, and could be wrong, but a '50s reissue would
have a 7.25" radius so that makes sense.

I bet it says Made In Japan on the back of the neck near the heel. I'd also
guess the back of the neck is big and fat and has a soft "V" shape to it.

The logo looks correct and the string tree and tuners look legit, as near as
I can tell from the blurry pictures. Logo, tree, and tuners are all '50s style and location.

If the tuner heads feel a little like chrome-plated plastic, they're original
MIJ tuners. I'm not saying they ARE plastic, but I have a mid-90s MIJ Tele
also and the tuners don't have that cold metal feel, so they might be
plastic - I don't know, but my tuners work fine and I bet yours do too. My
tuners also have a visible seam where the two halves of the tuners
buttons were joined, if that helps any.

The body looks like a two-color sunburst, which would be correct for a
'50s-style Tele. A 3-color burst wouldn't be correct for a '50s model.
The dome-top knobs look right also for a '50s reissue. The bridge has
FENDER stamped in the usual place for MIJ Teles.

About the pickguard - obviously you can order custom pickguards from
many sources and someone who swapped pickups might well have gotten
a new pickguard, but I notice two things about your guard:

First, it's flat (not gloss) black. All MIJ Teles that I've seen with black
guards have flat black guards (not glossy black).

Second, notice the middle Strat-sized pickup is mounted to the pickguard
(see the adjustment screws) but the neck pickup is mounted to the body
(no screws visible). This method of mounting the neck pickup is a feature
of '50s style Teles and the original pickguard would have been this way.

It seems to me that most aftermarket "Nashville-style" pickguard would
hang both from the guard for consistency. Check out the Fender MIM
Nashville Deluxe Tele to see what I mean.

I know I'm just speculating here, but because the middle pickup mounts to
the guard and the neck pickup is mounted to the body, and because the
guard is flat black instead of glossy black, I think the pickguard is original
to this MIJ Tele and someone cut holes in it for the middle pickup and
mounting screws.

If your Tele just had two pickups, I'd suggest you lift the control plate and
look at the pots and switch. MIJ Teles have smaller pots than MIM and MIA
pots, and the stock switch is one of those green rectangular ones with the
lugs all in a straight line, not the MIM and MIA style that are rounded and
have the lugs on two sides of the curved bottom of the switch.

Because someone changed pickups (we assume), it's likely they changed
at least the switch from the stock 3-way to a 5-way switch. I would have
changed the pots too but they may not have and if they're "mini" pots, it's a safe bet they are MIJ original also.

Finally, look under the pickguard. I bet you'll see a non-factory rout for
that middle pickup. Hopefully it was done professionally and not by some guy with a hammer and chisel, but either way you'll be able to tell if it's
was done in the factory prior to painting or afterwards.

If the rout is bare wood, or painted with shielding paint or something else
that doesn't match the rest of the paint in the body routes, that to me is
the final piece of the puzzle and it's safe to say you have a MIJ '50s
Telecaster reissue that someone added a middle pickup to and three aftermarket pickups.

Good trade, in my opinion, but then I'm a big fan of MIJ Fenders (I own
four). I think the necks and fretwork is as good as anything Fender makes
anywhere else. Some say the pickups, pots, and switches aren't as good
as MIMs and MIAs but whether you agree or not, someone has already
changed the pickups (and presumably at least the switch) for you.

You can always get a stock '50s-style 5-hole pickguard and some regular
Tele pickups and turn that back into a regular 2-pickup Tele or just enjoy it
as it is. Lots of guys spend a lot of money on new pickups and routing and
stuff - you're already ahead of them. Enjoy it!


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