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Post subject: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 7:57 am
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Hi guys I'm new to this forum and I come with a question. A week or two ago my dad bought this guitar for €200 from a friend of his just so he could give it as a present to me.

Ever since I've been wondering if it's an actual Fender Telecaster from 1977/78, because that's what the serial number on the head of the guitar says. But then again, the humbucker seems to have been replaced (it had plastic on it when I got it) and the sticker with the serial number on it seems kind of faded, so I would rather hear the opinion of you guys, if you wish, because I'm kind of a nitwit.

Here are some crappy quality pictures I took with my phone since I have no alternative sorry.

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Thanks in advance for your time/knowledge!


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 8:43 am
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You don't get a US made seventies Telecaster for that sort of money unless you're really, really, really lucky.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there was no Corona plant in 1978...


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 8:47 am
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jmattis wrote:
You don't get a US made seventies Telecaster for that sort of money unless you're really, really, really lucky.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there was no Corona plant in 1978...


Lol that's fine I was expecting that, you got any more info for me that could tell me what this guitar actually is?

EDIT: Just did some googling, so you're telling me the guitar is 1985+ at least and most likely a reissue?
Are there any more indicators I could go for?


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 9:09 am
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Pretty sure a reissue of any 70's tele would have a bullet truss rod. I think that neck is fake. Which more than likely means the rest is


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 9:52 am
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It's obvious that the serial was scratched off, looks like the logo too, but that doesn't mean it's a bad guitar.
Even if it's a mexican it's not a bad deal for 200E, and it looks pretty new too, at least from the pics.
There are a lot of forum members that can tell american from mexican from japanese just from looking (im not one of them :) ) so eventually you'll get an answer.
Take the neck off and check the pocket, and make pics, it will be easier to identify.
By the way it a cool looking Richards tele....


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 10:16 am
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Cosm01 wrote:
EDIT: Just did some googling, so you're telling me the guitar is 1985+ at least and most likely a reissue?

Absolutely not, I was only making a point that the guitar is not to be trusted.

The previous owner(s) has (have) faked (=replaced) the neck plate, and quite obviously also the labels, serial number etc; anything you see is not what it's supposed to be.

So, better check the neck pocket like SG suggested - maybe take pics of the pickup bottoms and wiring, too. At the moment I'm guessing it's a modded Squier.

But if you put aside that it's not a 1978 Fender, how does it play, feel, sound? Labels aren't everything...


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 10:21 am
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Sev Grey wrote:
It's obvious that the serial was scratched off, looks like the logo too, but that doesn't mean it's a bad guitar.
Even if it's a mexican it's not a bad deal for 200E, and it looks pretty new too, at least from the pics.
There are a lot of forum members that can tell american from mexican from japanese just from looking (im not one of them :) ) so eventually you'll get an answer.
Take the neck off and check the pocket, and make pics, it will be easier to identify.
By the way it a cool looking Richards tele....

moochy13 wrote:
Pretty sure a reissue of any 70's tele would have a bullet truss rod. I think that neck is fake. Which more than likely means the rest is


Ahh I see, I do quite like the look of the guitar too, just wondering what the hell it is even if it isn't worth much lol.
I've never removed the neck of a guitar before even though I've been playing guitar for 8 years now, I'm afraid of ruining the thing. Anyone got a link to a guide for dummies that helps me through it safely? Because I am interested in finding out more

EDIT:
jmattis wrote:
Absolutely not, I was only making a point that the guitar is not to be trusted.

The previous owner(s) has (have) faked (=replaced) the neck plate, and quite obviously also the labels, serial number etc; anything you see is not what it's supposed to be.

So, better check the neck pocket like SG suggested - maybe take pics of the pickup bottoms and wiring, too. At the moment I'm guessing it's a modded Squier.

But if you put aside that it's not a 1978 Fender, how does it play, feel, sound? Labels aren't everything...


I see, as said before I'm a total nitwit on the subject and was just making random guesses

It plays really smooth and sounds great though, at least for as far as I can tell. I greatly prefer it over the two Squiers I have besides this guitar.


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 11:02 am
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moochy13 wrote:
Pretty sure a reissue of any 70's tele would have a bullet truss rod. I think that neck is fake. Which more than likely means the rest is


Actually they wouldn't. A "standard" Tele from the 1970s kept the 4-bolt neck and had the truss rod adjuster at the heel. The Tele Custom and Tele Thinlines of the 1970s did have the 3-bolt neck and the bullet truss rod (and the Tele Deluxe actually had a Strat headstock with the bullet instead of a Tele headstock).

Of course everyone is correct - this one is some kind of Tele copy with a fake 1970s headstock decal.


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 11:13 am
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A standard Telecaster from the 70s would also sport a notchless body having a less pronounced notch in the crook where the upper bout meets the neck. Fender discontinued the notchless Telecasters in 1982.

Not all Tele Deluxes were hardtails. Some were shipped with Stratocaster tremolos and matching control knobs.


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 2:24 am
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Cosm01 wrote:
I've never removed the neck of a guitar before even though I've been playing guitar for 8 years now, I'm afraid of ruining the thing. Anyone got a link to a guide for dummies that helps me through it safely? Because I am interested in finding out more


Not easy to ruin a Telecaster, not even a copy :lol:
Taking a neck off is not a big thing, some people do it frequently - for truss rod adjusting at the heel, or before air travel so there's less risk of damage, etc.

Take off the strings, take away the four screws on the neck plate, pull the neck straight up from the pocket. Reassemble in reverse order - an old trick is to put a bit of wax on the screws (e.g. rub them on a candle once or twice) so they go in easier. No need to overtighten the screws, "nice&tight" is enough.
Start with your cheapest & most unpleasant guitar if you feel shaky :wink:


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 5:51 am
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I could be wrong, but just on the neck here is my opinion......
1. 12th fret dots are too widely spaced
2. There is no walnut plug in truss rod access
3. String trees are incorrectly positioned
4. Incorrect tuners for that year


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 6:19 am
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PicknGoodTime wrote:
I could be wrong, but just on the neck here is my opinion......
1. 12th fret dots are too widely spaced
2. There is no walnut plug in truss rod access
3. String trees are incorrectly positioned
4. Incorrect tuners for that year



Then it's surely a fake!


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 12:17 am
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I'm not sure it's even a Squier. I don't think Fender, even as Squier, has ever had a 3-saddle bridge with a diagonal pickup but without sidewalls. It looks more like this cheap Chinese knock-off:

Image

The tuners also seem wrong - like they're meant to resemble Gotoh tuners, but not quite.

I think your dad's friend needs to take this one back.


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 3:04 am
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The bridge and tuners might be just mods - like someone believed the hype that Squier tuners are bad & replaced them, and also wanted a vintage looking bridge.

Now I'm sure I've seen an Affinity with a neck exactly like this one, plug hole and dot spacing and all... :wink:

(But let's wait if we get the neck pocket pics...)


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Post subject: Re: Can someone help me ID this guitar?
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 9:17 am
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arth1 wrote:
The tuners also seem wrong - like they're meant to resemble Gotoh tuners, but not quite.

I think your dad's friend needs to take this one back.


Those are standard Schaller sealed tuners. They're just not Fender-Schaller sealed tuners.
It's one of the very first things I noticed when I saw this thread other than the lack of walnut behind the nut. Standard Schallers have a little screw lug on the side. Fender-Schallers are unique to Fender guitars and use the hidden locater pins for alignment. It's quite likely that whomever put this fake together knew Fenders used Schaller sealed tuners but didn't realize he had to specify Fender-Schaller at the time of purchase.

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