In case you may have missed this fact, the Fender electric guitar changed the course of modern rock ‘n’ roll history. Leo Fender of Fullerton, California is credited with having popularized the electric solid body. He reasoned, correctly, that he could bolt a slim, easily playable maple neck with a maple fingerboard to a solid body made of alder or ash, add six-strings and the sound that would be created, when amplified through a tube amplifier (also of his manufacture) would actually turn out to do nothing less than change the course of Western music. His first instruments were flat-sided – first there was the Esquire with its one pickup, then the first two-pickup version was called the Broadcaster, and then for a short time, due, it is said, to the threat of a lawsuit from another manufacturer which claimed to have the rights to the name “Broadkaster,” even though they spelled it with a “k.”
Fender removed the name from the flat-sided model entirely and so it became nicknamed “Nocaster”, and, then almost immediately the name changed to Telecaster, inspired by the early commercialization of television. His first flat-sided Precision Bass guitar was unveiled in 1951. In around March of 1954 he debuted a new model having an asymmetrical body with a double-cutaway, three white pickups, each of them single-coil, having a standard tremolo arm and a jack that was mounted on an angle into the top. He called it “Stratocaster” after the excitement people were feeling about the coming of space travel and the Stratosphere. Leo Fender was a visionary entrepreneur whose impact on the world of Western music is without peer. He was also a classmate, it is said, of Richard Nixon.
There is an excellent review of the development of the Telecaster found in Wikipedia at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Telecaster It says, in part: “The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender. Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music. Introduced for national distribution as the Broadcaster in the autumn of 1949, it was the first guitar of its kind to be produced on a substantial scale. Its commercial production can be traced as far back as March 1950, when the single- and dual-pickup Esquire models were first sold. The Telecaster has been in continuous production in one form or another since its first incarnation. The Fender Telecaster was developed by Leo Fender in Fullerton, California in 1948. In the period roughly between 1932–1949, several craftsmen and companies experimented with solid-body electric guitars, but none had made a significant impact on the market. Leo Fender's Telecaster was the design that finally put the solid-body guitar on the map.”
This absolutely gorgeous electric guitar has its original tuners, original nut and frets; the neck date reads “3 Oct 67 B” the 3 referring to the point that it’s a Telecaster and the B meaning that the nut width is standard at 1 5/8"." (Thank you, Tony C.) The pickups (an oblong metal covered single coil in the neck position and an oblong uncovered single coil in the bridge/tailpiece assembly) are original. The potentiometer codes read: 304-6617 which tells that the pots were made by Stackpole Co. in the 17th week of 1966. The three-way toggle is original, the input jack switch is original, the bridge is original and it has its metal cover that came with the guitar. The neck and body finish is original, the knobs and toggle tip are original, and the hard shell case is original. It has one double string tree on the headstock for the first and second strings, and all three decals: “Fender” in black with a border, “Telecaster” in block, and two patents under the word “Fender®.” The back plate is 4-bolt with a large stylized “F” and the tuners each have a stylized “F” on their sealed backs.
Cosmetically this guitar is considerably cleaner than most, showing some small discoloration on the crème finish, minor scratches and some scuffs, a ding near the center of the back that does not penetrate the finish, other dings on the face most notably in the lower treble bout, two scrapes into the wood on the treble side and the residue of some sort of foam covering on the upper bout, treble side. The fingerboard (it is a maple neck guitar) does not show the typical discoloration that comes from playing time. Our workshop has performed their supremely professional set-up and now this guitar not only plays better than your fingers have ever experienced but it also sounds strongly reminiscent of Danny Gatton and Albert Lee.
WAS $12,885 BUT NOW ON SALE FOR: